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The Federal Government has been urged to shift its employment and education policies towards practical skills rather than paper qualifications in order to strengthen workforce readiness and accelerate national development.
Prof. Christian Ezeibe, Dean of Student Affairs at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), made the call while delivering the Convocation Lecture at Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja, on Friday.
He warned that Nigeria’s aspirations for industrial growth and economic transformation would remain elusive unless the country reoriented its approach to education and employment.
According to him, many developed economies place greater value on demonstrable skills than academic certificates — a model Nigeria must adopt to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving global economy.
“A certificate is a licence to learn, but a skill is the capacity to do, to create and to solve problems,” Ezeibe said.
He noted that the global economy is increasingly shaped by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, driven by robotics, artificial intelligence, information and communication technology, and biotechnology.
“Governments and institutions should reward demonstrable skills and not just attested knowledge,” he added.
Ezeibe further urged authorities at all levels to declare what he described as a “national skills emergency” to tackle persistent underdevelopment and widespread poverty.
“I hereby urge governments at all levels to declare a national skills emergency as a strategic response to Nigeria’s persistent underdevelopment and widespread poverty,” he said.
