Social security for unemployed graduates

Posted by admin Headlines Monday, June 30th, 2014

WOGU-LABOURTHE recommendation by a committee of the National Conference that unemployed graduates should be paid a monthly allowance equivalent to the allowance of members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is reasonable considering the mass unemployment in the country. How the scheme would be implemented, if adopted, however, remains a riddle that must be solved for the programme to have the desired effect.

The Human Rights and Legal Reform Committee reportedly made the recommendation with the aim of bringing succour to the unemployed, reduce crime and thereby compel the Federal Government to be alive to its responsibility of providing welfare for its citizens.

It is, of course, sad that despite the huge oil wealth, Nigeria has no social security scheme or a safety net for the unemployed, the elderly and other vulnerable members of the society. This has made life unbearable for the citizenry. Therefore, any step taken to institute such a scheme should be encouraged but effective implementation of the scheme requires rigorous planning and painstaking execution.

Incidentally, this committee’s recommendation was not the first time the issue of social security had been suggested. In May 2009, the then Minister of Labour and Productivity, Adetokunbo Kayode, announced plans by the Federal Government to establish an integrated social security scheme designed to provide succour for the unemployed and other vulnerable groups in the society. Government then set up a National Working Committee on Social Security Policy, headed by the former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon. The committee was, among other things, required to draft a holistic social security policy framework and recommend robust and sustainable financing options for an integrated system. Thereafter, nothing was heard of the committee and its work.

Not long after that, the Nigerian government, once again, set up an inter-ministerial committee to develop a social security action plan specifically for senior citizens. Pertinent questions were raised as to why the Gowon committee report was discarded and a new committee set up to address the same issue from another angle. Questions were raised as to whether the new committee was complementing the previous one or totally on its own.

It is regrettable that till date, nothing came out of the two committees and this is why it is pertinent to ask if the present recommendation is based on an awareness of what had been presented to government before now? There is no doubt that providing social safety net for the citizenry is imperative, particularly, considering the worsening poverty level in the country. A holistic, rather than segmental approach would be better for the country. It is common knowledge that the problem of unemployment among graduates and youths in general is already at an explosive level. How to handle it remains a big challenge. Paying unemployed graduates the monthly allowance of Youth Corps members could provide succour but that would throw up daunting challenges, which could frustrate the plan, the biggest one being data-base of would be beneficiaries.

For instance, who is an unemployed graduate? Does the Federal Ministry of Youth Development have the data? There is no data-base of graduates and their employment status. Even, the National Youth Service Corps is known to have difficulty keeping a reliable database of graduates passing through it. Some corps members, who have completed their service year, manage to remain in the scheme to continue receiving the allowance as a survival strategy.

Over and above all of these is what the ultimate goal of the scheme is. A situation where some graduates stay upwards of five to seven years without job presents a major challenge. Will the affected graduates continue to receive the allowance for as long as they are unemployed?

Needless to say that there must be a productive engagement process to add value to the whole idea. One way of doing that is to engage the graduates in the scheme in public works, which may include road works, tree planting, infrastructure rehabilitation, and so on. The beneficiaries would, therefore, be engaged in one way or the other and they would imbibe a certain work ethic on spirit and money, however little, is not paid for doing nothing. The scheme would also be better implemented by the states in the spirit of federalism and should include all school leavers even if they would not be on the same pay. If well implemented, it should go a long way to alleviate poverty.
-Guardianwp_posts