Nigeria stands at a crossroads. At Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), the unveiling of the N350 million Olufemi Okenla Entrepreneurship Centre symbolises more than just bricks and mortar—it is a clarion call for a radical overhaul of our tertiary institutions.
The Minister of Education, Dr Moruf Alausa, who was represented by Lagos State’s Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Mr Tolani Sule, insisted that “entrepreneurship is the bridge between knowledge and national prosperity” as he inaugurated the centre and presided over the first edition of the accompanying Colloquium (Entrepreneurship, key to Nigeria’s future – Minister).
Yet behind this grand rhetoric lies a harsh reality: a country of nearly 232 million people continues to wrestle with unemployment and underemployment at epidemic proportions.
If Nigeria is to break free from the shackles of joblessness, the clarion call for entrepreneurial graduates must translate into substantive, system-wide reforms—and fast.
Nigeria’s unemployment figures paint a bleak picture. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that in the second quarter of 2024, the overall unemployment rate was 4.3 per cent, down from 5.3 per cent in the previous quarter.
Yet this fall is deceptive: youth unemployment remains stubbornly high at 6.5 per cent for those aged 15–24 years, representing a generation teetering on the brink of despair.
Worse still, some analyses place actual youth joblessness as high as 33 per cent, indicating vast swathes of Nigeria’s young population idle and disenfranchised.
In a country with over 53 per cent urbanisation, where opportunities are already squeezed by infrastructure deficits and economic headwinds, this is nothing short of a ticking time bomb.
The structural flaws in Nigeria’s education system exacerbate this crisis. Tertiary institutions have long been criticised for churning out graduates who possess academic credentials but lack practical, marketable skills.
As the NBS 2024 Q2 Unemployment Alert highlights, there is a negative correlation between higher education and employment prospects, suggesting that many “graduates” are ill-prepared for the realities of the labour market.
If universities continue to prioritise rote learning over problem-solving, we will perpetuate a vicious cycle of academic certificates with no tangible value.
The minister’s stern warning is clear: “We can no longer afford to produce graduates who seek jobs alone—we must now produce job creators, innovators, and problem solvers”.
Yet turning this exhortation into action demands a radical rethinking of curricula and pedagogical approaches—something many institutions have neither the resources nor the will to implement.
Against this backdrop, the President Bola Tinubu administration declared that it’s Renewed Hope Agenda provides a political framework for youth empowerment and economic diversification.
Through initiatives like the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and the Three Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme, the administration has officially prioritised job creation and skills development, according to the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation.
However, critics argue that lofty policy documents have not always translated into measurable progress on the ground.
Despite a reported drop in unemployment, inflationary pressures, currency volatility and perennial infrastructural bottlenecks have eroded real incomes and stifled business growth.
The Renewed Hope Agenda, while well-intentioned, risks becoming yet another set of empty promises unless matched by rigorous implementation and accountability.
This is where private philanthropy—exemplified by Olufemi Okenla’s magnanimous gift—seeks to fill the gap.
A distinguished alumnus of OOU’s Law Faculty (Class of 1987), Okenla spent 38 years building a career as a lawyer and entrepreneur, and he poured N350 million into establishing a cutting-edge entrepreneurship facility for his alma mater.
According to Okenla, “having a degree—even a PhD—should not be an excuse to ignore the vast opportunities that entrepreneurship presents”.
He has further pledged N50 million for outfitting the centre and N100 million to sustain its operations until it becomes self-sufficient, along with N20 million in seed funding for the first four start-ups born there.
This model of philanthrocapitalism—private wealth channelled into social investment—offers a timely remedy for state underfunding, but it also raises critical questions about sustainability, equity, and accountability.
Can a single facility, however well-endowed, catalyse a nationwide culture of enterprise?
Beyond the optics of ribbon-cutting ceremonies and high-profile donors, the true challenge lies in embedding entrepreneurial mindsets within the DNA of educational institutions.
Prof Ayodeji Agboola, OOU’s Vice Chancellor, rightly lauded Okenla’s gesture as a “boost to the university’s drive to produce globally competitive, entrepreneurial-minded graduates”.
Likewise, Prof Oluwatoyin Ashiru, Chair of OOU’s Governing Council, called for other alumni and stakeholders to emulate Okenla’s example.
Yet this ideal of a “university as incubator” cannot rest solely on a handful of corporate-minded benefactors.
It demands systematic reforms: embedding entrepreneurship modules across all faculties, forging partnerships with private sector actors for internships and mentorships, and reorienting academic incentives away from purely theoretical research towards real-world problem-solving.
Operationalising this vision is fraught with obstacles. Many universities lack basic infrastructure—robust electricity supply, high-speed internet, and modern laboratories—that are essential for fostering innovation.
Moreover, there is often a dearth of qualified trainers capable of teaching entrepreneurship as a discipline, rather than a series of perfunctory lectures.
Data from the World Bank underscores that countries with strong entrepreneurial ecosystems exhibit far higher rates of business start-ups and job creation; yet Nigeria’s informal sector still accounts for over 90 per cent of employment, with 85.6 per cent self-employed with limited scalability.
Without addressing these structural deficits—through public–private partnerships, targeted funding, and rigorous monitoring—the shiny new centre risks becoming an isolated beacon amid a sea of inertia.
For tertiary institutions to fulfil the minister’s vision, they must:
(1) collaborate with industry to co-design curricula that reflect market demands;
(2) integrate practical training—such as business plan competitions, hackathons, and live-case studies—into every programme;
(3) establish incubation hubs where students can prototype ventures with seed capital and mentorship; and
(4) ensure that entrepreneurship units are not mere add-ons but central to institutional missions.
The inaugural keynote by Prof Olusegun Sogbesan, Director General of Onitsha Business School, underscored this imperative:
“Entrepreneurial education must become compulsory in all tertiary institutions to shift the current narrative of producing graduates solely focused on finding non-existent jobs”.
If universities can heed this advice, the outcome could be transformative: a new generation of graduates equipped to generate employment rather than scramble for it.
Yet even as we applaud the minister’s call and Okenla’s largesse, it would be naïve to ignore the broader macroeconomic headwinds.
Inflation remains north of 22 per cent, the naira is under pressure, and power shortages persist, all of which dampen entrepreneurial ambition.
Furthermore, the recent protests by labour unions over alleged under-reporting of joblessness by the NBS highlight a pervasive distrust in official statistics.
If public confidence in economic data is fragile, so too is faith in policy pronouncements.
Against this backdrop, the minister’s clarion call for entrepreneurial graduates must be buttressed by transparent progress tracking and a genuine willingness to course-correct when initiatives fall short.
In the end, whether Nigeria seizes the transformational potential of entrepreneurship will hinge on converting political platitudes into concrete action.
The OOU centre, while laudable, cannot be an isolated gesture—it must serve as a replicable template for all federal and state universities, polytechnics, and colleges.
The stakes are existential: with over half the population under 25 years old, failure to create meaningful livelihoods risks social unrest, brain drain, and squandered potential.
As Dr Alausa affirmed, “today’s event is not just about the opening of a facility; it is about the opening of minds—a gateway to new thinking, new ventures, and new opportunities”.
Let us hope that this gateway does not close before it has even opened.
Additional reporting from Taiwo Adebowale & Peter Jene
