The Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Professor Adenike Oladiji, has emphasised the need to work towards creating jobs for teeming unemployed youths.
She made this statement during a colloquium held in Akure, themed “Fostering Collaborations and Innovation among Tertiary Institutions for Sustainable Development.”
In 2022, Nigeria’s unemployment rate stood at 33%, one of the highest globally at the time.
However, the latest figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in November put the rate at 4.3%, following a controversial change in the methodology used to calculate the data.
Despite the statistical drop, concerns about unemployment remain a central issue.
This was the focus of the colloquium organised by FUTA in partnership with other tertiary institutions across Ondo and Osun States.
Professor Oladiji emphasised the urgent need for collaboration among Nigerian universities and polytechnics to tackle the nation’s pressing economic challenges.
She noted that collective expertise and shared resources across institutions could lead to more effective training, innovation, and sustainable job creation.
Supporting this view, Professor Shadrack Akindele, another Vice Chancellor in attendance, echoed the sentiment, stating that the complexity of Nigeria’s problems demands unified efforts across the education sector.
They agreed that while the challenges are significant, Nigeria’s higher institutions remain one of its most valuable assets in overcoming them.
