Debate continues after Moniepoint’s CEO raised concerns about graduate employability and unfilled vacancies in Nigeria
Regarding the statement made by the MD of Moniepoint at The Platform organised by Pastor Poju Oyemade that many young Nigerians are unemployable, and that his organisation has about 500 vacancies that remain unfilled because of this challenge, I will not entirely disagree with his assertion because it is based on his experience. However, I will argue that his company may not have looked deeply and widely enough.
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It is difficult to believe that a globally rated company operating in Nigeria cannot find 500 young Nigerians to fill vacancies, considering the country’s enormous youthful population.
Let us begin with academic qualifications. There is no way Nigeria lacks academically qualified young people who can be employed.
In fact, if organisations restrict their requirements to only first class and second-class upper university graduates, as well as distinction holders from polytechnics, they would still be overwhelmed by the number of applicants who meet those stringent standards.
In other words, Nigeria is not short of academically brilliant graduates. These same young Nigerians often travel abroad after earning their first degrees in Nigeria and excel at postgraduate level in universities across the UK, the US, and other parts of Europe.
On a personal level, I know several young Nigerians who graduated with a second-class lower division in Nigeria, yet went on to top their master’s degree classes in the UK.
That is why I do not readily agree when people claim that Nigeria’s educational standard has completely collapsed. If that were entirely true, how do these same young Nigerians leave Nigeria and outperform their native classmates abroad at postgraduate level? The same pattern is evident even at secondary school level.
I know many family friends who relocated abroad with their teenage children, only for the children to complain that topics being taught abroad had already been covered in Nigeria years earlier.
My aunt’s son left Nigeria while in SS1, got to the UK, topped his class, and swept several academic prizes, despite not being considered the best student in his class back in Nigeria.
Recently, I was searching for an editor for my next novel because my former editor was unavailable due to other commitments.
I contacted a Nigerian lady based in the UK, who is also a published author, and asked her to recommend a very good literary editor.
To my surprise, she told me her editor was based in Nigeria. I had expected her to mention a foreign professional.
Interestingly, this young man is only 30 years old and exceptionally talented at what he does. He is currently editing my manuscript, and I met him for the first time a few weeks ago during my visit to Nigeria.
Having said all of that, this is where the real disconnect lies regarding the employability of young Nigerians. There is a major difference between academic qualification and employability skills.
Nigeria does not lack academically qualified young people; what many graduates lack are the practical skills required to fit seamlessly into a workplace environment.
This is where employers also need to apply more human understanding and flexibility in their recruitment strategies.
Nigerian tertiary institutions are structured mainly to prepare students to pass examinations and obtain certificates. Unfortunately, many students are not adequately prepared for the realities of work life outside the academic environment.
This is where many organisations misunderstand the problem and conclude that graduates are unemployable. A lot of brilliant graduates do not even know how to prepare a professional CV that can attract the attention of an HR executive.
Some do not understand workplace communication, professional conduct, teamwork, emotional intelligence, or even how to confidently face an interview panel.
Many graduates also struggle with problem solving, presentation skills, punctuality, professional etiquette, and basic office culture because these things are rarely taught within the university system.
In some cases, students complete four or five years in school without any structured internship, mentorship, or practical exposure to a real workplace environment.
So, while they may possess strong theoretical knowledge, they often lack the soft skills and practical orientation employers expect.
This is why Nigerian universities and polytechnics must begin to rethink their curriculum beyond academic theories alone. Final year students should undergo compulsory employability training before graduation.
Institutions should organise practical workshops on CV writing, interview preparation, workplace ethics, communication skills, leadership, teamwork, digital literacy, and problem solving.
There should also be stronger partnerships between schools and industries to ensure students participate in internships, industrial attachments, and mentorship programmes that expose them to real work environments before graduation.
Career development centres in universities should become fully functional rather than existing merely in name. Professionals from different industries should be invited regularly to interact with students and prepare them for life after school.
Students should graduate not only with certificates, but also with the confidence, orientation, and practical competence needed to function effectively in today’s workplace.
At the same time, organisations must also show more patience and long-term commitment in developing young talent. Every graduate cannot become workplace ready overnight.
Companies should be willing to identify brilliant young people with potential and help groom them through structured onboarding and mentorship programmes.
Instead of dismissing candidates outright at the interview stage, organisations can introduce longer probation periods during which graduates are trained, monitored, and properly integrated into the company culture.
No society develops by abandoning its young people. Nigeria has an abundance of intelligent, talented, and resilient young minds. What is required is a bridge between academic excellence and workplace preparedness.
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Once that bridge is properly built by both educational institutions and employers, many of these so called “unemployable” young Nigerians will become some of the most productive assets any organisation can ever have.
