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Idle Hands, Dangerous Streets: Deadly Cost of Youth Unemployment!

Idle Hands, Dangerous Streets: Deadly Cost of Youth Unemployment!

By Ugo Inyama

Across Nigeria, a dangerous equation is playing out: rising youth unemployment equals rising crime. When a generation cannot find work, it finds something else to do — and too often, that “something else” threatens the peace of the nation that failed to employ them.

From Lagos to Kano, Aba to Maiduguri, the scenes are the same. Idle young men roam the streets. Graduates push wheelbarrows. Artisans abandon their trades. Thousands spend their days online chasing “quick money.” Beneath the humour of “hustle culture” lies exhaustion, anger, and despair. The tragedy is not that Nigerian youths lack ambition; it is that the country has denied them any structured outlet for it.

Official figures put youth unemployment near one-third of the workforce, but the reality is worse. Many “self-employed” are barely surviving — selling trinkets, driving tricycles, or working unstable gigs that feed neither ambition nor dignity. The informal economy keeps them alive, not fulfilled.

Where youthful energy is wasted, it festers. Where merit no longer matters and corruption mocks honesty, crime becomes both rebellion and survival.

When Survival Becomes a Crime

For many young Nigerians, crime begins with hunger, not hatred. Petty theft, cyber-fraud, and robbery often start as desperate acts in a system that offers neither jobs nor justice. “Yahoo Yahoo” online fraud — has become a distorted symbol of success. It is glamorised in songs, excused by peers, and tolerated by communities. But behind every celebrated “big boy” story lies a trail of victims and ruined futures.

Behind every scammer are hundreds who failed or died trying. Behind every armed robber is a disillusioned graduate who once dreamed of becoming a doctor or engineer. When legitimate doors remain locked, illegitimate ones look like opportunity.

Unemployment also feeds organised violence. From banditry in the North-West to militancy in the Delta, cult clashes in the South-South, and kidnappings in the South-East, idle youths become easy recruits for warlords, extremists, and politicians. For many, crime is now a job — a way to survive a system that forgot them.

The Price of Neglect

The cost of neglect is staggering. Families lose sons to crime or prison. Communities lose peace. The nation loses innovation and productivity. A generation that should be building industries is instead fuelling insecurity.

Economically, mass unemployment drains growth. A jobless nation consumes but does not produce. Socially, it breeds resentment — against the rich, the powerful, and eventually against the idea of fairness itself. Rising kidnapping, drug abuse, and ritual killings are not coincidences; they are symptoms of economic failure.

Nigeria’s prisons overflow with young men who should be in factories, farms, or classrooms. Each wasted youth represents a lost investment — years of parental sacrifice and public spending thrown away. As one economist noted, “Unemployment breeds insecurity, and insecurity buries investment.” Investors flee, jobs disappear, and the vicious cycle tightens.

The Way Forward

Fixing youth unemployment requires more than token empowerment schemes. It demands courage, vision, and reform. Job creation must be treated as a national security priority, not an afterthought.

First, align education with the real economy. Nigerian universities still prepare students for jobs that no longer exist. Curricula must shift toward technical, digital, and vocational skills — renewable energy, ICT, logistics, agriculture, and the creative industries. Certificates must give way to competence.

Second, empower small and medium-sized enterprises — the true job engines. Multiple taxation, unreliable power, and expensive credit are killing entrepreneurship. SMEs need affordable loans, steady electricity, and fair regulation to thrive.

Third, state and local governments must stop waiting for Abuja. Rural youths can be productively engaged through local projects — road repairs, irrigation, recycling, and agro-processing. Every local government should have a youth employment desk that links skills with real work.

Fourth, the private sector must rise beyond profit. Corporations can fund apprenticeships, support innovation hubs, and partner with schools to build employable talent. Job creation is not charity — it is an investment in stability.

Restoring the Dignity of Labour

Mindset matters too. Too many young Nigerians still see vocational work as beneath them, chasing only “office jobs” or overnight riches. Yet every developed nation thrives on its welders, builders, farmers, and technicians. The shame lies not in labour, but in laziness.

Our obsession with sudden wealth — luxury cars, flamboyant weddings, designer lifestyles — fuels criminal temptation. Society must learn to celebrate productivity, not fraud. Parents, entertainers, and religious leaders must lead this value re-orientation. Real success is built, not stolen.

A Call to Action

Nigeria cannot arrest its way out of crime. You cannot police hunger or imprison frustration. The true antidote is work — jobs that pay, skills that empower, and systems that give people hope.

Law-and-order measures tackle symptoms, not causes. You cannot fight insecurity while breeding it through joblessness. The cost of creating jobs is far less than the cost of fighting the wars unemployment creates.

Every unemployed youth is a potential innovator or a potential criminal. Which side they fall on depends on whether the nation gives them reason to believe.

The choice before Nigeria is stark: employ its youth or be consumed by their anger.
The peace and prosperity of tomorrow depend on the jobs created today.

*Ugo Inyama writes from the African Digital Governance Centre, Manchester, UK.
www.africandgc.org

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By Ugo Inyama Across Nigeria, a dangerous equation is playing out: rising youth unemployment equals rising crime. When a generation cannot find work, it finds something else to do —

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• October 22, 2025
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Senate Moves to Establish N4.7bn Sickle Cell Research, Therapy Centres Across Nigeria

Senate Moves to Establish N4.7bn Sickle Cell Research, Therapy Centres Across Nigeria

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja 

The Senate has taken a major step towards addressing Nigeria’s heavy burden of sickle cell disorder (SCD) withthe second reading of a bill seeking to establish Sickle Cell Disorder Research and Therapy Centres in all six geo-political zones of the country and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The bill, sponsored by Senator Sunday Marshall Katung (Kaduna South), aims to create institutional and legal frameworks for the establishment, management and operation of centres dedicated to the diagnosis, treatment, and research of the disease, which continues to claim thousands of lives annually.

Leading the debate on the general principles of the bill at plenary Wednesday, Senator Katung said his motivation for sponsoring the legislation stemmed from a deeply personal experience more than two decades ago when he witnessed the agony of a family grappling with the illness.

He said: “I once saw a child who had just been discharged after a crisis. His parents were arguing about whether to take him back to the hospital because they hadn’t paid the last bill. 

“The child overheard them and said, ‘Mom, Dad, please allow me to die so that you can rest, and I too will rest’.

“That statement has stayed with me for 25 years. I promised myself that if I ever had the opportunity, I would bring this issue to public attention. That is why I introduced this bill.”

The proposed legislation seeks to establish research and therapy centres that would, in the first phase, operate in the six geopolitical zones, before eventual expansion to every local government area in the country.

According to Katung, Nigeria accounts for over 50 per cent of the 300,000 children worldwide who die annually from sickle cell complications before the age of five, making it the global epicentre of the disorder.

He said: “In Africa, Nigeria ranks first in the prevalence of sickle cell disease. The bill is meant to make treatment more accessible, improve early diagnosis, and raise awareness to prevent new cases, especially through public education on genetic compatibility before marriage.”

The senator emphasized that the centres would not only provide medical treatment but also serve as hubs for research, data collection, rehabilitation and community education. 

He noted that while scientific breakthroughs have significantly improved outcomes for patients in developed countries, where more than 90 per cent of sufferers now live into adulthood, Nigeria continues to record high mortality due to poor diagnostic infrastructure and inadequate treatment facilities.

Katung lamented that many Nigerian families dealing with the condition face crushing financial burdens, forcing some to abandon hospital care. 

“Treatment is expensive, and most families can’t afford it,” he said, adding that the proposed centres would help ease that challenge by providing affordable and accessible services.

The lawmaker also stressed the need for Nigeria to take ownership of finding a cure, noting that most research into the disease has been led by Western scientists, even though it primarily affects people of African descent.

“Sickle cell disorder is a black man’s disease, and because the white people are not sufferers, their efforts may not be as committed as ours should be.

“There was once a promising effort led by the late Professor Wonodi at the Pharmacology Centre, but it stalled after his death. This bill will help revive such research efforts,” he said.

The Sickle Cell Disorder Research and Therapy Centre Establishment Bill 2025, which comprises 27 clauses, provides for the setting up of a governing board, the appointment of professional and administrative staff, financial provisions, and operational guidelines for the centres.

The estimated cost of setting up the centres, according to Katung, is N4.7 billion, which will be borne by the Federal Government. However, he noted that the figure could be reviewed during the public hearing phase to ensure cost-effectiveness.

He revealed that some senators, including Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (Kogi Central), had suggested that the proposed centres be attached to existing teaching hospitals to reduce startup costs and leverage existing infrastructure. 

“All such recommendations will be considered at the public hearing to determine what works best for the country,” he said.

Katung appealed to his colleagues for bipartisan support, stressing that sickle cell disease is a national health crisis that transcends political, ethnic and religious boundaries.

“With humility, I urge all my distinguished colleagues to support this bill wholeheartedly. It is not just about healthcare, it is about giving hope to millions of Nigerian families living with this burden,” he said.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, commended the sponsor for what he described as a “compassion-driven initiative” and referred the bill to the Senate Committee on Health (Secondary and Tertiary) for further legislative work.

Nigeria, according to medical experts, has the highest number of sickle cell cases globally, with an estimated 150,000 newborns affected each year. Public health advocates have long called for a coordinated national strategy to address the disease through early screening, public education and improved access to affordable treatment.

If passed into law, the Sickle Cell Disorder Research and Therapy Centre Act is expected to serve as a landmark framework for managing the disease in Nigeria, offering not only a lifeline for sufferers but also a renewed national commitment to scientific research and healthcare equity.

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Sunday Aborisade in Abuja  The Senate has taken a major step towards addressing Nigeria’s heavy burden of sickle cell disorder (SCD) withthe second reading of a bill seeking to establish