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In recent years Nigeria has graduated a record number of “first-class” honors students. Seven major universities alone produced 1,899 first-class degrees in one convocation year.
This surge follows a 2014–15 boom in JAMB exam-takers (over 1.6 million candidates in 2014) and a long tail of grade inflation.
Yet top grades have not translated into jobs. Educators warn that flooding the labor market with high-grade degrees risks credential devaluation and skills mismatches. Indeed, even a physics graduate who scored a 4.91 CGPA (nearly perfect) at UNIBEN recently hit social media after quitting academia to become a tailor – a symbol of this disconnect. “Education no really matter in Nigeria… anybody can joke with your certificate,” one commenter remarked during a recent online debate. This was fueled by the of Adekunle Gold on X (formerly Twitter), where he asked first class graduates to post their transcripts for a #250,000 ($170), which garnered over 15million views.
Federal support for further study overseas abruptly ended. In mid-2025 the Education Minister announced cancellation of Nigeria’s decades-old Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) scholarships. Under BEA, students studied in China, Russia, Egypt, etc., but the government now says the program was an unsustainable drain. A report stated that the ministry cited “waste of resources” and fiscal strain. In practice this means no new foreign slots will be funded, even as thousands of current BEA scholars await stipends. Critics argue this rollback, not merely a budget cut but a signal of waning ambition, will discourage talented youth. Notably, Nigeria spent only ₦8.6 billion (about \$10 million) on all international scholarships in 2023, less than 0.1% of the education budget, yet cancelling it sends a stark message. It is warned that slashing global exchange opportunities saps Nigeria’s “soft power” and dims its future. Are we not retreating from global engagement, instead of strengthening it.
In theory dozens of federal research and cultural agencies should absorb and cultivate talent from the;
Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute (NSPRI): Tasked with preventing post-harvest losses—a critical issue for food security. It should be a beehive of biochemists, agricultural engineers, and food scientists.
Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC): Meant to drive industrialization by finding local substitutes for imported raw materials. A haven for geologists, material scientists, and industrial chemists.
National Orientation Agency (NOA): The state’s public communications arm, which ought to absorb top graduates in mass communication, sociology, and political science.
In practice, these outfits often seem starved of results. Budget documents show ample allocations, but insiders describe many staff as absent or driven by kickbacks. It is noted year-after-year budgets are quietly “eaten” by ghost workers, with little training output. Paradoxically, music graduates aim for even the most tangential jobs (like bank trainee schemes), while science and arts graduates wait fruitlessly for agency openings. Some activists call for radical reform: either professionalize these institutes with real R\&D mandates, or shut them down to stop hemorrhaging funds. (Currently no university alumni program or NGO fills the gap, public talent stays idle.)
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With few jobs at home, talented youths increasingly “pivot” to any available work or emigration. A recent survey by LEAP Africa found 71% of young Nigerians plan to relocate abroad, and 85% would leave if given the chance. This “Japa” syndrome is fuelled by stories of classmates becoming online traders, consultants, or tailors instead of scientists or engineers. Those who do leave often find fulfillment and gratitude overseas. For example, Nigerian doctors and pharmacists in the UK report far higher job satisfaction and the chance to do cutting-edge work. In converse, homegrown graduates feel bitterly unfulfilled: “I studied civil engineering but now I build websites,” one first-class graduate recently told a journalist. Educators and tech leaders alike say Africa’s youthful population can become tomorrow’s global workforce, but only if jobs here match the talent. Otherwise, they warn, graduates will continue to chase any “easy skill” abroad or in the informal economy, and Nigeria simply loses its future leaders.
Nigeria’s chronic shortage of health professionals exemplifies these education failures. In 2024 the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) had to double university medical school quotas to ease a doctor famine. Only about 3,000 new doctors graduate each year, grossly inadequate for a country of 220+ million. Official figures show over 5,000 Nigerian doctors emigrated in just five years, leaving barely 9,000 practicing at home when Nigeria needs hundreds of thousands. Dentistry has likewise lurched from crisis to rescue. Recently, a donation of dental chairs and influential campaign to schools to save over 300 students from expulsion by a politician and former presidential candidate illustrates the vacuum: until government prioritizes health-education funding, bright candidates (doctors, dentists, nurses) will either emigrate or have their training hobbled by quotas.
Nigerian universities have vast, engaged alumni communities both at home and abroad, from the tech founders in Silicon Valley to professors in European labs. Yet alumni associations remain underutilized. In many schools alumni rarely pool resources or mentorship for new graduates. Where they do, the impact is striking: some universities abroad report their alumni funding scholarships or incubators, but in Nigeria it is ad hoc. Their new mandate should be to:
Create Structured Mentorship Programmes: Connect graduating students with established professionals in their fields.
Establish Venture Capital Funds: Invest directly in the start-ups of promising graduates, turning their final-year projects into viable businesses.
Forge Industry Partnerships: Act as a bridge between the university’s research output and the needs of the private sector.
Their impact must be felt not once a year, but every single day on campus, a constant source of inspiration, guidance, and tangible support.
Without reform, Nigeria’s vaunted youth potential risks remaining unfulfilled. Its international standing in education is already weak: Nigeria ranks 128th of 138 countries in global knowledge infrastructure, and not a single Nigerian university made the top 1,000 worldwide. Brain drain and unemployment not only cripple growth, they shape how the world sees Nigeria: as a country of unrealized talent. Nigeria must invest in its people: reinforce science & tech programs, fund scholarships (local and abroad), enforce standards in universities, and activate alumni. Only by doing so can this generation of “first-class” graduates translate their achievements into leadership, innovation and prosperity – at home and on the world stage.
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