Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu, NUC Executive Secretary
Nigerian academics and policymakers say universities must urgently rethink how they prepare young people for work, warning that the country cannot continue producing graduates who leave school only to join long queues of job seekers.
This was the central message at a roundtable on entrepreneurship and innovation in higher education, convened in Abuja by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and EyeCity Africa. The meeting drew representatives of TETFund, the British Council, UNDP, WIPO and several universities.
For many participants, the issue is no longer abstract. With nearly 700,000 graduates produced every year and far fewer formal jobs emerging, they said thousands now leave campus already facing hardship. Several speakers described students who finish degrees with strong grades yet return home to parents who cannot support them, forcing many into unstable gigs or low-paid work unrelated to their training.
NUC Executive Secretary, Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu—represented by Lawal Mohammed Faruk—said the current model “simply cannot carry the weight of a 21st-century economy”. He noted that despite numerous curriculum reforms, universities still struggle to commercialise research or build the industry linkages that could turn student ideas into real enterprises.
A preliminary survey by EyeCity Africa found that many institutions still teach entrepreneurship as theory rather than practice, with outdated methods, weak intellectual property structures and limited innovation funding.
Stakeholders called for entrepreneurship to become a core pillar of higher education, beginning in the first year, and recommended Technology Transfer Offices, stronger innovation hubs, alumni-led mentorship, and blended learning delivered jointly by industry and academia. They also urged regulators to link accreditation to measurable outputs such as innovations produced and jobs created.
A working group has been set up to drive implementation, with members drawn from key education agencies, universities and private-sector partners.
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