Nigeria: the young and the jobless

Despite Nigeria’s fast-growing economy and rich natural resources, many Nigerians are suffering from deteriorating living standards. Nearly one in four Nigerians are out of work and more than half live on less than a dollar a day. To address the problem, President Goodluck Jonathan has promised to create several million jobs by 2015 through government initiatives.

Nigeria also has one of the fastest growing populations in the world, which is set to double by the year 2035. Some fear a rising unemployment rate coupled with rising population growth could have severe consequences for the socio-economic and health development in the country.

In this episode of The Stream, we speak with Nigerian activist Omoyele Sowore (@SaharaReporters), Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi (@ekitistategov) and Joe Femi-Dagunro (@jangolaforum) to discuss the causes and possible solutions to rising unemployment in Nigeria.

What do you think? What’s behind the increasing unemployment rate in one of Africa’s richest countries? Send us your thoughts and comments on Facebook or Twitter using hashtag #AJStream.