By Gabriel Jonah
The State of Qatar has expressed readiness to employ more Nigerian workers in its labour force.The Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy in Nigeria, Mr. Ahmad Al-Horr, made the disclosure when he visited the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, over the weekend in Abuja.According to him, Qatar needs the collaboration with the Nigerian Government especially of migrate workers owing to the limited number of Nigerians working in the countryAccording to him, Qatar, will appreciate professional workers in the fields of engineering, medicine and others.He said: “Qatar is processing the bilateral agreement between the Nigeria and the Government of Qatar on the regulation of employment of Nigerian migrant workers in Qatar.“We need the relationship with the labour ministry because the number of Nigerian workers in Qatar is limited. We want more Nigerian workers in our country.The Ambassador, explained that Qatar was ready to host the FIFA World Cup, the biggest football tournament in the world, starting from Nov. 20 and ending on Dec. 18, which is the country’s national day.In a remark, Ngige said that his ministry was looking forward towards formalising the bilateral agreement between Nigeria and Qatar on labour migration.The Minister attributed the alarming rate of unemployment in Africa on high number of young people between the ages of 17 and 35, who constitute 60 per cent of the population.According to him, in Nigeria, the youth constitute about 60 percent of the population,with unemployment ratio of about 34 per cent.“If you include underemployment, you will be talking about close to 40 percent, which is also very alarming.“That is why we are looking forward as a country towards formalising labour migration agreement with you.“Your country has been identified as one of the destinations for people who are looking for work.”You have even reiterated here that the Nigerian component of foreign workers in your place is limited, ’’he said.Ngige, acknowledged that Nigerian is very interested in the agreement to provide opportunities for Nigerians in the Gulf country.He gave the assurance that the ministry would work assiduously to ensure that President Muhammadu Buhari would sign the agreements during his planned state visit to Qatar.”He added that a lot of Nigerians, trained in oil and gas, would be assets to Qatar if allowed to work in the country.