Stakeholders at the 2025 Business Leadership Roundtable have called for urgent and comprehensive reforms in Nigeria’s tertiary education system to address graduate unemployment and better align academic programmes with labour market needs.
Organised by the Nubian American Advanced College (NAAC), the high-level event held under the theme “Realigning Tertiary Education for Nigeria’s Growth and Sustainable Development: A Conceptual Framework” brought together top voices from government, academia, the private sector, and international institutions.
Delivering the keynote, Chairman of the occasion, Kiri Wakama, decried the growing disconnect between academic training and workplace realities.
“It is no longer sufficient to teach theory in isolation. We must build robust bridges between academia and enterprise. Practical experience, innovation, and industry collaboration are essential to closing the gap,” he said.
Dr. Azhinoto Ikpah, Chief Promoter of NAAC and Chairman of the Nubian Group, echoed the call for curriculum reform. He emphasized that higher education institutions must adapt to the evolving needs of today’s industries.
“Our institutions must produce graduates who are not only knowledgeable but also employable. We’re determined to confront and close the gap between outdated curricula and the real-world expectations of employers,” Ikpah noted.
He also highlighted NAAC’s ongoing academic partnership with Johnson C. Smith University in the United States as a model for boosting curriculum innovation, student exchange, and joint research efforts.
In his contribution, Mr. Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, Director-General of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), presented a damning assessment of Nigeria’s education funding and policy direction.
“UNESCO recommends 15–20% of national budgets be allocated to education, yet Nigeria allocated only 5.5% in 2024. This chronic underfunding, coupled with outdated syllabi, is a key reason why many of our graduates are unemployable,” Oyerinde said.
He advocated for a hybrid model of transnational education and localised reforms, urging institutions to integrate global standards, digital literacy, and soft skills development into their teaching.
Oyerinde also reaffirmed NECA’s commitment to employability through initiatives like the NECA–ITF Technical Skills Development Project, the Employability Scheme, and the Job Creation Fair.
A key highlight of the roundtable was a presentation by Archbishop Doye Agama, titled “Bridging the Digital Divide: Embedding Affordable Digital Skills in Nigeria’s Tertiary Education.”
Agama stressed the need to embed digital literacy across all disciplines:
“Business students should be working with CRM platforms and data analytics; engineering students with IoT systems and digital twins. AI collaboration and remote work skills must become core competencies for every graduate,” he said.
Adding a government voice, Mr. Adeniran Kasali, Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Tertiary Education, delivered a goodwill message urging institutions to embrace innovation, global academic partnerships, and investments in edtech.
“We are repositioning our tertiary institutions to produce globally competitive graduates. This includes staff training in AI, modern teaching tools, and stronger international collaboration,” Kasali stated.
He expressed hope that the roundtable’s deliberations would lead to lasting reforms, higher teaching standards, and stronger alignment between higher education and national development goals.
