Anglican women urge government to tackle youth unemployment

Women’s and Girls’ Organisations in the Diocese of Lagos (Anglican Communion) has decried the rate of youth unemployment in the country.

President of the organisation, Professor Motunrayo Olumakaiye, in her address themed ‘Stronger, Deeper and Higher’ at the 2019 Centenary Women’s Conference in Lagos, referred to a January 2019 online publication.

The publication put the youth unemployment rate in Nigeria at 36.50 per cent as in the third quarter of 2018, a slight drop from an alarming 38 percent in the second quarter the year.

Olumakaiye noted that those were not comforting figures, adding that the worrisome indices would invariably give a concerned citizen reason to worry about the future of the country.

“While Nigeria witnessed the highest unemployment rate of 38 per cent in the first quarter of 2018, which eventually dropped to 36.50 per cent in the fourth quarter, Australia’s statistics stood at 11.50 per cent, United Kingdom 11.50 per cent, Canada 10.8 per cent, United States of America nine per cent, South Korea 8.8 per cent, Netherlands 6.5 per cent, Germany six per cent, Japan 3.2 per cent and Switzerland 2.30 per cent,” she said.

Wife of the Lagos State governor, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, described the theme of the conference as apt.

She commended the organisation for its service to humanity, especially the laudable role it had been playing through charity, and asked it to keep the flag flying.