The Chairman of United Nigeria Airlines Prof. Obiora Okonkwo has urged Nigerian universities to overhaul the education system to produce job creators innovators and problem-solvers rather than job seekers.
Okonkwo said that Nigeria’s quest for sustainable economic growth would remain elusive unless the universities and other institutions equipped students with practical skills technical competence and entrepreneurial abilities required to address the country’s developmental challenges
He made the call while delivering the 14th convocation lecture of Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti Ekiti State on Tuesday titled ‘Functional Education and the Nigerian Project: Strategic Human Capital Development for National Renewal.’
The airline boss maintained that the country needed to move away from an education model that emphasised certificates more than what graduates could do with the knowledge they acquired in school.
He noted that education’s value should be measured by graduates’ ability to solve real-life problems develop useful technologies improve productivity and contribute meaningfully to national development.
He challenged universities and regulatory agencies including the National Universities Commission to move beyond enforcing minimum curriculum requirements and develop measurable standards to assess graduates’ practical competence.
Such standards he said should determine whether students could design build create produce and develop solutions to societal problems.
Okonkwo also called for stronger collaboration among universities industries and government arguing that educational institutions could not adequately prepare students for the realities of the labour market without understanding the skills and expertise employers needed.
The airline boss advocated greater industry participation in curriculum development internships apprenticeships research and practical training.
He maintained that technical and vocational education should no longer be treated as inferior to conventional university education stressing that both pathways were necessary to develop the skilled workforce needed to drive industrialisation entrepreneurship and economic diversification.
He further urged universities to prepare students for emerging opportunities in artificial intelligence robotics biotechnology cybersecurity renewable energy and advanced manufacturing.
He said investments in laboratories workshops research facilities and digital infrastructure were essential to making Nigerian institutions competitive in a rapidly changing global economy.
He said that beyond technical competence functional education must instil integrity discipline and ethical leadership in students noting that the country needed not only skilled professionals but also responsible citizens capable of deploying their knowledge for the common good.
Okonkwo urged graduates to see their certificates as a starting point rather than the ultimate evidence of learning saying ‘Let the evidence of your education be found in what you do with the knowledge and opportunities you have received.’
He commended ABUAD founder Afe Babalola SAN for his vision and commitment to transforming Nigeria’s education sector through quality functional education.
He also lauded the university’s efforts to bridge the gap between academic learning and society’s practical demands describing its mission as relevant to Nigeria’s quest for national renewal.
Okonkwo noted that ABUAD’s emphasis on functional education offered an important example of how universities could prepare graduates to create opportunities solve societal problems and contribute to economic growth.
In his remarks ABUAD Founder applauded Okonkwo for the insightful lecture noting that the issues raised underscored the urgent need to reposition Nigeria’s education system to meet the country’s developmental needs.
Corroborating Okonkwo’s position Babalola expressed concern that many graduates completed their studies without acquiring the practical skills required to secure employment establish businesses or contribute meaningfully to society.
Babalola called for an urgent review of university curricula to ensure academic programmes align with labour market realities and the skills needed to drive national development.
He called for collaboration among the government universities and other stakeholders to address the shortcomings in the education system stressing the need for reforms that would make graduates more productive and self-reliant.