Nigeria’s Final Declaration Of War On Unemployment • 8.8M Jobs To Be Created In 8,809 Wards

By

Olabode Opeseitan

In a nation long accustomed to hollow promises and diluted reforms, President Bola Tinubu’s latest initiative—the creation of 1,000 jobs in each of Nigeria’s 8,809 wards—feels less like a policy announcement and more like the final declaration of war on unemployment.

It is a bold, grassroots-first proposition that, if faithfully executed, could recalibrate Nigeria’s economic narrative from one of macroeconomic abstraction to tangible, localized empowerment.

The arithmetic is staggering: over 8.8 million direct jobs, seeded across every ward, every community, every corner of the federation.

This is not a pilot. It is a full-scale deployment of hope, operationalized through the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme (RHWDP). The implementation plan has now been formally endorsed by the National Economic Council (NEC), with a National Steering Committee established to oversee execution. The Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning will serve as the programme’s secretariat, coordinating efforts across federal, state, and local governments.

The initiative draws constitutional legitimacy from Chapter Two of Nigeria’s charter and the Fifth Alteration Act, which mandate all tiers of government to harness national resources for a dynamic, self-reliant economy.

But beyond the numbers lies the human texture. What does it mean for a young graduate in Mbaise, a widow in Okitipupa, or a displaced artisan in Makurdi to be counted among the “economically active” and directly supported?

It is the difference between subsistence and dignity; idle despair and purposeful engagement. It is the difference between being a statistic and becoming a stakeholder.

Yet, the road from announcement to actualization is paved with complexity. Job creation in Nigeria has historically suffered from low employment elasticity—just 0.11, meaning a 1% GDP growth yields only a 0.11% rise in employment. By contrast, countries like Mexico have achieved elasticity ratios above 0.5, where job growth more closely mirrors economic expansion. This initiative must therefore defy precedent. It must be more than a fiscal gesture; it must be a structural intervention. Urgency must also be its tempo. Nigeria’s youth bulge, security concerns, and fragile social cohesion demand nothing less.

Globally, few countries have attempted such granular job creation. India’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) offers a parallel: guaranteeing 100 days of wage employment per year to rural households. Though costly—over $7 billion annually—it has reduced rural poverty, improved infrastructure, and enhanced social stability. Nigeria’s version, if adapted with fiscal discipline and local accountability, could yield similar or higher dividends.

How will it be funded? The government has confirmed that the RHWDP will be jointly financed by federal, state, and local governments, leveraging increased revenues from the Federation Account. The programme is positioned as a “Federation project,” with potential alignment to other development efforts. Multilateral agencies and private sector actors have expressed strong interest, viewing the initiative as a credible vehicle for inclusive growth.

The implications are profound. Economically, it could stimulate micro-enterprises, expand local supply chains, and contribute to GDP growth through increased consumption and productivity. Socially, it could reduce crime, restore communal pride, and reweave the frayed fabric of national belonging. Politically, it signals a presidency unwilling to wait for trickle-down miracles.

Tinubu appears intent on drilling hope into the bedrock of Nigeria’s wards—not as a campaign slogan, but as a legacy blueprint.

In the end, this is not just about jobs. It is about rewriting the story of Nigeria from the bottom up. A story where every ward becomes a workshop of renewal, every citizen a co-author of progress.

This president is in a hurry. He has insisted that hope must no longer be hackneyed fantasy but lived reality.
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