BY MICHAEL EBOH

The Director, South-South Entrepreneurship Development Centre of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Gbenga Owolabi, has lamented the high rate of unemployment in the country, blaming the situation on the abandonment of certain value systems.

Speaking at the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management’s, CIPM, 2014 career/entrepreneurship fair in Lagos, Owolabi observed that unemployment is a global phenomenon, noting, however, that Nigeria is one of the countries worldwide with an army of unemployed youth.

According to him, the concept of value has been highly misplaced in our society, saying, “In Nigeria today, starting business is no longer fashionable among our people. Nobody wants to go into teaching business, yet these are some of a whole lot of job opportunities out there.

What has changed is our societal perception of the concept of value” He noted that entrepreneurship is about creating value and creating jobs, adding that a successful entrepreneur is one who understands that jobs are created to meet a need or accomplish a purpose through routine process and performed in exchange for value or payment.

Also speaking at the fair, which has as its theme; ‘Job Seeking to Job Creation,’ Mrs. Sola Oworu, Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Lagos State, disclosed that the state government is playing its role in reducing unemployment.

Oworu, who was represented by Hakeem Adeniji, Director of Commerce in the ministry, harped on the Lagos State Government policy thrust which is targeted at empowering teeming unemployed youths through training programmes that help them develop technical, vocational, managerial and business skills for entrepreneurship and employability, in partnership with the Afterschool  Graduate Centre (ASGC).

Speaking in the same vein, Mr Victor Arabome, Vice President, CIPM, said the main objective of the fair is to provide a veritable platform for job seekers and potential entrepreneurs interested in self employment; to access information, resources and opportunities available, and also enable recruiters and employers to disseminate information to their target audience about career prospects and opportunities’ in  their sectors.