Emeka a young man in his late 20’s was sitting close to otumbadi junction just a mile from the school he graduated. He looks so stranded rough and tired of life. He graduated with first class in the department of accounting in imo state university, Owerri.
He have lost complete hope of getting a job someday because he have submitted his CV to more than 100 companies but no positive response or feedbacks for the past 8months every Opportunity to get out of poverty now seem lame.
As he was sitting outside this hot afternoon close to otumbadi junction under a tree thinking about how life have been unfair to him even after all his successful years in school, A call came in it was his sister she needed to pay her school fees else she won’t be allowed into the classroom. he saw her call but he could sense the weight that is coming from it he knew he was the right person to call at the moment. He looked like life is trying to rob the wretch of poverty on his face. After that call another call came in from his mom, she needed to be discharged from the hospital, it seem like the weight was becoming unbearable for him he was already losing his cool , he became desperate to make money, he needed it to survive so he started stealing to keep up. Unemployment really left a negative impact in the life of emeka, making him to indulge in criminal activities.
Unemployment can be referred to as the act of being able to work but can’t find a job to earn a living. This is when people who have the ability to work, show willingness to work and are actively looking for work but cannot find any job to sustain their living standards. Unemployment is not laziness. It is when the government fails to create job or the system has more people ready to work than it has jobs to give them.
Unemployment always have a negative impact on the life of many. For individuals being unemployed often leads to financial instability and can have severe psychological effects, including stress anxiety and diminished sense of self worth.
According to National bureau of statistics,Nigeria
“Unemployment rate in Nigeria increased to 4.90 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024 from 4.60 percent in the third quarter of 2024. Unemployment rate in Nigeria averaged 4.49 percent from 1991 until 2024, reaching an all time high of 10.70 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019 and a record low of 3.70 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013.”
Unemployment is the reason why a country doesn’t develop fully with quality style of living.
In the society, the level of unemployment and underemployment have had a negative rather than positive effect on individuals in Nigeria. Some of the effects of unemployment on an average Nigerian youth are;poverty,loss of human capital,dependence,loss of identity and low self-esteem, mental stress,social pressure,higher crimes plus vices,brain drain, slower development etc.
Understanding the effects of unemployment on Nigeria youths is another topic but our main focus is how unemployment helps in the increase of crime and criminal activities in Nigeria.
A crime is any act or omission that violates the law and is punishable by the state or governing authority. It is considered a wrong against society as a whole and unlike civil disputes, it is resolved through a formal justice system that can results in penalties like fines,probation or imprisonment. Victims of crime often experience trauma,anxiety and emotional distress, which can have long-lasting impacts on their mental well-being.
Unemployment among Nigeria youths have played a crucial role in their life’s negatively. Many youth now venture into different types of criminal activities due to the decrease / low job opportunity in Nigeria.
In Nigeria today, unemployment is often described as the driver of crime because it is a major force that pushes many young people towards negative outcomes.
According to Lagos metropolitan (LM)
“Nigeria produces roughly 700,000-1,000,000 graduates each year and about 8-10 million tertiary graduates between 2015 and 2026.”
According to Research gate
“Available evidence suggests: During 2016-2018, unemployment among people with tertiary education ranged from about 23% to 32% meaning roughly 68% to 77% were underemployed or working outside their fields.”
With this statistics ,it is obvious that the number of youth who have suffered from unemployment or underemployment are too numerous. When graduates and other youths are unable to find decent jobs, they may experience poverty, frustration and hopelessness. These conditions can expose some individuals to criminal activities.
In other words, crime is the passenger because it follows where unemployment leads. High unemployment rates among Nigerian youths have resulted to crimes such as armed robbery, internet fraud, kidnapping, drug trafficking, cultism, human trafficking,thuggery etc. Although unemployment does not push every young person to commit crimes, it increases the risk by limiting legitimate opportunities to earn a living.
Furthermore, Although unemployment in Nigeria is very high and have increased the number of criminal activities across the nation even given it a black paint in the global economy where many Nigerians have been forced to leave the country in search of greener pasture. Unemployment have caused Nigeria to have increase in emigration and a significant lower number of immigrants coming into the country. It is necessary to make some of the following suggestions which can help increase the number of employment and decrease the number of criminal activities in Nigeria to a significant amount. The following are therefore recommended:
Firstly; skill and entrepreneurship, this reduces crime by giving people better options than crime. When people can legally make money, feed themselves and have status the pressure to commit crime drops alot.
Secondly; agriculture,this helps to reduce crime by giving people food ,money and purpose when people can farm, process, or sell food legally and make a living they are less likely to turn to theft , vandalism or other crimes.
Thirdly; digital economy,this reduces crime the same way agriculture does by creating legal income,skills and opportunities. When people can earn money online with skills, they have less reason to steal, scam or join gangs.
Lastly, civil and personal education, this reduces crime by changing how people think , behave and relate to their community. Skills and agriculture gives people money. But civic and personal education gives people values and self-control so they choose not to commit crime even when money is tight.
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