Chairman of Hawul, Local Government Council, Hon. Inuwa Bwala with the team of National Directorate of Employment (NDE) enumerators during a courtesy visit.
By SADIQ ABUBAKAR, Maiduguri –
The population of unemployed graduates, youths and the vulnerable groups in Hawul Local Government Area of Borno State, has been described as alarming and dangerous.
Chairman, Transition Council of Hawul, Local Government Council, Hon. Inuwa Bwala stated this on Friday while inspecting the ongoing enumeration exercise of unemployed youths, and women, as well as the vulnerable in the LGA which is being embarked upon by the National Directorate of Employment (NDE).
Bwala said, preliminary reports indicated that there are 13,394 registered unemployed and vulnerable people in Hawul, most of whom are graduates (Bachelors’ Degree, HND, OND and NCE holders).
While commending the NDE for capturing the population of these category of people, the chairman called for urgent steps towards mopping up the ever increasing unemployed youths, as the future consequences are better imagined.
He said the country is sitting on a ‘keg of gun powder’, unless government devices a scheme that will urgently take these potentially dangerous group off the streets.
Bwala told the team of NDE enumerators in Hawul who paid him a courtesy visit to mark the close of the registration exercise, that “Government is worried by the volume of registered individuals.”
According to him, “a society with such a large population of unemployed people is only delaying the evil day, as such people are potential recruits for crime and criminality.”
While charging youths to explore ways of getting self employed and not roam the streets, long after graduating from school, Mr Bwala said,” the council is planning to write to the Borno State Government under the leadership of Governor Babagana Zulum”.
“I appeal and request for the employment of these large number of unemployed Hawul indigenes into the state and local government services Most of them are qualified even as volunteer teachers for monthly stipends in order to curb the menace of large unemployed youths on the streets roaming around doing nothing,” Bwala said.
He however added that although Governor Zulum has recently ordered for the employment of these category of unemployed youths into the education sector, and constituted a recruitment committee headed by the State Commissioner of Education, Lawan Wakilbe , “surely, the doors are still open very soon”, Bwala said.
Bwala further promised; that a lot of the youths may have something to do very soon , courtesy of Governor Zulum’s initiative.
Earlier, Desk Officer and Leader of the NDE Team, Yusuf Idris Mshelia had given a breakdown of the number of individuals captured during the exercise by wards: with Marama, the council Chairman’s hometown recording the highest number of over 1500 unemployed and vulnerable people.
He explained that, they were equally worried given the fact that they also came from Hawul Local Government.
With about two days to the end of the registration, where they are expected to capture more people, Mr Mshelia said the number could be two times the recorded ones, as those without NIM registration were not captured during the exercise.
