Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, has urged universities and industry leaders to strengthen collaboration in order to better prepare graduates for the demands of the global digital economy.
He made the call during the 2026 graduation ceremony of the American University of Nigeria, where he said recent debates on Nigeria’s skills gap should serve as a wake-up call for the country’s higher education system.
The remarks came in the wake of comments by Moniepoint CEO Tosin Eniolorunda, who said Nigerian firms are struggling to find enough globally competitive talent to fill specialised roles.
While Shettima acknowledged concerns about skills development, he said the issue should not be reduced to a lack of talent, noting that many professionals are responding to global market realities.
“The talent is not absent. In many ways, it’s just responding to rational market signals,” he said, adding that factors such as compensation structures and currency pressures influence workforce mobility.
The Vice President called for stronger partnerships between universities, fintech companies, and other industries to build “structured and sustained pipelines” that align academic training with labour market needs.
He also emphasised that government alone cannot bridge the gap, urging private sector involvement in developing skills for emerging industries.
According to him, ongoing reforms under President Bola Tinubu’s administration are focused on improving institutional accountability, expanding access to education, and integrating digital and artificial intelligence learning into Nigeria’s education system.
Shettima further encouraged graduates to focus on solving national challenges across sectors such as technology, agriculture, healthcare, and public service.
He also commended the American University of Nigeria for graduating 12 Chibok schoolgirls, describing it as a powerful example of education-driven rehabilitation and national recovery.
