Poverty and Unemployment as Contributors to Nigeria’s Dependency from Independence to Date

Abstract

Unemployment has greatly affected the citizenry and the economic development of Nigeria from a large spectrum of socio-economic outlook. In Nigeria, the rate of unemployment and poverty has grown large to the extent that it is very difficult to address by mere campaign or the use of words of mouth. It requires the combination of efforts from both individuals and the government of the country in particular and the world in general for the formulation of an eternal solution to be achieved. It is obvious that unemployment is one of the major causes of poverty which metamorphoses into underdevelopment or dependency of the country upon the advanced nations. This study, by making use of a content analysis method, aims at examining the relationship between unemployment and poverty in Nigeria and how they contribute in deepening Nigeria’s dependency from independence to date. Theory of economic nationalism is employed to illustrate how the citizens of developing countries like Nigeria are made unemployed and poor, which translates into their dependency upon the advanced nations in the world. The finding of the research shows that unemployment is one of the factors that contribute immensely to the increasing rate of poverty in Nigeria which results in intensifying the level of the country’s dependency. It is, therefore, recommended among others that control of population growth in Nigeria is very vital and is not necessary to make it possible for the country to create employment opportunities for its citizenry by making use of its available resources.