Why Nigerian Youth Must Pivot Towards Digital Competencies in a Global Knowledge Economy -By Abbas Haruna Idris

Nigeria now stands at a historic crossroads. One path leads to the tired routines of the past, where young graduates cling to ministries and government agencies in the hope of receiving appointment letters that rarely come. The other path leads to a bold embrace of the digital economy, where competence, creativity and globally relevant soft skills matter far more than favour or family connections.

The uncomfortable truth is that far too many Nigerian youths are still queuing on the wrong side of history. While countries such as Bangladesh, India and even Kenya are systematically turning their young citizens into global digital workers, many Nigerian graduates are still waiting for someone in Abuja to “fix” them into a government job. We must confront this cultural mindset before it swallows another generation.

To understand the depth of the problem, we have to appreciate how deep the love for government jobs has been ingrained in the national psyche. For decades, the Nigerian state was seen as the ultimate dispenser of opportunity. In the oil boom years of the 1970s and 1980s, it was common for graduates to receive letters of employment even before completing their final year.

 The government was the richest employer, the best payer and the most secure provider of long-term income. Parents naturally advised their children to work hard in school so they might “get a good job in government.” The advice made perfect sense at the time. But the world has changed. The Nigerian economy has diversified in ways that place value on private-sector agility and global connectivity. Yet the mindset of many young Nigerians appears stuck in 1982.

When you study the life stories of the most successful entrepreneurs and billionaires, both in Nigeria and abroad, one common fact stands out: they did not wait for government jobs. Aliko Dangote did not build his empire by becoming a civil servant. Abdulsamad Rabiu did not join a local government service commission. Femi Otedola did not sit in a state secretariat filling forms. Tony Elumelu built one of the biggest African banking and investment institutions by understanding finance, networks and risk.

 In the global arena, Elon Musk started coding at a very young age. He sold a computer game he created before he was eighteen. Mark Zuckerberg built Facebook while still in university. Jeff Bezos resigned from a lucrative investment job to start Amazon in a small garage. In all these examples, there is absolutely nothing about waiting to “secure a government job.” The pattern is clear: they developed problem-solving skills, digital capability, critical thinking and entrepreneurial courage.

One of the most dramatic examples of how countries can transform their economies with the right focus is Bangladesh. In the year 2000, Bangladesh was still known for natural disasters, floods and extreme poverty. Today, thanks to a deliberate investment in ICT training and digital empowerment, Bangladesh is home to one of the largest online freelance workforces in the world. Their youth are offering services in graphic design, software development, online tutoring, virtual assistance, medical transcription, data entry and many other areas.

They are earning respectable foreign exchange without leaving their homes. This was not a miracle. It was the result of shifting focus from public employment to private empowerment. The government created training centres, subsidised internet access in remote areas and partnered with global platforms to equip their young people with exportable digital competencies. Once the youth understood that they could earn more from remote gigs than from local government clerical roles, their mindset changed. The rest is history.

Nigeria has even more potential. With over two hundred million people, a median age of 18 years and growing internet penetration, the country could easily produce the largest pool of digital workers in Africa. The global demand for data scientists, front-end developers, project managers, virtual assistants, UX researchers and business analysts is constantly expanding.

 A quick search on freelance platforms such as Upwork, Freelancer, Fiver and Guru reveals thousands of open roles every single day. These roles do not require political godfathers. They require competence and diligence. The problem is that many Nigerian youths do not even know those opportunities exist. They spend more time crafting CVs for ministries that do not have vacancies than they spend learning Python, digital marketing or project coordination.

There is also an unhealthy sense of entitlement that must be addressed. Some young people actually believe that because they went to university and obtained a degree, the government “owes” them a job. That thinking belongs to the era of the old civil service. In a twenty-first century economy, degrees are simply door-openers. What keeps you inside the room is your ability to add value. Certificates have never generated income on their own. Skill and value creation do. That is why those who learn practical competencies always find space in the market, even when overall unemployment is high.

Another major factor is the persistent undervaluation of soft skills in Nigeria. When we talk about digital jobs, most young people assume you must become a hardcore coder or software engineer. That is a myth. The digital economy is very broad. It includes content writing, digital marketing, customer service, project management, social media strategy, product design, communication strategy, data entry, online sales, and several other soft-skill-based roles.

The key is that these skills can be deployed remotely, and they are in high demand across the globe. A young person who learns how to write compelling social media copy, for instance, can offer that service to clients in South Africa, Canada or Japan. The problem is that our educational system barely teaches these competencies. So the youth must take personal responsibility to acquire them through short courses and self-learning.

It is time for Nigerian youth to recognise that digital skills are the new oil. They can be refined into value and exported endlessly without physical depletion. Unlike oil, they are owned by individuals and cannot be stolen by corrupt officials. The earlier we understand this, the sooner we can reverse the narrative of mass unemployment.

Imagine if ten million Nigerian youth mastered at least one digital skill in the next five years. Imagine if even one million of them were earning three hundred dollars every month from freelance platforms. That would amount to over three hundred million dollars in monthly inflows directly into the hands of young people. That is equivalent to over ₦450 billion each month. No government employment scheme can deliver that kind of impact.

Of course, it would be naive to completely absolve government of responsibility. Government must play a strategic enabling role. It must invest in internet infrastructure so that small towns and villages can have stable access. It must create national digital training hubs where youth can gain practical exposure. It must reform its regulatory environment to encourage innovation rather than punish it.

For example, arbitrary taxes on small digital businesses or complicated CAC registration processes discourage many young entrepreneurs. If Bangladesh could streamline its policy landscape to attract foreign digital partnerships, Nigeria can do the same. However, the most important work still rests with the youth themselves. Government can open the door. Only the youth can walk through it.

There must also be a cultural shift in the way young people use social media. Instead of spending hours scrolling through gossip blogs, frivolous content and celebrity fights, they could be using those same platforms to learn design, marketing or product management.

YouTube has thousands of structured tutorials that cost nothing but time and focus. LinkedIn is filled with global professionals who share tips, free training sessions and mentorship opportunities. The same mobile phone that delivers viral videos can also deliver life-changing skills if used wisely. Digital empowerment is not a question of gadget availability. It is a question of mindset.

Parents also have a role to play. For too long, Nigerian parents have pressured their children to “look for government work” because they associate it with stability and prestige. While that advice was useful thirty years ago, it is now dangerously outdated. Parents need to encourage their children to acquire relevant digital competencies and get involved in the new economy.

A child who learns data analytics or UI/UX design today has a higher chance of global employment than a child who sits outside a ministry building hoping for attention. The world is no longer run by those who wait. It is run by those who learn, adapt and innovate.

At the same time, successful Nigerian entrepreneurs must deliberately mentor and support young people who are willing to make the shift. There is a growing pool of successful founders in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt who understand the digital market. They should open more internship spaces, sponsor talent accelerator programmes and create pathways for young people to build globally relevant skills. The private sector cannot complain about lack of skilled labour while ignoring its own role in talent development.

Finally, the youth themselves must embrace patience and persistence. Digital skills are powerful, but they take time to master. Coding is not a magic trick. Product design requires practice. Even virtual assistance demands discipline and attention to detail. One cannot simply watch a three-hour tutorial and expect to earn dollars the next day. The global market is competitive.

Nigerian youth must be ready to put in the effort required to be globally competitive. The results will come in due time. If Elon Musk could start coding at a very young age and keep learning for decades before becoming the world’s richest person, Nigerian youth should not be discouraged by a few months of learning or a few rejections.

In conclusion, Nigeria cannot continue to place its future in the hands of outdated employment structures. The world has moved to a knowledge-driven economy, and only those who master relevant competencies will thrive. Our youth must stop chasing the illusion of government job security and start building their own marketable value. Digital and soft skills have become the currency of the modern world. They allow a young person in Yola to earn from a company in Toronto. They allow someone in Ilorin to teach a class in Singapore. They allow a graduate in Enugu to manage design projects for a start-up in Berlin. This is not fantasy. It is already happening.

The only question is whether the average Nigerian youth will join that global movement or remain trapped in the long queue of government job seekers. The answer should be obvious. The future does not belong to those who wait. It belongs to those who build.

Abbas Haruna Idris is a Nigerian writer and public affairs commentator whose work critically examines the intersection of digital economies, and governance across Africa. Writing from Kwarbai, Zaria, he draws on both local realities and global trends to challenge conventional thinking and promote practical solutions to Nigeria’s development questions. He can be reached via Abbasharun2020@gmail.com