By Correspondent in Ota.
A Professor of Public Administration, Prof. Tunji Olaopa, has called on the Federal Government to harness Nigeria’s youthful population and increase investment in education to drive national growth and sustainable development.
Olaopa made the call while delivering the 17th Convocation Lecture and Book Launch of Bells University of Technology, Ota, Ogun State, on Friday.
Our correspondent reports that the lecture, titled “Re-Orientation of Nigerian Youths for National Development: Addressing Skills Mismatch and Unemployment,” focused on the urgent need to align the country’s educational system with the demands of the modern economy.
According to him, about 70 per cent of Nigeria’s total population, roughly 95 million people, are youths, making the country one of the most youth-populated nations globally and the largest in Africa.
“Funding is a key and fundamental issue in addressing infrastructural deficits and transforming higher education into a force for development planning.
“Inadequate infrastructure, unreliable electricity, poor digital facilities, and limited broadband access continue to undermine human capital development and hinder the full utilisation of the youth population,”he said.
He also stressed the need for continuous re-training of teachers to improve knowledge delivery and ensure that graduates are equipped with practical skills relevant to national development.
Highlighting the problem of skills mismatch, Olaopa noted that Nigeria’s educational curricula are often too theoretical, producing graduates who lack the hands-on abilities demanded by the economy.
He also cited the field-of-study mismatch, where many graduates are trained in areas unrelated to the country’s economic needs.
The professor, therefore, urged universities to focus more on digital, vocational, and technical training to prepare youths for the future workforce.
Olaopa further called on both federal and state governments to create policy incentives that would encourage industries to actively collaborate with academic institutions in addressing unemployment and skills gaps.
Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of Bells University of Technology, Prof. Jeremiah Ojediran, said the convocation lecture served as a platform for distinguished individuals to share insights that could inspire positive change and influence government policies toward national development.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
