Nigeria Must Turn Graduate Certificate Into Opportunities, Not Burdens -By Fatima Zarah Ahmad

A graduate spending years searching for a job despite having the required qualifications. Young people roaming the streets with certificates in their hands but no meaningful employment opportunities. Workers holding full-time jobs and still struggling to afford basic necessities. Unreliable electricity forcing households and businesses to seek costly alternatives. Young Nigerians increasingly believing that they must leave the country to secure a decent future. And, perhaps most painfully, citizens gradually losing hope that things can actually get better.

These realities should concern every Nigerian, particularly policymakers and government at all levels.

The growing number of unemployed and underemployed graduates is becoming alarming. Every year, thousands of young Nigerians leave universities, polytechnics and other tertiary institutions with certificates, skills and ambitions, only to spend years searching for employment. Many eventually accept jobs unrelated to their qualifications, while others resort to petty businesses or remain dependent on their families.

The question we must ask is: What happens to the young Nigerian who spends years studying with the hope that education will provide a pathway to a better life, only to graduate into uncertainty and unemployment?

There is no doubt that the present administration has introduced policies and initiatives aimed at improving the Nigerian economy and creating opportunities for citizens. Nigeria is a country with enormous human and natural resources, and with the right policies, the nation can certainly achieve greater heights. However, economic progress must also be measured by the opportunities available to ordinary citizens, especially young graduates.

One issue that continues to occupy my mind is the fate of National Youth Service Corps members.

Every year, young Nigerians are deployed across the country under the National Youth Service Corps scheme. They serve in schools, hospitals, government institutions, private organisations and communities. They contribute their knowledge, skills and energy to national development, often working in places far away from their homes.

But after completing their service year, many return to the streets to begin another difficult journey of searching for employment.
This raises an important question: Why can’t the NYSC scheme become a stronger pathway from national service to sustainable employment?

Government should consider developing a structured employment framework through which deserving corps members can be retained by their places of primary assignment or connected directly to available employment opportunities after their service year. Where a corps member demonstrates competence, commitment and possesses the required qualifications, there should be mechanisms that encourage the organisation or institution where he or she served to retain that individual, subject to available vacancies and applicable recruitment procedures.

Such a system would not mean automatically employing every corps member. Rather, it would create a transparent pathway through which good performance during national service can translate into employment opportunities.

The private sector should also be encouraged to participate. Organisations that retain and employ outstanding corps members could receive appropriate incentives, while government agencies should strengthen partnerships with businesses to create graduate employment programmes.

Beyond employment, government must also invest seriously in entrepreneurship, vocational training, industrialisation and small businesses. Not every graduate will secure a conventional office job, and that is why young people should be equipped with practical skills and access to affordable financing to create businesses and employ others.

Nigeria cannot afford to allow its educated young population to become frustrated and economically inactive.

We must also think about those who are yet to graduate. What kind of future are we asking them to prepare for? How can we encourage students to study hard and acquire qualifications if society cannot provide reasonable opportunities for them to apply their knowledge after graduation?

A certificate should not be viewed as an automatic guarantee of employment, but neither should it become a symbol of frustration. Education should open doors, develop skills and increase a person’s ability to contribute meaningfully to society.

The government therefore needs to make graduate employment a serious national priority. This requires accurate data on unemployed graduates, stronger collaboration between educational institutions and industries, expansion of technical and vocational education, support for entrepreneurship, and deliberate policies that encourage businesses to employ young Nigerians.

Nigeria’s greatest asset is not only its oil, gas or other natural resources. Its greatest strength lies in its people, particularly its young population.

We must not allow talented graduates to spend their most productive years waiting endlessly for opportunities. We must create an environment where a young Nigerian can graduate, serve the nation, acquire relevant experience and realistically hope to build a stable future at home.

This is not merely a demand for jobs. It is a call to action.
A call to make our graduates useful.
A call to make their skills count.
A call to make their certificates meaningful.

And, most importantly, a call to build a Nigeria where young people can look into the future with confidence rather than desperation.

Nigeria must wake up, look back at the challenges facing its graduates, and make them a priority. Our young people deserve the opportunity to contribute, succeed and make their families and country proud.