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OGUN : TOWARDS SOLVING UNEMPLOYMENT THROUGH INTERVENTION PROGRAMMES
OGUN : TOWARDS SOLVING UNEMPLOYMENT THROUGH INTERVENTION PROGRAMMES
By: Elijah Udofia
Governments, just like an individual or organizations, are faced with one challenge or the other and the methods of dealing with such challenges differs. Unemployment is one of the many challenges confronting even the most advanced economy of the world . In other words, unemployment is a phenomenon that affect all countries including the first world or advanced economies. No wonder Jane Addams, a Social Worker and a Reformer, said “of all aspects of social misery nothing is so heart breaking as unemployment”.
Nigeria, just like other third world countries has been battling with the problem of unemployment , especially since the post independence era, more than six decades ago. It is worthy of note that successive administrations both at the Federal and State levels have come up with various schemes aimed at finding solution to the problem.
During the military era of the the then General Ibrahim Babangida, the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) was introduced in 1986 and the agency was saddled with the responsibility of designing and expanding the opportunities and rights of Nigerians in all the states of the federation. It was meant to promote job creation, stimulate entrepreneurship and the skills of representatives of various industries. In a nutshell, NDE was established to solve Nigeria’s unemployment challenge.
Under democratic dispensation, President Good luck Jonathan came up with his own Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme SURE-P. Under this Programme was the Community Services Women and Youth Employment (CSWYE). The scheme was set up to provide temporary employment opportunities to the unemployed and unskilled women and youth.
President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016, also set up the N-Power under the National Social Intervention Programme. The scheme with the theme “Empowering the Youths for Prosperity” is to tackle the issue of joblessness among youth as well as improve social development of young people in Nigeria.
Nigeria no doubt is one of the fastest growing economy in Africa or what is known as ” lion economy”. But unlike countries like Qatar, Cambodia or our neighbour Niger, with low unemployment rate, that of Nigeria, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report, “Nigeria’s unemployment rate rised from 27.1 percent in the second quarter of 2020 to 33 percent in 2022”. This is an indication that rather than reducing, the rate is assuming an alarming rate.
Being a component part of Nigeria, Ogun State also share from the many challenges confronting the country including unemployment. Apart from being the Industrial hub and the religious capital of the nation, the State, is the education capital of the country with the highest number of post primary and higher institutions in Nigeria. These institutions on regular basis, turn out graduates into the already saturated unemployment market. Given this consideration, the State has a large number of graduates who are not gainfully engaged .
As the General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, Sharan Burrow, once said, “no country can afford to lose a generation to unemployment”, the Prince Dapo Abiodun led-government in Ogun State having realized that there is a relationship between unemployment and crime, made youth employment and empowerment one of its cardinal programmes as encapsulated in the ISEYA mantra viz: Infrastructure, Social welfare and wellbeing, Education, Youth Employment and Empowerment and Agriculture.
The Governor who is an ardent believer in the sayings that “an idle hand is the devil’s workshop ” came up with life transforming programmes that would translate into building a virile future not only for graduates but also for various job seekers in other spheres of human endeavor. At the inception of his administration, one of the steps taken was the opening of a job Portal where graduates and non graduates who are skilled in various trades register. The purpose of the programme, according to the Governor, was to ascertain the number of those who are jobless as well as those who are underemployed with a view to matching the qualified ones with the employers of labour as well as exposing them to the various investors besieging the State. With this approach, thousands of employment opportunities have been secured for teeming youths.
This aside, the State government also set up an Artisans Scheme, where people are trained in various skill acquisitions like tailoring, barbing, hair dressing, painting and paint making, among others. The interesting part of this scheme is that participants are paid stipends on monthly basis.
Similarly, the decision of the State government to convert one of the moribund model schools that dot the State’s landscape, to a TechHuB, was to make available a platform for Information Technology (IT) for the youths to showcase their talents .The hub also offer training opportunity to those who want to be well grounded on IT. The Centre has in the last few years trained hundreds of youths who are now employed in blue chip or multinational companies across the country.
The TechHuB, is one of the many plans government is putting in place to turn Ogun State to what the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Prof. Ibrahim Pantami said would be “Nigeria’s Silicon Valley” in the near future.
Another area which Ogun State has explored in generating employment to its teeming able bodied men and women is the education sector. Barely a year ago, a scheme tagged “Ogunteach” was introduced and the method was to engage qualified interns for a period of two years as class teachers in public primary and secondary schools. At the end of their internship, those who excel are absorbed into the system. Though It was meant to fill the existing teaching gap in the public schools, it is also a platform for “young teachers” to be well groomed in the chalk profession.
On how his administration came about the scheme, governor Abiodun said “sometimes around September last year, the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, came to me with this brilliant idea. I immediately keyed into it and told him that it must be devoid of favouritism and that only the best should be encouraged”.
As at now, the scheme as so far provided employment to 2000 of the interns while additional 1,000 to 1,500 would be employed, according to the Governor.
It is pertinent to State that the employment scheme is multi- dimensional and exists in other sectors . For instance, in the agricultural sector, apart from the Federal Government’s Anchor Borrower’s Programme, which the State government has successfully keyed into, another scheme for would-be graduate agric- prenuers, known as FADAMA GUYS was also birthed with a view to widen the scope of engagement thereby boost food production. All these schemes are also geared towards solving the problem of unemployment especially in the agriculture sector.
Perhaps, the man at the helms of affairs in Ogun State, in the course of putting ideas together on how to bring the rate of unemployment to the barest minimum, must have come across the words of the former German Chancellor Gehard Schroeder who said, “any degree of unemployment worries me”. This has led to the interventions that are currently being used to address unemployment in the State.
From available data, Ogun State is definitely not the State with the highest rate of unemployment despite the fact that it is the education capital of the nation. With unemployment rate in the country projected to trend around 53 percent in 2022 and 51percent in 2023, according to Trading Economic, the current interventions, there seems to be no end in sight, but what is sure is that the various interventions by Ogun State government would go a long way in reducing unemployment to the barest in the coming years.
More than ₦3 billion was targeted, but about ₦677 million reached the culprits, with recovery and prosecutions underway, reflecting how banks are responding to more sophisticated fraud risks.
Nigeria’s expanding digital banking sector is facing increasingly sophisticated fraud attempts, as financial institutions adapt to faster transactions and broader online services.
A recent case involving First City Monument Bank (FCMB), linked to fraudulent activity detected in December 2025, has drawn attention to how banks are responding to such incidents, with a focus on limiting exposure, recovering funds and working with law enforcement.
According to findings referenced in proceedings before the Lagos State Special Offences Court, the incident involved unauthorised transactions tied to a digital product. Early reports erroneously suggested more than ₦3 billion was lost. Subsequent clarification shows that over ₦3 billion was targeted, ₦2.4 billion was blocked and recovered, while ₦677 million got into the possession of the culprits. This outcome reflects the bank’s cyber security and monitoring capabilities, as well as improved collaboration among regulated financial institutions and with law enforcement agencies. Several suspects and beneficiaries have been apprehended, while recovery and prosecution efforts are ongoing, led by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Proceedings at the Lagos State Special Offences Court have resulted in convictions, including that of a repeat offender, with restitution orders issued. Related matters are also being handled at the Federal High Court in Lagos, where additional suspects are being tried in connection with the scheme. This process is aimed at ensuring that bad actors are identified and permanently blacklisted from the financial system.
Authorities say recovery efforts are continuing as additional funds are traced.
Analysts note that the pace of legal action reflects closer coordination between financial institutions and enforcement agencies in addressing cyber-related financial crime.
The case comes as banks contend with more complex fraud methods, including social engineering and automated exploitation of system processes.
As digital products and platforms expand, so too does the risk associated with cyber-crime and related fraud.
“The scale of digital banking means risks are evolving alongside the systems,” said a Lagos-based financial analyst. “Institutions are now judged by how they manage these events.”
Observers say the sector is moving toward a stronger focus on response and recovery, rather than prevention alone.
This includes improving monitoring capabilities, strengthening transaction controls and enhancing collaboration with regulators and law enforcement. The FCMB case, with limited exposure relative to the amount targeted and ongoing recovery, reflects that shift.
For customers, the primary concern is the safety of their funds. In this case, there has been no indication of losses affecting customer deposits. Maintaining that level of protection remains central to sustaining trust in the financial system.
Nigeria’s financial sector continues to grow, supported by digital innovation and expanding access to banking services.
However, analysts say fraud attempts are likely to persist as systems become more complex and interconnected.
They say institutions will increasingly be judged not only on their ability to prevent incidents, but on how effectively they respond and recover when they occur.
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Ex-APC Deputy Guber flag bearer, Joshua MacIver backs Tinubu, express fears over implosion in Bayelsa APC
….congratulates new State Party Chairman, Warman Ogoriba
APC Deputy Governorship Candidate in the 2023 general elections in Bayelsa State, Great Joshua MacIver has declared his total commitment to the re-election of President Bola Tinubu come 2027, declaring that the Tinubu re-election project is non-negotiable.
Great Joshua MacIver, in his statement titled ” BAYELSA APC CONGRESSES: GOING FORWARD, A CALL TO LOOK INWARDS” and made available to newsmen in Yenagoa, warned APC leaders in the state to look Inward and take note of certain factors which may hinder or cut short our victory.
According to Great Joshua MacIver, such noticeable pitfalls include the imbalance in the united front being put up by the State Governor,Senator Douye Diri among various political blocs in the state.
In the statement issued at the weekend. Great Joshua MacIver stated that “First, before His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, joined the APC in the state, there were clearly two political blocs that made up the party, with the approximate population ratios of the blocs standing at 95% to 5%.”
“After the entrance of His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, ONLY THE SMALLER BLOC IS BEING CARRIED ALONG IN THE AFFAIRS OF THE PARTY, leaving the greater percentage to their fate, and this situation has the potential to build anger and dissatisfaction in our dear party.”
” The consequence of this has been the high level defection we have witnessed in the party recently and we believe more may likely follow, if we do not put our house in order.”
” If we do not pull together as a party, we may witness a situation where we will lose key stakeholders, especially after the State and National Assembly Primaries as well the Gubernatorial Primaries.”
“Finally, while it is very clear that we are the party to beat in the 2027 elections and that our loyalty to Mr. President IS NON-NEGOTIABLE, we must make haste to say that we cannot afford to create situations or loopholes in our unity which will be exploited by other political interests in the state. We cannot afford to under-rate anyone.”
“Our core interest remains the re-election of Mr. President, a project to which we have committed our all. We also pledge our total loyalty to the party as we have no alternative to the APC. However, our concern is that we must, as a party, look inwards and ensure that we do not create loopholes that can impede our common goal.”
Great Joshua MacIver, however congratulated the newly elected State Executives of the APC in Bayelsà State led by Hon. Warman Ogoriba, saying their emergence is welcomed at this critical time in our national history.
At least 23 people were killed in a series of suspected suicide bombings, police in Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri said on Tuesday.
https://www.stanbicibtcbank.com/nigeriabank/personal/products-and-services/all-loans/stanbic-ibtc-mreif-home-loans
More than 100 other people were injured in the blasts that took place on Monday evening in the capital of Nigeria’s restive Borno state.
No group has claimed responsibility for the suspected attacks.
The deadly blasts come after a military post was attacked overnight Sunday to Monday, which authorities blamed on suspected Islamist militants.
This sad incident is coming barely two weeks after Primate Elijah Ayodele, the Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church specifically warned against attacks in some states. He mentioned these states while calling on security operatives to pay close attention to them.
These were his words:
“Another attack is coming up in these following states where the military must watch carefully and intelligently; Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara, Kebbi, Niger, Borno, Kwara and Kogi state. They want to do a deadly attack, it’s preventable but it depends on how they will handle it. I have told you about the danger coming up.”
@primateayodele
Unfortunately, some of our military agencies don’t believe spiritual intelligence can save the country from so much danger hence, their neglect of this prophetic warning but now, it has been fulfilled with the miliary losing credibility by the day while Primate Ayodele continues to gain momentum.
Likewise, At least 26 passengers and crew sustained varying degrees of injuries on Monday following an accident involving the Kaduna–Abuja train, according to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).
Opeifa explained that the train departed Rigasa in Kaduna at 7:15 a.m. and was approaching Asham station around 9:16 a.m. when a loud bang was heard after the power car and trailing locomotive collided with one of the passenger coaches.
In July 2025, Primate Ayodele asked nigerians to pray not to see train mishap on the Kaduna-Abuja route.
@primateayodele #nigeriantiktok🇳🇬 #fulfillment #train #abuja #primateayodele
“Let’s pray not to see train mishap in Abuja-Kaduna, Kaduna-Abuja route.”
This has also been fulfilled.
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