Navigating Nigeria’s Job Crisis, Stories From A Generation In Limbo

Nigeria’s youth unemployment crisis is a paradox of numbers and lived realities. While official statistics suggest a slight improvement, youth unemployment fell to 6.5% in mid-2024; this masks a deeper truth: 85.6% of employed Nigerians work in the informal sector, often in unstable, low-wage roles like street vending, freelance gigs, or subsistence farming. For millions of educated young Nigerians, the promise of formal employment remains elusive, replaced by a daily grind of rejection emails, underpaid side hustles, and the gnawing fear of a future deferred.

West Africa Weekly spoke with over 10 young Nigerian graduates, freelancers, employees, and entrepreneurs across Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt who shared eerily similar stories: employers demanding experience they couldn’t gain, jobs disappearing into networks of nepotism, and a collective exhaustion from “hustling just to survive.”

The Employment Sector: A Landscape of Contradictions

Nigeria’s labor market is fractured. On paper, the employment rate rose to 76.1% in Q2 2024, but this figure includes millions working in informal jobs that offer no security or upward mobility. The agricultural sector employs 30% of the workforce but struggles with low productivity, while industries like ICT and services touted as growth engines absorb only a fraction of the 2.5 million youth entering the job market annually. Employers demand years of experience for entry-level roles, creating a catch-22 for graduates like Victory, a 23-year-old accounting major who has spent seven months applying to firms only to find positions “already filled by someone’s niece or nephew.”

The economic squeeze exacerbates the crisis. Inflation hit 31.7% in 2024, eroding wages, while fuel subsidy removals spiked transportation costs, making even low-paying jobs financially untenable for many 514. For Lawal, a Food Science graduate turned songwriter, survival means composing jingles for local artists and considering menial jobs: “My degree collects dust. Hunger doesn’t care about qualifications.”

Voices from the Crisis

1. The Nepotism Trap

Ejay, a CVE analyst, calls Nigeria’s job market a “closed shop.” After several rejections, he began to freelance, noting, “Merit is a myth here. You need long legs and connections to get in.” This sentiment echoes across interviews. Ade, a remote social media manager, spent over a year applying for roles only to find “legit openings rare and biased toward those with networks.”

2. The Overqualified and Underpaid

Stephanie, a Human Anatomy graduate, works part-time at an IVF clinic and does scriptwriting and ghostwriting. “I’ve settled for survival jobs,” she says. “My degree feels useless when employers demand five years of experience for entry-level roles.” Her story mirrors data showing that 80% of Nigerian graduates lack the skills employers seek, a disconnect rooted in an education system focused on theory over practice.

3. The Digital Hustle

Remote work offers a glimmer of hope but comes with its own hurdles. Nanerys, a project manager, searches for international remote roles but faces recruiters demanding “five years of experience for mid-level jobs.” Meanwhile, the gig economy thrives ambiguously: Tochukwu, a virtual assistant, is still searching for the perfect job, while Zion, an electrical engineer turned procurement/store issuance, admits, “My job has nothing to do with my degree, but bills don’t wait.”

4. The Japa Dilemma

Emigration looms large. Tochukwu dreams of leaving Nigeria: “I’d go tomorrow if I could.” Yet, relocation remains a luxury. Edward, an electrical engineer/auto cad 2D designer laid off despite four years of experience, shares a rejection text, citing his “lack of experience as a cruel irony for those trapped in a system that denies them entry-level opportunities.”

Systemic Failures and Glimmers of Hope

The Education-Employment Chasm

Nigeria’s education system churns out graduates ill-prepared for the job market. A 2022 World Bank report found that 80% of the population lacks practical skills; gap programs like the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) initiative aim to bridge this gap by training youth in tech fields. Yet, interviewees like Zion argue for broader reforms:

Schools teach theories, not skills. We need vocational training, not just degrees.

Government Measures: Band-Aids on Bullet Wounds

The Tinubu administration’s policy decisions have often deepened, rather than alleviated, the unemployment crisis. Initiatives like the Jubilee Fellows Programme and the defunct N-Power scheme officially shuttered in October 2023 after years of controversies over unpaid stipends and mismanagement have failed to create sustainable pathways for youth employment. While the administration inherited a 33.3% unemployment rate, its economic reforms, including the abrupt removal of fuel subsidies and a poorly executed currency redesign, triggered runaway inflation (31.7% by 2024) and crippling cash scarcity . Framed as fiscal responsibility, these measures have disproportionately burdened Nigeria’s youth, for whom transportation costs to job interviews now consume a week’s wages.

Equally detached from on-the-ground realities is the administration’s Student Loan Bill, a policy ostensibly designed to expand access to education but widely criticized for ignoring the root cause of Nigeria’s unemployment crisis: the lack of jobs. Offering loans without parallel investments in job creation is akin to handing out fishing rods in a desert, a gesture rendered meaningless without water. In a country where even skilled graduates work roles unrelated to their degrees, saddling young Nigerians with debt they cannot repay borders on negligence.

This misalignment extends to budgetary priorities: in 2024, education received 7.9% of the budget, while youth development was allocated less than 1%. Meanwhile, security spending saw a 38% increase from the previous year. Such choices underscore a government more focused on policing desperation than addressing its root causes. Economic projections indicate that agriculture and ICT will experience significant growth in 2025, potentially driving increased employment opportunities; such projections ring hollow for graduates like Lawal.

The government knows what to do but won’t, he says. We’re on our own.

Entrepreneurship: Necessity, Not Choice

Faced with closed doors, many turn to entrepreneurship. Sammie’s plan of heading to a culinary school and becoming a chef is one such example. Yet, as Tochukwu notes, entrepreneurship is not for everyone. While it can be a viable path, he advises job seekers to learn additional skills to generate income and help them stay afloat financially while searching for opportunities in their field.

The Road Ahead

Nigeria’s youth are rewriting resilience. Despite her rejections, Victory still applies for jobs while networking on LinkedIn. Ade’s upskills in digital media, hoping remote work will offer an escape. The CBN’s forecast of industrial growth and the rise of green jobs in renewable energy hint at potential. Yet, systemic change curriculum reforms, anti-nepotism policies, and infrastructure investment remain urgent.

As Emeka, a virtual assistant, puts it: “Nigeria clips your wings just as you’re about to fly. But we’re learning to build our own skies.” For a generation in limbo, survival is not just a struggle; it’s a rebellion.

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Ikenna Churchill

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