Opinion

Is Nigerian Education Becoming A Scam?

Published

2 months ago

June 26, 2025

IMAGINE spending four years or more in university, attending lectures, hundreds of thousands spent (if not up to millions even in the so-called federal Universities), burning night candles, writing exams and holding onto the promise that education is the key to a better future. Now imagine graduating, only to sit at home jobless, with a degree that feels more like a decorative paper than a passport to success. Across Nigeria, frustration is rising among graduates who followed the “go to school and succeed” script, only to end up stranded. With limited opportunities, rising tuition costs and a system producing a more certificates than careers, one question echoes louder than ever: “Is education not beginning to look like a scam in Nigeria?”

For decades, education in Nigeria was considered the ultimate ladder to success. For generations, education was the dream every parent pushed their children toward, often at the great personal cost, such as selling of property and taking loans to ensure their children had access to schooling. From primary school through to university level, families invested not just money, but hope, believing that a certificate would open doors, provide security and lift entire household out of poverty. The popular belief was simple: “Go to school, graduate, and secure a good job.” This belief wasn’t just preached at home, it was echoed in classrooms, in churches and mosques and through government that praised education as the key to national development.

The system once justified that belief. Back then, a degree was a badge of honour. Graduates were respected and often walked into jobs with banks, oil companies or government agencies. The promise seemed real and for a time it worked. Education was also tied to pride. Being the “first graduate in the family” was a badge of. Communities celebrated academic excellence and government’s scholarships rewarded brilliance. The narrative was strong and simple : “Education equals success”. However, the landscape began to shift. The job market grew smaller, universities became overcrowded and strikes disrupted academic calendars. The number of graduates increased, flooding the labour market faster than the economy could absorb them. Today, the Nigeria job market tells a very different story from the one many were raised to believe. Each year, hundreds of thousands of graduates are released into an economy that cannot absorb them. For many, the job hunt begins with high hopes and ends with frustration. CVs go unanswered, interviews are few and far between, and even when job is found, it is often in a role that barely reflects the years of academic struggles or the qualification earned.

The phrase “overqualified or underqualified”has become too common. Many graduates now work in unrelated field just to survive, such as teaching without a degree in education, doing POS even as a first class graduate in biochemistry e. t. c. And others are stuck in endless internship or NYSC with no transition to permanent employment. One of the most painful realities is the demand for experience. Something fresh graduates are expected to have but rarely get the opportunity to build, as a result, doors stay shut no matter how polished the degree or impressive the grades. Even the much anticipated NYSC year offers no long-term promise. Many Corp members are placed in irrelevant roles and in completion, the majority returns to Jo hunt. Those lucky enough to get retained or have a job often earn peanuts and sometimes, not even enough to cover transport, feeding and rent. The public institutions continue to battle frequent Asuu (Academic staff union of universities) strikes, leading to delayed graduation and disrupted learning. Worse still is the growing mismatch between what is taught in school and what the job market demand. Graduates are increasingly told they lack practical skills, critical skills and digital literacy. But how can students be blamed when they are taught theory in an overcrowded lecture halls, with little or no exposure to field?.

The sad irony? Many of those who once mocked skilled trades or informal works are now embracing tailoring, farming and other skilled trades, not because they gave up on education but because education gave up on them. The long-standing belief in education as the guarantee of success is being reexamined. The gap between academic questions and real-opportunities has widened so much that many now wonder if we have been sold a dream that no longer exists.

The struggle faced by Nigerians

The struggle faced by Nigerian graduates today are not just the result of bad luck or poor decisions; they are deeply rooted in a broken system. At nearly every level. The country’s educational structure is out of sync with the real world. Starting with curriculum. In a world where digital skills, artificial intelligence and creative thinking are shaping the future, many Nigerian universities still teach outdated theories using notes that haven’t changed in decades. Students are handed information and not transformation. They graduate with certificate, not skills, ill-equipped to face the demands of a modern job market. Then, there is the state of the institutions themselves. Public universities are overcrowded and poorly maintained. Students sit on broken chairs in jam-packed lecture halls while laboratories remain empty or under stocked. Access to current learning materials is limited and practical exposure is almost non-existent in many courses. Lecturers, though passionate, are often overworked and underpaid and it reflects in the quality of delivery. Poor funding has only made matters worse. Year after year, education receives a disappointing share of the national budget, far below global standards. Which results in frequent strikes, abandoned infrastructure, demoralized staff and a generation of students who spend more time at home than in class. Employers are looking for skills that universities don’t teach, and there is a little effort to bridge that gap. Internship programmes are rare and often ineffective and job placements care left to chance or connection.

Entrepreneurship, which is often seen or promoted as a solution is not an easy alternative. The environment is tough, access to funding is limited, support systems are weak and the business space is riddled with bureaucracy and inconsistent policies. Loan are difficult to access and start-up policies rarely favour young people without collateral or connections. (See the rest on www.tribuneonlineng.com)

Ultimately, the problem is not just that graduates are jobless, it is that the system that produced them did not prepare them to thrive. With all these challenges stacked up, it is no surprise that the mindset of young Nigerians is changing and fast. 5he belief that education is the only route to success is being questioned more openly than before. These days, the most common advice among youths is not just go to school but to learn a skill, start something and “japa” if possible.

Many students now go through school with one foot in and one foot out, attending classes while also taking tech courses online, learning fashion design, baking or managing small business. Certificates have become a backup plan, not the main plan. For some, school is just a formality to keep parents happy while they focus on what might actually pay the bills.

Social media has played a major role in this shift. It has exposed young people to new paths such as content creation, digital marketing, coding, forex trading, photography e.t.c,these opportunities don’t necessarily require a degree but offer quicker returns. Influencers, tech brose and entrepreneurs have become role models, not PhD holders.

Even among parents, there is quiet shift. Many who once pushed their children to get degrees now emphasize “getting something you can fall back on”. The one-sharp line between “educated” and “skilled” is getting to blur.

For those who still believe in education, it is often no longer about knowledge, it is about migration. A foreign degree is now seen as a ticket to Japan, with better job prospects and quality of life abroad. As a result, studying becomes a means to an end, not the end itself.

What this all shows is that the Nigerian youths are no longer just accepting what they were told. They are questioning, adapting and rewriting the rules. And while the mindset shift might seem rebellious to some, it is simply survival. Because when the system stops working, people stop waiting and start looking elsewhere.

What are the solutions to all these? First, there must be a complete overhaul of the outdated curriculum used in many Nigerian institutions. Education should evolve alongside the demands of the 21st century workplace. Courses must be restructured to include practical skills, digital literacy, Entrepreneurship and critical thinking. Universities, polytechnics and colleges must begin to teach students not just how to pass exams but how to solve real-world problems, adapt and innovate.

Secondly, there should also be a collaboration between academic institutions and the private sector. Employers should be involved in shaping course content to ensure relevance. Internship programmes, mentorship opportunities and graduate trainee scheme must be institutionalized. This would give students early exposure to real work environment and reduce the experience gap that hinders many job seekers today.

The government must prioritize education in its budgeting and planning. Proper funding can improve infrastructure, reduce strikes, increase research opportunities and attract skilled educators. When learning environments are stable and well-equipped, the quality of graduates will improve significantly.

Also, merit must be brought back into the system. Recruitment processes in both the public and private sectors need to be transparent and fair. When opportunities are distributed based on competence and not connection, young people will feel more motivated to build their skills and compete.

While, studying and working abroad offers great benefits, Nigeria must also create an environment worth coming back to. Scholarships, exchange programmes and international collaboration are great, but there must be incentives for young talents to return and build at home. The goal is not to stop migration, but to make staying an equally valuable option.

The system may be flawed, but it is not beyond repair. With collective will and smart decisions, Nigeria can reshape its education sector and open doors of opportunities for its youths. A future where young people no longer feel scammed by the system,but empowered by it. It is a goal we can achieve if we start now.

Tribuneonlineng.com

Opinion

Shola Fasure’s Response To Mayor Akinpelu: Deploying Lies To Attack Truths

Published

2 days ago

August 15, 2025

The Daily Voice

By Kola Odepeju

I doubt if Shola Fasure will ever cease to amuse the people in his blind defense of his paymaster, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola who was recently described as “Asín ti kò mò pé òhun n rùn” (the shrew that doesn’t know that it smells) by governor Adeleke of Osun for verbally attacking his benefactor, PBAT. But little can one be surprised about Fasure’s blind defense of his boss because he must justify his earnings and secondly, since he himself lacks integrity, it’s easy for him to always come out to come up with drivels in the name of defending his boss.

Fasure’s continued attempts to distort history only shows that he’s either a poor student of history or he’s simply being mischievous. But I like to believe more in the latter being in his DNA. Just like the leopard that doesn’t change its spots, so will a person given to mischief comes out regularly to ply his/her trade. This is the case with Fasure who himself doesn’t believe his own stories with respect to Tinubu/Aregbesola political relationship. Fasure has been trying so hard to distort history though; misinforming the public that Aregbesola is the one that made Tinubu but not vice-versa, he subjects himself to ridicule each time he comes out to turn history upside down and to do surgery to the already battered image of his boss.

One of Nigeria’s veteran journalists, Mayor Akinpelu came out recently to call a spade a spade by telling the public the truths about Aregbesola/Tinubu political relationship. Of course his narration wasn’t in any way different from what the general public had already known before about Aregbesola and his relationship with Tinubu. There was no addition or subtraction in what Mayor Akinpelu said about Aregbesola. All what he said about him are nothing but the truth. No attempt did he make – in the least – either to blackmail Aregbesola or tarnish his image. So my question is; when has saying the truth become an offense under the sky for Fasure to now come out again from his shell and be attacking Akinpelu, an apolitical person who was just doing his job as a social commentator?

Like Akinpelu said in his article, was Aregbesola not scruffy looking prior to his being catapulted by Tinubu? Wasn’t he a pauper before his path crossed with that of Tinubu? Was his usual and regular wear then not Jalamia? Wasn’t his car rickety and smoky like a locomotive? The point is that Aregbesola was a complete pauper before he met Tinubu, a fact known to so many people – except only Fasure – and a fact Aregbesola himself testified to in some occasions; that it was Tinubu that God used to uplift him. I recall here that Aregbesola said in one of our media meetings with him at the State House in Osogbo when he was governor that “if l had not met Tinubu, l would have also still be struggling like you people by now”.

Ogbeni Aregbesola had also said in a video which is in public domain that after God, he owes whatever he’s today to Tinubu. So only God knows where Fasure conjures his own side of the story from which l see as only tales by moonlight different from reality. His story can only be believed by fools and accepted by idiots.

Comparing Aregbesola’s case with that of Yemi Osibajo, Babafemi Ojudu and other names he mentioned in his write-up is preposterous and doesn’t align with common sense in the least. One, these are people who had recorded appreciable successes in their chosen careers and living comfortably before their paths crossed with Tinubu. They were accomplished professionals on their own as at the time their political relationships with Tinubu started; unlike Aregbesola who was a nobody by the time he met Tinubu. I say this without any fear of contradiction because l was on ground at Cresta Laurel where these people served on the transition committees set up by Tinubu then as the governor-elect.

Two, even though these people may have at one time or the other had disagreements with Tinubu, did they ever insult Tinubu as Aregbesola did? Did they display insolence to Tinubu like Rauf? Disagreements are normal in politics but attacking your God-sent benefactor is the most unwise and stupid thing to do by anybody. This is where Shola Fasure’s boss disappointed many of his admirers including this writer.

In conclusion, Shola Fasure in his warped thinking opined that “Batists have slavery in their DNA”. This, to me, is a fallacious opinion of a mind filled with ingratitude. Rather than proving Mayor Akinpelu wrong with evidence about what he (Akinpelu) said about Aregbesola, Fasure was busy attacking him and calling Batists names.

This is a fallacy of ad hominem. Of course Fasure cannot pretend not to know that politics is about hundred percent loyalty. It’s either you’re completely loyal or you take the exit door. Batists are loyal to Tinubu because he deserves it as he has proven to be a reliable and dependable leader. But if Fasure in his wrong perception of Batists as having slavish mentality in their DNA still holds on to this fallacy, then they’re by far better than Aregbesola’s followers who have ingratitude in their DNA just like their leader.

● Odepeju, newspaper columnist and political activist writes from Lagos.

Lifestyle

Attacks On Apostle Ayo Babalola: CAC Replies Pastor Fatoyinbo With Strong Questions

Published

2 days ago

August 15, 2025

The Daily Voice

The Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) has issued a strong rebuttal to comments made by Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo regarding the life and ministry of its first General Evangelist, Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola.

In a statement signed by Pastor Ade Alawode, Director of Publicity, CAC, the church said it was “necessary to address your recent statements… for the following three reasons: Scriptural Justification… Clarification of Truth… Defense of Legacy.”

The statement was in response to Fatoyinbo’s viral message in which he reportedly acknowledged that Apostle Babalola was highly anointed but “had no money” and went on to ask sarcastically, “Where are his children?”

Click link to read CAC’s Full Statement

Dear Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo,

Greetings to you in the Name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Ordinarily, we do not respond to social media commentaries or controversies. However, we consider it necessary to address your recent statements, which have been widely circulated on your social media platforms, for the following three reasons:

1. Scriptural Justification — The Bible permits us to respond wisely to folly to prevent arrogance (Proverbs 26:5).

2. Clarification of Truth — To correct the misleading narrative you are promoting about ministry and wealth.

3. Defense of Legacy — To address the inaccurate claims you’ve made regarding the life and ministry of Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola, the first General Evangelist of Christ Apostolic Church.

In one of your trending messages on YouTube, you acknowledged that Apostle Babalola was highly anointed but “had no money”, and then went on to ask sarcastically, “Where are his children?” — a question that was both insensitive and ill-informed.

To equate anointing or ministerial success with material wealth is biblically flawed. The words of Jesus are clear:

“Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” — Luke 12:15.

Yet, your teachings suggest otherwise.

In doing so, you promote what the Bible refers to as Simony — the monetization of spiritual gifts (Acts 8:18–24). The Scriptures do not teach that money is a sign of anointing. Rather, “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). Which Bible do you read and preach from?

On the Question of Apostle Babalola’s Children

Ethically speaking, Apostle Babalola had children. Simple arithmetic should help you understand that they would be advanced in age by now — possibly your grandparents’ age. What did you hope to achieve with the mocking question, “Where are the children of Babalola?”

Your statement reflects more on the kind of company you keep, but as a preacher of the Word, shouldn’t your conduct and utterances be guided by Scripture?

Where in the Bible does your brand of prosperity theology originate — one that demeans people for not being wealthy? Isn’t such a message encouraging greed, corruption, and godlessness, especially in a nation already struggling with moral decay?

Setting the Record Straight

For the sake of truth and posterity, let me correct the public misrepresentations you’ve made regarding Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola:

1. Calling
Apostle Babalola was called by God on October 10, 1928, at the age of 24. His ministry spanned Western and Midwestern Nigeria, and extended to the Gold Coast (now Ghana), marked by undeniable signs and wonders.

2. Wealth and Lifestyle
He was blessed — but not materialistic or greedy. He gave lands to the Church, supported the education of many, fed the poor, and lived sacrificially. He housed more people than just his biological children.

When Queen Elizabeth II visited Nigeria in February 1956, Apostle Babalola was among the honored guests. Would a man in rags be granted such recognition by a colonial government? Certainly not.

He was no fundraiser, yet God supplied his needs. His diaries are filled with divine provisions like: “Ipese Olorun loni: £100.00, £50.00…”

He lived in a befitting home, drove one of the best Ford Jeeps of his time, and funded weddings, education, and apprenticeship programs — all without exploiting the pulpit.

3. Family

His children — Mama Eunice Wuraola Ogini and Apeke Adeniyi — are alive, blessed, fulfilled, and quietly serving the Lord in their respective churches. They are not loud, ostentatious, or greedy.

4. Legacy

Apostle Babalola’s anointing impacted generations. More than 66 years after his passing, his legacy continues to inspire and bless countless lives and ministries. That is true impact.

Let me pose a question to you:

When Peter said in Acts 3:6, “Silver and gold I do not have…” — was he still anointed or not?
I leave that for you to ponder.

5. Conclusion

The measure of a believer’s anointing is not in material accumulation, but in sacrificial service.

“For the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” — Romans 14:17.

Jesus taught:

“Whoever desires to be great among you, let him be your servant… just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” — Matthew 20:25–28.

Once again,
“Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” — Luke 12:15.

May God give us all the grace to rightly divide the Word of Truth, and to walk in humility, reverence, and godly wisdom.

Pastor Ade ALAWODE (Director of Publicity, Christ Apostolic Church)

Opinion

What Jonathan Need To Win 2027 Election – Northern Leader Reveals

Published

1 week ago

August 8, 2025

The Daily Voice

Prof Tukur Muhammad-Baba, Publicity Secretary of the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, has said that former President needs to do more if he will stand in for the forthcoming presidential election in 2027.

The Arewa’s spokesman said GEJ needs to sell and offer himself as an alternative, showing he’s now different from the Goodluck Jonathan we knew as a person.

Muhammad-Baba stated this on Thursday while fielding questions on Arise Television’s Morning Show programme.

The statement comes amid indications are emerging that Jonathan is ready to contest the 2027 presidential election.

The Bayelsa politician is said to be getting set to battle President Bola Tinubu for the nation’s number one job.

There has been speculation about whether Jonathan will fly the flag of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

He said: “But, you know, Goodluck Jonathan will be a candidate. But of course, he needs to do a lot more to sell himself, to offer himself as an alternative, to show that he’s now different from the Goodluck Jonathan we knew as a person. Circumstances have turned out that some of the criticisms against him were simply political and so on.

“Well, anybody could be a candidate. But I think, given the circumstances right now in the country, the difficulties people are facing the challenging the economic conditions, it will take a lot more for a politician, whether they are from the south, the north or from the moon, to convince themselves, to convince the electorate, that they are different, or that they offer a new alternative.”