The Impact of Youth Unemployment on Migration and Development in Nigeria

Nigeria has implemented policies aimed at tackling the current heightened youth unemployment status, but there has been a significant lapse in the components of these policies, which is evident in the misalignment of the policy initiatives with the specific labor market needs and availabilities. However, this policy document carefully assessed these past policies thematically and analyzed the correlation of factors that border on economic, educational, and remittance factors and their influence on youth unemployment and migration in Nigeria. Hence, this policy paper recommended that, firstly, there should be the promotion of technical and vocational schemes and training capacity by the respective stakeholders, to help bridge the skills gap and curtail the inherent skills mismatch. Also, there should be an established public-private dialogue and synergy to reduce the duplication of functions and eliminate inefficient coordination to promote sustainability. Thirdly, the Nigerian government should make deliberate policy efforts to improve economic pull factors to reverse the migration trend by revamping the basic infrastructures that would create a conducive environment for investment in sectors capable of job creation. A fourth recommendation as a policy take is to take advantage of the country’s huge remittances and synergize with the diaspora community to channel such accruals in sectors that have the potential for job creation and economic development. Lastly. Overhauling the security network has become imperative. Providing a secure environment for economic activities to thrive will attract both local investors and Foreign Direct Investment, which can create more employment opportunities, reduce brain drain, and trigger economic development.