Former Minister of Defence and ex-Attorney General of the Federation, Prince Adetokunbo Kayode (SAN), has warned that Nigeria is heading toward an economic and social crisis unless the government, educational institutions, and young people urgently overhaul the nation’s approach to skills development.
Delivering the 36th Convocation Lecture of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Kayode said Nigeria’s youth unemployment rate—now at 53.4 percent—is “unacceptable, unsustainable and the direct consequence of a dangerous skills mismatch.”
Kayode told the 2,727 graduating students that the future of work is changing too quickly for Nigeria’s traditional education model to keep up. He described the country’s skills gap as “an existential threat that government can no longer afford to treat casually.”
Although the Federal Government has introduced policies such as the National Policy on Skills Development and the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF), the former minister said young people remain largely unaware because “the federal government is guilty of the cardinal sin of lighting a lamp and putting it under a table.”
He added: “All laudable efforts of government are shrouded in unnecessary red tape and bureaucratic inefficiencies.”
Kayode was particularly critical of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), saying the 54-year-old institution cannot deliver the scale of technical training required to power modern economic growth.
“A sole agency to drive skills development in Nigeria is simply otiose. It never worked in the past. It is not working now. It will never work,” he said.
He called for the establishment of a National Skills Development Fund, drawing contributions from ITF, NASENI, TETFUND, and PTDF to finance massive vocational and technical skills training across the 774 local government areas. He also recommended a nationwide Skills Infrastructure Audit to identify functional and non-functional training facilities.
The former minister argued that Nigeria must urgently restructure its curriculum from primary to tertiary levels and adopt a unified direction for skills training.
“This confusion must end. This is an existential matter which must, as a matter of utmost urgency, be resolved today,” he warned.
Kayode challenged Nigerian universities to come out of their “old shells” and embrace the Triple Helix model that drives innovation through collaboration between academia, industry, and government.
“Research that does not ultimately transform into innovation is not worth the effort,” he said, urging FUTA and other institutions to commercialise research, build technology incubators, reform SIWES, and ensure lecturers take industrial placements to remain up-to-date.
“What is wrong with a professor of engineering taking a job for a year at the Dangote refinery to acquire hands-on experience? Would that improve the quality of teaching? Absolutely!”
He warned that without closer ties with industry, universities will continue to produce graduates who struggle to fit into the labour market.
Using global examples, Kayode said Nigeria must learn from China’s bold 2010 decision to convert half of its universities into applied technical institutions.
“I want to see that type of drastic but positive decision to resolve these challenges,” he added.
Turning to the youth, Kayode urged graduates not to depend solely on their degrees but to commit to lifelong learning, digital literacy, and entrepreneurship.
“Your university certificate will not reduce unemployment. It never has, anywhere in the world,” he said
He told the graduands to acquire at least one skill immediately, emphasising that the modern labour market rewards competence more than credentials.
“Do not wait for institutions to provide everything. Many times, if you have the requisite skill, very few employers will bother to ask for your certificate,” he said.
He concluded with a call to action, reminding the young graduates that they will shape Nigeria’s future:
“Your destiny is inevitable. You cannot dodge it. In 10 to 15 years, many of you will be in top positions in industry and governance. Do you want to be a driver or a passenger? You decide today.”
Kayode told the graduates that Nigeria is depending on them:
“We must resolve the skills challenge. You must succeed. Your country depends on you.”
