“Active Poor” Phenomenon and Youth Unemployment in Cross River State, Nigeria – Some Diagnosis

Abstract

Many youths in Cross River State, Nigeria are described here as “active poor” because they are unable to secure stable jobs or start and manage businesses. An attempt is made to model the “active poor” phenomenon in the context of Hegelian dialectics. It is hypothesized that the “active poor” phenomenon in Cross River State, Nigeria, is the outcome of demographic misfortunes, an insensitive and ill-equipped education system, and paucity of social security/welfare products. The methodology adopted was both dialectical and descriptive; the dialectical approach was used to show that the dominant social and religious orientation internalized by people in the State promote rapid population growth and strong preference for leisure. The descriptive approach was used to make the case for giving special consideration to the “active poor” and other disadvantaged persons. The paper demonstrates the utility of a multidisciplinary approach to diagnosing development problems as against adoption of any form of partial analysis. More specifically, the study shows that reduction in births, provision of feeding subsidy for school children, and improved health seeking behaviors for the entire population, will deliver a healthy and demographically balanced population, while an inclusive and well rounded education system will free people from fear and superstition, and make them more productive.