Ikeja Senior High School,
G.R.A. Ikeja,
22nd May. 2005

The Commissioner,
Ministry of Labour and Productivity,
Alausa.

Dear Sir.
EVILS OF UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE STATE
Recently, you will notice that there has been a lot of discussions in the media on the evils of unemployment in the country. The effect of unemployment in the country has started to affect Lagos State negatively. This is not surprising because the state is cosmopolitan in nature with several people entering the state on daily basis.
I would like to highlight at least three of these evils and later suggest ways of tackling them. Increase in crime wave j is the first evil of unemployment in the state. Many people resorted to crime when they could not get job though they j came to the state with the aim of securing one. Several people living in rural areas believe that there are jobs in Lagos, so they enter the state with this erroneous belief at the back of their minds. However, they turn to crime when they could not secure employment. This has been the reason the rate of violent crimes is so alarming in the state. Armed robbery and other violent crimes are committed in the broad daylight.
In addition to this, many children drop out of schools. These children are exposed to money ventures too early in life. The serious implication of this is that they constitute nuisance and danger to other Lagosians as they grow old. They become urchins (area boys and girls) and terror to passers-by on our streets as while girls eventually become prostitutes littering Lagos streets.
Furthermore the large spate of violence in and around the state is another evil of unemployment. In some parts of the state recently there are cases of public violence in our motor garages as motor park touts unleash terror and violence on one another. thereby disturbing the public peace Several innocent Lagosians lose their lives and several other not go to their places of work each time these miscreants go on rampage.
In order to make the state habitable for people the issue of unemployment must be urgently addressed. As a commissioner for labour, it would be appreciated, if you could use your office to establish small-scale industries where people can be employed. You could also use your influence to convince the government to give loans to the teeming unemployed Nigerians who are living in the state. so that they can be able to practise their trade. I suggests this because many people learn one trade or the other but because there is no money they could not establish themselves in business. The loan given out to the unemployed should attract low interest.
Apart from this your ministry could establish vocational centres where those who want to learn a trade can enroll to learn one trade or the other. This will make them to be self-employed after learning a trade. The ministry should also assist them to establish a business after their training.

Yours faithfully.
Signature
Nduka Oluchi