Nigeria, March 17 -- Introduction

Nigeria's unemployment crisis is often attributed to a skills gap among graduates, with employers insisting that job seekers lack the necessary expertise for available positions. However, this argument ignores a major policy-induced factor: the government's employment embargo, particularly in critical sectors like tertiary education. While thousands of job seekers struggle to find work, vacancies remain unfilled-not due to a lack of qualified candidates, but because of restrictions on hiring.

Furthermore, the claim that graduates lack skills should not justify leaving vacancies unfilled. On-the-Job Training (OJT) remains a proven strategy for equipping employees with the necessary competencies after rec...