The President of Historical Society of Nigeria (HSN) and the Head of Department of History, University of Ibadan, Professor Christopher B.N. Ogbogbo has recently been honoured with an award by the Nigerian Institute of Surveyors (NIS), Oyo State Branch.

Professor CBN Ogbogbo was on Wednesday 16th August, 2017 awarded as the Guest Speaker at the Second Surveyor Lasisi L. Ali Annual Lecture held at the N.I.S. Plaza, Ikolaba, Ibadan, Oyo State.

Information made available to CEOAfrica reveals that the programme which was held in honour of Surveyor Lasisi L. Ali’s 96th birthday, was climaxed by a lecture delivered by Prof. Ogbogbo on the topic: Youth Employment and Nigeria’s Future.

In his lecture, the President of HSN traced the history of youths’ unemployment in Nigeria where he pointed out that youths during the pre-colonial period were gainfully employed in various vocations like farming and fishing which contributed to the economic structure of the Nigerian society.

The Professor noted however that tides changed in the 15th century when slave trade depopulated Africa’s youths. He said “As noted by scholars like Walter Rodney, Africa became underdeveloped partly because it lost the most productive segment of her societies. Conversely, Europe and America in particular, flourished economically because of the cheap manpower that was available for their development process.”

While noting that the depletion of Africa’s workforce by slave trade is partly responsible for its underdevelopment, the Professor of History stressed that the empowerment and engagement of youths is important for socio-economic development. “It should be emphasised that what is salient is not the presence of the youth population, but the judicious engagement and use of that population as facilitators of development. Simply put, if a society wants development, it must necessarily engage her youths,” he emphasised.

Prof Ogbogbo further enumerated some of the attendant consequences of youth unemployment to Nigeria’s economy. He explained that the high rate of unemployment in Nigeria is causing massive emigration of youths from the country for greener pastures abroad.

He said “A good number of academics in citadels of learning abroad are Nigerian youths. A visit to Nigeria’s international airports reveals that Nigerian youths are leaving in droves. The situation is alarming because of the ominous consequences that this portends for Nigeria. This manpower flight from the country is a major implication of youth unemployment in the country.”

The Professor also mentioned that the growing spate of joblessness in Nigeria has catalysed the involvement of youths in criminal activities. “For the unemployed youths who have not ‘checked out’, they stay in the home of their parents after their graduation for long periods of time undergoing frustrations, depression and pessimism. In this situation, they become susceptible to be enlisted into crime and other dishonest ventures,” he stated.

Professor Ogbogbo further noted that the rising unemployment is directly responsible for the insurgency and secessionist agitations going on in the country. “It is the unemployed youth population that provide the army of fighting forces for Boko Haram murderers, the IPOB insurgency, the restive Arewa youths, the Niger Delta militants, and a host of other groups that have continued to threaten the existence of the Nigerian State,” he said.

While pointing out the interrelationship between youth engagement and development, the Head of History Department, University of Ibadan submitted that youth employment is critical to the Nation’s development. He called on policy makers to tackle the increasing unemployment for the country to enjoy rapid development.

He said “Youths represent the future of any community; when they are unemployed, our future is threatened, insecurity is unleashed and the fabric of law and order in the society is threatened. It is the insecurity that confronts our future that will ultimately threaten the existence of the state.”