The high rate of unemployment has made Nigerians, especially the youth more creative. Jobs, which used to be mainly for the uneducated are now being done by literates. Some of these jobs in the past were meant for job seekers or secondary school certificate holders.
Today, graduates are now competing in the labour market for jobs that they wouldn’t have competed for in the past, which gives an insight into the level of unemployment in the country
The high employment rate in the country has brought the educated and uneducated to almost the same level when it comes to menial job opportunities.As vividly captured by Nurudeen Lawal, “There is no more shame when jobs are scarce and the number of people looking for jobs is high. There is no more shame when you have to feed yourself and in some cases your family.”
A report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), reveals that the country’s unemployment rate rose from 13.3 per cent in the 2nd quarter to 13.9 per cent in the 3rd quarter of 2016.
The report also shows that the number of unemployed in the labour force increased by 555,311 people.
To make matters worse, the economic recession has made it difficult for companies to make massive job recruitments. In old companies, staff retrenchment and pay cut has been the order of day, while new companies are not employing massively in order to be able to pay salaries.
This has made some unemployed graduates turn their attention to creative ways to make ends meet by going into all sorts of menial jobs.
Despite the economic recession, people must eat. As a result, in almost every nook and cranny of Lagos as well as other big cities in the country, you may find Shawarma or noodles spots. Shawarma and noodles especially, are fast foods, which Nigerians have become used to.
According to Next Edition findings, the greater proportion of workers in Lagos State do not have the time to cook as often as possible; they leave home very early in the morning and get back late at night. As a result of that, they feed themselves by buying food items from anywhere it is available such as restaurants, bukas (mamaput), or mobile food vendors.
One of the most common roadside meals is Indomie noodles. It is one of the fastest foods to prepare. Noodles take five minutes to be ready in a pot of boiling water. There is hardly a corner in Lagos where you would not find a noodles stand.
It used to be known as a business for only the young and mobile Mallams(Hausas) on the streets. That has changed today due to the rate of unemployment coupled with recession. Faith Onoja, a graduate, told Next Edition that she has been catering for people by selling noodles.
“Without selling noodles, I don’t think I would have been alive today. This is the business that has kept me and my child alive. I am a single mother who has to take care of her child. I am also a graduate. I took my CV to almost everywhere but couldn’t secure a white collar job. So, I settle down to do the noodle business for a living,” she said.
Sharwarma, on the other hand, is also another lucrative business, however, it is not as easy as the noodles business to set up or run. This particular fast food used to be found in posh areas, today, it is found in every part of Lagos. The business is no longer restricted to restaurants, clubs or hotels as so many unemployed graduates have cashed in on it for survival.
Unlike noodles, which almost every young person knows how to prepare, Shawarma has to be taught by an expert.Fatima Anifowose who is a graduate from Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, is into the business. She started it during her service year “I started this business for fun during my NYSC days. I didn’t know at the time that it would be my major source of income in the future.
Asked how much it takes to set it up on the roadside, she listed the items needed for the business. “I bought electronic grill 30, 000, Chicken worth of N10, 000, Bread of N1, 500, Sausage for N1, 600, Vegetables for N1,000, Cream for N1,500, Sauce for N800, Gas- about N1,000 worth, Seasoning N300 and Miscellaneous N1000. The total amount was close to 50, 000.” So far, it has been good,”Anifowoshe said.
Gerald, who does the same business on Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos, in an interview with The Next Edition on some of the challenges of any business involving edible catering revealed some of the challenges they are being confronted with. “One of the major challenges of food business in Lagos is space. It is very expensive to rent a shop in Lagos, so I decided to make mine mobile. I don’t stay in one place. The environmental law enforcement unit of Lagos state Ministry of Environment, Kick against Indiscipline (KAI) officials harass us a lot. There was a day that they seized my grill and I had to bail it with some money. I learnt my lesson that day and since then, I have been moving from one place to another. I finished my youth service last year and didn’t even think of looking for a job because I knew I wouldn’t get any so I decided to learn how to make Shawarma.”
He added, “I want youths, especially those who are still in tertiary institutions to learn a trade so that they can be self-employed. The truth is that there are no jobs out there”
As white collar jobs are disappearing from the streets, companies, governments, and other organizations in Nigeria, one of the survival tactics is to learn a trade or be creative in ways that can put food on our tables.
