Is a university certificate or any certificate from a higher institution in Nigeria still relevant? ELEOJO IDACHABA asks this question in the light of recent happenings in the education sector.
Call it sheer apathy, it might not be entirely wrong because gone are the days when everyone saw education as a ladder through which one can climb up to achieving greatness in life. Then, it was a thing of pride for any family to produce a graduate. In fact, in the South-east part of Nigeria, it remained for the names of the first family to have produced a graduate to be acknowledged in the Guinness Book of World Record. That time, a whole community would contribute money just to sponsor an individual through college and subsequently university or any higher level of education. It was, therefore, common to see how much the community would roll out the drums in celebration of the feat upon graduation. Not long thereafter, they are equally proud to announce that they had a son in the federal civil service, working in major multinational corporations or key players in organised private sectors.
In those days, a lucrative job awaited anyone who graduated from a college or university, usually accompanied with a decent accommodation. It was, therefore, not a difficult task for such an individual to secure the hand of the most beautiful maiden in town as a wife.
What is commonly known today as hustling was a rarity then as opportunities abounded. Such was the pride that went with western education in those days until the fortunes of this all-important aspect of human existence began to diminish in the country as from the late 70s till date.
This little narrative about the South-east is the same in almost every other part of the country with the exception of the northern region owing to its religious and cultural setting.
Today, the reverse is the case. What one can refer to as western education has become an albatross for many, not with the high level of unemployment after spending a tortuous number of years in higher institutions to acquire a degree or its equivalent.
What triggered this narrative?
It’s not a surprise when a fortnight ago, a graduate of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) in Ogbomoso, Oyo state, Oludare Alaba, stormed his alma mater to return his certificate and asked for a refund of all the fees he paid to the institution up till his graduation.
According to him, the certificate he acquired from the university could not get him a job many years after he left that institution. Although married with kids, he said cannot feed them or cater for his aged father whom he said laboured to sponsor him through the university many years back.
He, however, said having found a vocation in the entertainment industry, he needed the refund of the fees in order to bankroll his new found love in that industry.
Despite being a graduate, he said he could not live a comfortable life as he is currently tempted to look at the way of money rituals. He may be lucky to have caused a stir on social media as donations and emotions have continued to pour in for him in cash and kind, especially from old students of that institution.
Oludare not an exception
Oludare is certainly not the only university graduate in the country that has found it difficult to secure a job. Statistics have shown that millions abound as universities, polytechnics and NCE/degree awarding colleges of education turn out graduates yearly with little or no employment opportunities waiting for them.
According to Paul Sani, a 1996 Second Class Upper graduate of Economics from Bayero University Kano, unemployment is his second name.
He said, “Oludare is lucky and smart to have taken that step which has led to the attention he has received. For someone like me, my university certificate has never earned me a dime since 1996. But for my younger brother and a few people, I would have probably died or relocated to my village by now, but if I do that, I don’t have the stamina to engage in farming. For years, I have been working as a security guard, a job I got using my WAEC certificate.
“I tried to get a job in Lagos where I was living initially, but could not find one one. On relocating to Abuja, it became worse. In order not to stay at home, I have been doing this security job. To make matters worse, age is no longer friendly, so I have stopped applying for any job because all the places I have applied to work, they don’t even invite me for an interview because they said I’m over-aged. Whoever wants my certificate can come and take it. It’s not useful to me.”
In many instances, my investigations showed that only five per cent of graduates out of the 100 per cent that are churned out yearly eventually gain employment, and that, in many cases, is through ‘god father or long leg’ phenomenon.
Under-employment
A good number of others are either unemployed or at best under-employed as casuals and freelancers in many organisations. In other cases, even the casuals are under-paid or hardly paid.
For instance, 49-year-old Mr. Noble Ebelebe who said he holds a Higher National Diploma (HND) certificate from Federal Polytechnic Nekede in Imo state said he had sought a permanent job for years without success, having worked as a casual staff in two mortgage banks as well as a federal government institution in Owerri before he relocated to Abuja.
Ebelebe who currently operates a tricycle from Karmo to Life Camp in Abuja said, “This is the only thing my Business Administration certificate has been able to offer me. I have three children now in secondary school. The first among them is learning a trade while the only girl among them says she wants to be a nurse. “Only my 16 year-old son currently in SSS3 is the one that still has confidence in western education. I have allowed them to ply their route because that is what they want, after all, anything you can do legitimately to give you money and feed yourself is alright. It is no longer wise to wait for any white collar job in Nigeria again.”
Certification without money
“What is education without money?” Victor Ojiego, a trader in Abuja, asked.
Ojiego who barely passed his West African School Certificate is currently married to a university-trained pharmacist. While chatting with this reporter, he said, “Education is good, but money is better. In Nigeria today, you can get anything you want when you have the money. Of what value is a certificate that cannot fetch me anything? In Igbo land, we don’t worship money, but we cherish money and that is why money respects us. Even those with PhD or whatever they call it, know that without money, their certificate is useless; that is why it seems that we run after money more than other people.”
Overseas certificates
A school of thought has it that certificates obtained locally do not attract lucrative jobs unlike those from foreign universities. This is against the backdrop of attraction to overseas universities. According to a 2016 survey carried out by NOI Polls, foreign certificates were valued more in Nigeria compared to certificates from Nigeria and were rated on strong indices such as academic performance, job excellence and societal contributions.
The poll noted that, “This may be influenced by the perceived discrepancies experienced by applicants during job interviews as most organisations seem to favour foreign degrees more than locally-acquired ones.”
Let’s assume that the above scenario is true, the experience of Loveth Orji leaves one wondering because long after her Post Graduate programme from the UK in 2012, she is yet to secure a job. “After my HND certificate in 2002, I left Nigeria for the UK in order to do a Masters programme in 2008. This was after I had worked briefly in Abuja. On returning in 2012, I have been looking for a job without success even with my Masters certificate. I’m presently running a private business in my home town of Ogidi in Anambra state. Occasionally, I enter Abuja with the hope of getting a job, but till date, I can’t secure any,” he said.
Alternative to western education
While speaking on whether there is any alternative to western-styled education and its certificate or not, an educationist, Dr. Abraham Adesanya, said as far as modern evolution is concerned, there is no alternative to the western education currently in use in Nigeria.
He said, “There is a false premise held by many about what education is all about. For one, being educated with a certificate does not necessarily translate into what is commonly known as being financially independent. To be candid with you, no job secured through a certificate whereby one is being paid monthly in Nigeria can guarantee financial freedom, but an educated person even without a certificate has a liberated mind to operate in any system.
“An educated person with or without a certificate is like a phenomenon waiting for opportunities any time. There are certain things your certificate can do for you, for instance, it can serve as collateral in some cases. It leads to promotion in work places.
“My advice is that no one should think that when you acquire a certificate, automatically a job awaits you, no! The certification can enable you to create a job rather than be a job seeker. Any university graduate looking for a job and sitting idle in this economy of ours two years after graduation is like those who merely passed through the school, but the school did not pass through them.
“If the certificate you obtained from the university based on your course of study fails to meet your yearning for a job, think of something else outside your area of study; at least, that is the advantage education offers you. You can blend anywhere except in a few specialised areas.”
For Oludare and Sani, maybe they have not put on their thinking caps in order to know what their education means to them.
