ATTENTION PLEASE !!!

ATTENTION PLEASE!!!
A smile is said not to be a function of anxiety but that of joy and happiness. However, one is not sure whether the smile on the faces of Nigerian graduates and those in their penultimate could be regarded as a symbol of happiness and joy. This might be linked to the situation they have found themselves; an uncertain future because of unemployment.
There is a new anthem amongst employers in recent times. It is called “the unemployability of Nigerian graduates”. It is amazing that despite the fact that this statement has become an anthem amidst employers, they are yet to deem it fit to address the cause of this ill plaguing our graduates. In developed countries, once a problem has been identified, as a matter of principle, the next step is to find the cause of problem(s) and deal with it once and for all. It is saddening that the reverse is the case in our polity. We will dwell on the problem, sleep it, eat it, and even turn it to a slogan without making any tangible attempt to find the cause and solve the problem. Yet, we have leaders that have traversed the world and are well acquainted with what obtains in other parts of the world. The government of the United kingdom has come to realise that presently, it is the youths that are mostly unemployed and as a result of this, has put in place machinery to curb such occurrences because it realised how restless and susceptible the younger generation can be( an idle hand is the devil’s workshop), considering their antecedents. Hence, efforts are being put in place to create 150 000 jobs for them by the end of 2010. Unfortunately, the reverse is the case in Nigeria.
Nigerian graduates are victim of this non-challant attitude of our leaders and their contemporaries in the private sector. Graduates are at the receiving end and they bear the brunt of the ineptitude of the so called leaders.
One tends to wonder why there is so much fuss over the trained incapacity of our graduates from different quarters; is it the fault of the students that the educational system is at the brink of collapse? Or is it their fault that the corruption plaguing our society has finally found its way into the educational system, thus making the degrees awarded suspect and compromised? Or the fact the curricular has not been reviewed in decades? Or that the mode of teaching and assessment does not encourage creative thinking?
The future of a nation lies in good management of her human resources. In the case of Nigeria, the bulk of her human resources being the younger generation are suffering from neglect. The persistent failure of the government to invest in the future of this country implies that we are all sitting on a keg of gun powder which might explode anytime.
There are so many things that could be done to arrest the situation before it becomes totally irredeemable. There is an urgent need for the total overhaul of the entire system. For instance, in other parts of the world, down tooling by lecturers or as known by us “strikes” are non-existent. In the last decade, we have had one strike too many. The constant break in transmission in academic calendar is one of the major factors responsible for the trained incapacity suffered by graduates. A semester that should ordinarily span through one stretch of 13weeks is broken into piecemeal of over 4 months; the whole essence of education has , therefore, been ultimately defeated. They should “sincerely” attend to the demands of ASUU so that there would be an end to the incessant strikes plaguing the higher institutions.
The torch should be pointed in the direction of the mode of teaching and assessment in our various higher institutions of learning. The essence of teaching and assessment is to impact and bring out the best in the student. There is a question mark on whether this aim is being achieved in Nigerian schools. The reason is that our mode of teaching and assessment encourages garbage in and garbage out. It does not encourage creative thinking.
It is rather unfortunate that the private sector spends a huge amount to “import” expatriates because of the so called trained incapacity of Nigerian graduates. They are the ones mostly affected by the situation and as such their voice is loudest amidst those crying foul. However, one is forced to ask whether they have done anything to help arrest the situation? I am not too sure about that. Nonetheless, it is not out of place to remind them that they owe the society corperate and social responsibilities. They are the ones that are profit driven; the governments are not. They should give back to the society part of what the society has given to them.
There are many ways through which they can help mitigate the harshness inflicted by the neglect of the government. I must be quick to add that whatever they do is done for their benefit as well. Reason is that it reduces the cost they have to expend on the “importation” of expatriates.
What we are clamouring for is that the private sector should lend a helping hand. This could be done by helping to stock libraries, equipping laboratories, helping to organise refresher courses or seminars for lectures. They could draw up a list of subjects or topics that if inserted in the curricular would make a difference. It is also being recommended that they give opportunities to the student to work in their organisations as part-time staff both during term time and holiday as this would have prepared the graduates for the future and hence, make them employable.
It is also important that organisations should loosen up on the requirement on class of degree, because, this has caused much havoc to the educational system. The popular demand for a particular class of degree by employers has assisted corruption in infiltrating the corridors of our educational system. Hence, we are faced with reality; our degrees have been compromised. We have seen first class degree holders who could not construct a sentence correctly, second class upper degree holders who could not spell “atmosphere” correctly. What we are saying in essence is that they should stop looking at the container, rather, they should start looking at the content. There are many graduates on the street with lower classes of degree that are more employable than the so called “best students”.
This is a clarion call to our leaders and the private sector to do something urgently and make a detour from the normal way of doing things. You can not expect graduates to perform if the foundation is not properly laid. You can not put something on nothing, it will definitely fall. If the various governments would not wake up to their responsibilities, corporate organisations should intervene and bail the future of Nigeria from imminent catastrophe. We do not want it to be a case of “abandoned by the state” and “casted out by the society”. Many are already living on the fringes of the society. Many are already frustrated and depressed. Many have taken up arms in the Niger-Delta. The joy of existence should be in adding value to the lives of the helpless and vulnerable in the society. Graduates are now scavenging dustbins, but there is nothing in the bins, because nobody is leaving any leftover from their tables. Instead of embarking on frivolous foreign trips and self aggrandising projects, government should allocate funds to the education sector to keep the restive youths adequately busy and free from mischief, allocate funds for science, research and development. If given the enabling environment, Nigerian graduates can compete favourably with their counterparts from any part of the world. Little wonder Nigerian graduates who could hardly pass comfortably in Nigeria, gets to another country and “shines”. This is food for thought for all concerned. Until the government and the corporate organisations have done their part, Nigerian graduates should not be labelled as unemployable.
There is uncertainty. We wonder where we are headed for. We thought we would be moving forward. It is however very clear now that we are not sure how we are moving. Our destination is unknown. Future?... Probably short.
The smile is more of a grin than an actual smile. Suffering and smiling…will it ever end?

Mayowa Awosika
2009