THE NIGERIA IMMIGRATION SERVICE RECRUITMENT TEST AND UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA

a. THE IMMIGRATION SERVICE RECRUITMENT DRAMA
Recently, we saw vivid pictures of a segment of the Army of the unemployed in Nigeria. We saw a massive head-count, we saw desperation, we saw tears, we saw death... 
b. UNEMPLOYMENT: A MANIFEST, YET IGNORED PROBLEM
I have repeatedly said before now, that unemployment is at the heart of the crime and violence in this Country, for where do you think the political thugs and the willing tools in the hands of political paymasters come from? Certainly, from the Army of the unemployed. Recent statistics put Nigeria's unemployment rate at 23.9% and our Youth unemployment rate at 54%, but I think these figures are pretty conservative. The problem is masked by our extended family system and the fact that an employed person may actually be catering for about seven to ten unemployed people. 
c. IS THERE REALLY A CORRELATION BETWEEN GROWTH AND OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY?
The problem stems from the fact that the economy, though growing at a year -on-year average of 6% in the last ten years, is not creating opportunities for people at the bottom of the pyramid and also throwing up very few opportunities for movement into the middle class. Growth merely mean the creation of more billionaires and the purchase of more private jets and the display of crass materialism by the less than 1% of Nigerians in the upper class on the streets of London, Paris and New York.
d. WHAT DRIVES CLASS MOVEMENT IN NIGERIA - IS IT HARD-WORK OR CORRUPTION?
Certainly, wealth in Nigeria is largely driven by corruption and rent-taking, made possible by access to power as opposed to hard work, rare genius and a culture of investment and industry as it happens in other climes.
e. ADDRESSING MASS UNEMPLOYMENT
Nigeria's unemployment, is driven by structural and institutional failures and the only way to address it, is to do the following 5 things:
1. Over-haul the system - reduce or eradicate corruption and rent-taking
2. Improve the tax system by making those who earn more, pay more for the maintenance of the social order
3. Revamp the social security system - lets work towards getting a credible figure of both skilled and unskilled unemployed people in every nook and cranny of Nigeria and build a support system which does not glorify indolence but works to support people by building the right skills and matching skills with the right job / entrepreneurial opportunities.
4. Strengthen the institutional framework - Rather than celebrate wealth without questioning its source, let's create a system where the nations resources are deployed for the greater good and allow honest private initiative thrive.
5. Work to create a smaller government and a bigger economy - Reduce the size of government and deploy resources to social and physical infrastructure which create the the right investment and business environment. Let government play the role of the enabler and not a back-door participant, devolve powers to the regions, create a smaller government and a bigger economy underscored by strong and unwavering rules which does not cringe in the face of nepotism or corruption and prioritize sectors of the economy which has the greatest potential to employ more people like Agriculture, Manufacturing and Construction.