An Aba-based public affairs analyst, Dr. Chukwuemeka Okwuonu, has advocated the upward review of employment age in Nigeria to ensure that the harsh employment situation in the county is ameliorated.

Dr. Okwuonu said that it is worrisome that some employers stipulate an age limit of not above 26 years.

According to him, “Such conditions are not feasible considering the structuring of the education system in Nigeria.

“If you are lucky enough, you graduate around 30 years,”adding that the Nigerian education system is characterised by academic hiccups ranging from delay in gaining admission to incessant academic strikes and call up for the national youth service.

"When you finally graduate and fulfill the compulsory one year service, you spend a couple of years seeking employment.

“You notice that at times the person must have spent over 30 years in this process, so how do employers seek to employ people below 30 years? It is an indirect way of telling people that you don’t want to employ them. This situation must be urgently addressed.”

Another worrisome aspect of the employment situation in the country, Dr. Okwuonu said, is that sometimes 10 or more years working experience is set as criteria for employing people.

He asked: “Where will somebody who hasn't been employed for the first time gain such experience?”