Nigeria’s President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has raised concerns over the rising number of graduates entering the labour market, emphasising the need for university curricula to be aligned with employability, entrepreneurship, and job creation.
He stated this during the 36th Convocation Ceremony of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Ondo State, noting that the rising number of graduates entering the labour market.
Tinubu urged Nigerian universities to deepen their contributions to national development by advancing cutting-edge research, fostering innovation, and strengthening industry collaborations.
Represented by the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu, the President said: âI must admit that while todayâs occasion gives much joy, it is overwhelming to note the number of graduates that are to be added to the labour market.
âIt is, therefore, needful to pay close attention to the relevance of our curricula to employability and job creationâ.
He urged the graduands to leverage the opportunities provided by the administration and to apply their skills in technology, agriculture, and entrepreneurship to become self-reliant and contribute meaningfully to national development.
He emphasised that all hands must be on deck to ensure that FUTA graduates are not only self-reliant, but consistently so.
He said, âWhile it is agreed that the government alone cannot provide job opportunities directly for the teeming graduates of our higher educational institutions, the government will continue to create an enabling environment for investments and businesses to thrive; this administration recognises the critical role of science, technology, and innovation in our national development.
âWe are, therefore, committed to policies that strengthen education, promote research funding, and foster collaborations between universities and industries.
âWe are also pursuing the digital economy agenda, renewable energy initiatives, and infrastructure development, all of which open new opportunities for your graduates to contribute meaningfully to national growth and development.â
Tinubu also urged young graduates to explore the agricultural value chain, which he described as a goldmine capable of generating jobs and wealth.
He outlined ongoing reforms in the education sector, including the revitalisation blueprint for university education, increased interventions from TETFund, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund), and the recently introduced Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund (TISSF), aimed at cushioning the hardships faced by university workers.
In her address, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adenike Temidayo Oladiji, highlighted FUTAâs significant achievements over the past academic year, noting that the university maintained its ranking among the top 10 universities in Nigeria in the 2025 Times Higher Education ranking.
