GOWN TO TOWN: STRATEGIES FOR GRADUATE EMPLOYMENT

As one whose own personal transition from gown to town years ago was quick and ultimately rewarding, this topic resonates quite well with me. And this is even more so because DV , SURJUHVVHG IURP HQWU\ OHYHO ZRUNSODFH HPSOR\HH WR & 6XLWH OHDGHUVKLS , FDPH WR JDLQ more perspective into the complexities of the transition.

Let us start from what we already know. 2΀FLDOO\ 1LJHULD·V XQHPSOR\PHQW UDWH LV This data from the Bureau of Statistics translates WR DERXW P FLWL]HQV ZLWKRXW MREV :KHQ \RX add to it our underemployment rate, you get a FRPELQHG $QG ZKHQ \RX FRQVLGHU WKDW

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OHVV WKDQ \HDUV RI DJH \RX JHW D FOHDUHU SLFWXUH of the demography mostly hit by our sorry situation. We have an army of young people, skilled and unskilled, without jobs!

My duty today is to set the tone for deliberations on strategies for promoting an entrepreneurial mindset and marketplace readiness in most Nigerian undergraduates. )RUWXQDWHO\ , DGGUHVVHG WKLV LVVXH VRPHWLPH LQ ÀYH \HDUV DJR IRU SURSHU FRQWH[W DW %DEFRFN XQLYHUVLW\ ZKHUH , KDG WKH SULYLOHJH RI GHOLYHULQJ WKDW \HDU·V FRQYRFDWLRQ OHFWXUH , will draw generously from that speech because the issues that informed my address then did not magically disappear in the intervening years. They are still here with us as a country. ,QVWHDG WKH\ KDYH HYHQ ZRUVHQHG ,Q WKH QDWLRQ·V XQHPSOR\PHQW ÀJXUH ZDV ,W LV DOPRVW GRXEOH WRGD\ , KDG DOVR ZDUQHG WKHQ that Nigeria faced dire consequences if we did QRW JURZ WKH QDWLRQ·V HFRQRP\ E\ DW OHDVW SHU DQQXP RYHU WKH QH[W \HDUV :HOO ZH GLG QRW JURZ DW DQ\WKLQJ QHDU LQ DQ\ RI WKH intervening years. We did not even get close to KDOI ,Q IDFW LQ RQH RI WKH \HDUV RXU JURZWK ZDV QHJDWLYH DW %XW ZH XQGHUVWDQG LW ZDV WKH \HDU RI WKH &RYLG SDQGHPLF DQG many economies in the world struggled. But in

WKH \HDU EHIRUH WKH SDQGHPLF RXU JURZWK ZDV D PHDJUH WKH IROORZLQJ \HDU ZH JUHZ DW DQG LQ ZH JUHZ DW So we are not producing enough to absorb our humongous idle workforce. Most importantly, RXU SRSXODWLRQ KDV EHHQ JURZLQJ DW RYHU SHU annum.

, KDYH DOZD\V LQVLVWHG WKDW ZKDW GHWHUPLQHV a nation’s progress is not its mineral resources, HWKQLF RU WULEDO D΀OLDWLRQV RU JHRJUDSKLF ORFDWLRQ EXW LWV SHRSOH·V TXDOLW\ 7KH GLͿHUHQFH EHWZHHQ rich and poor nations contrasts the types of SHRSOH OLYLQJ ZLWKLQ WKHLU GLͿHUHQW JHRJUDSKLF boundaries. Nigeria has remained a struggling country because it has incrementally betrayed its responsibility to educate its youth. Nigeria is one of the lowest spenders on education on the

African continent.

Wealthy nations have better-educated people and tend to attract such people to reinforce already exceptional talent. We can debate whether Harvard is an exceptional University, but what is not in contention is that Harvard attracts outstanding students, just like Oxford and Cambridge. Gifted students are attracted to Harvard and become gifted lecturers, who in turn attract gifted students. Which University in Nigeria WRGD\ FDQ OD\ FODLP WR DWWUDFWLQJ WKH ÀQHVW RI Nigeria’s brains deliberately and consciously to build a school tradition of excellence that will attract independent funding? Most Nigerian universities, private ones inclusive, are funded in ways that cannot guarantee the excellence that the nation requires to forge ahead in an increasingly digital world, with technology proceeding at a pace Bill Gates once said was ‘faster than the speed of thought.’ The world of Tesla’s Elon Musk is certainly not the world the Nigerian educational system is preparing our youths for. We are talking of advanced robotics, $UWLÀFLDO ,QWHOOLJHQFH $, QHXURSODVWLFLW\ driverless cars, digital urban roadways, automated route-switching metro lines, and smart cities! The emerging world order is driven by intellect and creativity and no longer the dumb mining and trading of natural resources.

But what is the Nigerian university lecturer’s place in this modern thinking? Can the average lecturer comfortably interrogate the issues around innovation and creativity in today’s world so they can make D PHDQLQJIXO FRQWULEXWLRQ" , DVN EHFDXVH our objective here is to produce tertiary education graduates with an entrepreneurial mindset and marketplace readiness. But the lecturers will teach the students and prepare them for today’s world, where only the rigorous application of intellect and creativity guarantees survival and excellence.

Of course, lecturers do not employ themselves. The authorities within the institutions do. What particular elements are considered in the recruitment of lecturers? Academic excellence is a good place to start, and should always be given its pride of place, but should it end there? How about hunger for innovation, impact, and changing one’s corner of the world? Are these ignored in the course of lecturers’ recruitment?

Ultimately, our interrogation falls on the government’s desk. How does the government ensure that the teachers we hire to teach our children in tertiary institutions can inspire them and prepare them for a competitive world? How often does the government assess lecturers and recommend/sponsor them for quality training and development programmes? How much does the government commit WR DFDGHPLF UHVHDUFK" ,Q VRPH WHUWLDU\ institutions, lecturers are owed salaries for many months. How does such a teacher have the presence of mind to deliver classes that can inspire their students?

How about the various leaderships of our tertiary institutions? How have the ViceChancellors and their management team members led their schools? Do they market their schools? Do they sell research? Do they even bother competing for the very best students?

Excerpts from Dr. Otti’s (OFR) speech at the Inaugural Gown-To-Town Symposium Organised by the Abuja Chapter of the University of Port Harcourt Alumni Association