With graduate unemployment still a pressing concern across Nigeria, Sokoto State is intensifying efforts to make entrepreneurship a central part of higher education.
At the Shehu Shagari College of Education on Thursday, academics, policymakers, and students gathered to debate how entrepreneurship can reduce joblessness and foster self-reliance. The 9th Annual Economics Lecture, organised by the National Association of Economics Students, focused on the theme “Entrepreneurship for Self-Reliance and Job Creation: Lessons for College Graduates.”
Sokoto’s Commissioner for Higher Education, Prof. Isa Muhammad Maishanu, said the initiative fits into Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto’s “9 Smart Point Agenda,” which prioritises youth empowerment. He described the college’s newly established Centre for Entrepreneurship as a step towards producing graduates who would become “job creators rather than job seekers.”
The Provost, Dr Umar Tambari Yabo, said the institution is deliberately blending academic and technical skills to prepare its students for a more challenging labour market.
Keynote presentations by UNICEF’s Francis Elishan and Prof. Mustapha Namakka Tukur of the Sokoto State Female Education Board emphasised the importance of innovation, skills training, and practical learning for graduate employability.
The event also showcased student-led entrepreneurial projects, underscoring how institutions are beginning to reframe higher education around business creation rather than paper qualifications.
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