Challenges of Self Employment for Nigerian Graduates:

In the face of the serious and growing threat of graduate unemployment in Nigeria today,the need for the Nigerian graduate of today to seek avenues for self employment and financial breakthrough,self fulfillment now seems impelling.
In the 1960's the problems of unemployment in Nigeria was basically that of primary and secondary school leaver.One popular explanation then was that these school leavers were ill equipped and lack specific skills to offer the labor market .The explanation however,is now largely irrelevant today as even well equipped graduates in almost all disciplines now find that the Nigerian labor market no longer has enough jobs for them .Thus,rather than employers vainly searching for skills that are not there,the situation has become one of skills vainly searching for jobs that are not there .

It is crystal clear that generally unemployment is unacceptably high and that is here to stay except we do something about it .In fact it is here to increase:

- As universities,polythecnics,monothecnics,colleges of education's satelites,university campuses turn out thousands of graduates every year,The Nigerian economy as it is presently run does not have the capacity to absorb chains of thousands of unemplyed youth.

In other words,the Nigerian graduates of today can no longer rely on the Nigerian Labour market to provide him/her job.He has to invent an alternative source of employment which is SELF EMPLOYMENT.

SELF EMPLOYMENT: In addition to providing avenues for gainful employment offers particular advantage to the self employee

(1) It offers the employee the opportunity of engaging in trade or business talents.

(2) Suceesful self employments creates in the employed a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction.

(3) The self employed does not need to undergo job selection interviews.He does not need to please big boss or personnel manger in order to obtain good end of your reports and recommendations for promotion.In fact the main external influences he is subjected to occur in his intention with banks when he/she want to borrow money,clients when he/she wants to buy raw materials and sell his products and other similar transactions.

(4) The self employed is thus a creator and master of its fortunes.He/she decides his own works of programmes,work hours,what to produce ,where to produce.In effect he is the sole arbiter of his fitness to establish and run a business.

This therefore,puts a heavy responsibility on him and he has to be a good entrepreneur.the practical challenges which will confront any graduate wishing to establish a business of his own are well known.They are same problems which confronts any prospective business man.They include

(1) Mobilisation of capital

(2) Identifying a potentially viable project

(3) Ability to run the business profitably

(4) Meet stiff competition from other firms in the industry among others.

The unemployed Nigerian graduate who wish to go to business should further more recognize that a business man is a risk-taker.In his business he either makes profit or he losses.

Besides,every firm in its formative years,that is during its gestation period ,invariably make losses,its only later if it succeeds that it eventually breaks even .Thus the most serious challenges that will perhaps face the Nigerian graduate who establish his own business is how to cope with the initial period of loss and how to break even in this critical period..