Nigeria's unemployed youth population is a danger to development

I just got back from the amazing Arthur Jarvis University in Akpabuyo, 13 kilometers from Calabar in Cross Rivers State! Never have I seen a university being built and developed so rapidly! I was privileged to sit on a panel that has engaged in recruitment and selection of the staff that would run this new university which would kick off this year with several courses in science, languages, arts and social sciences. It is simply amazing what the founders of this university have been able to achieve in so short a time. The buildings and the layout of the campus are modern and attractive. There are also hostel and staff quarters for the people who would  be taken on, either to study or serve at the university.
The medical center was the venue of my part of the interview on Saturday, the previous day I had sat in the bursar's office with two other academics seeking to recommend Assistant lecturers for the various departments. We had set up interview venues all around the campus for two days and were recruiting and selecting candidates at random.
The number of people who applied for positions there  was a frightening reflection of the state of unemployment in the country today. I sat speaking to several young energetic people many of them whom had never held a job down or had recently got laid off because of the recession. There is an estimate of over 10,000 people who applied for various positions. The influx of people to the Campus for the two days that the interviews were taking place was scary. It appears the spate of unemployment still needs to be addressed by the government before we get an army of unemployed youths taking their frustrations out on the other people of the country. Nigeria may be in for a rough time yet.
One thing that made me happy is, in spite of the complaints of a falling standard of education in Nigeria, there are still many bright young people who can make a difference in Nigeria if they are given a chance. The question is: how many young people would really get a chance to prove themselves with the way the government appears to have disdain for the young people of this country. There is no holistic plan for youth development or sports in Nigeria. No efforts to train our youngsters and make them technically skilled for the future development of this nation. There is simply no vision statement for Nigeria and a gross neglect of a whole generation of young people.
Institutions like Arthur Jarvis University would do there own part and employ as many as they can, but the fact still remains that the Nigerian populace have lost confidence in their leaders. Just as the leaders seem to have lost interest in serving the people who elected them.

The medical center of Arthur Jarvis University