By Inusa Ndahi, Maiduguri
The chairman of Hawul Local Government Area of Borno State, Hon. Inuwa Bwala, has raised the alarm over the increasing population of unemployed graduates, youths and the vulnerable groups, describing it as alarming and dangerous.
Hon.Bwala raised the alarm yesterday after monitoring the ongoing enumeration of unemployed youths, and women, as well as the vulnerable by the National Directorate of Employment, NDE.
Bwala said that preliminary reports indicate that there are 13,394 registered unemployed and vulnerable people in Hawul, most of whom are graduates – Bachelors’ degree, HND, OND and NCE holders.
Commending the NDE for capturing the population of these category of people, the chairman advocated for urgent steps towards mopping up the ever increasing unemployed youths, as the future consequences are better imagined.
He said the country is sitting on a ‘keg of gun powder,’ unless government devices a scheme that will urgently take these potentially dangerous group off the streets.
Bwala told the NDE team of enumerators who paid him a courtesy visit to mark the close of the registration exercise, that “government is worried by the volume of registered individuals.”
He said, “A society with such a large population of unemployed people is only delaying the evil day, as such people are potential recruits for crime and criminality.”
Charging youths to explore ways of becoming self employed and not roam the streets, long after graduating from school, Mr Bwala said that the council is planning to write to the Borno State government under the leadership of Governor Babagana Zulum, requesting for the employment of Hawul indigenes, most of who are qualified, even as volunteer teachers for monthly stipends, to curb the menace.
He said that Governor Zulum has recently ordered for the employment of these category of unemployed youths into the education sector, and that window is still open.
Bwala promised that very soon, Bwala a lot of the youths would have something to do, courtesy of Governor Zulum’s initiative.
Speaking earlier, the
Desk Officer and leader of the NDE team, Yusuf Idris Mshelia, gave a breakdown of the number of individuals captured during the exercise by wards: with Marama, the council Chairman’s hometown recording the highest number of over 1,500 unemployed and vulnerable people.
He explained that they were equally worried given the fact that they also came from Hawul Local Government.
With about two days to the end of the registration, where they are expected to capture more people, Mr Mshelia said that the number could be two times the recorded ones, as those without NIN registration were not captured during the exercise.
