Degree versus Skills, Which way for Nigerians

The pursuit of degree qualifications and required skill certifications have been a front burner in Nigeria. Interestingly since independence, Nigeria and Nigerians had prioritised acquisition of degrees. We are a ‘paper certificate-dominated’ country so anyone that can bring the highest degree qualification to the table even if such individuals could not bring anything substantial to the table, he/she is highly regarded for paper qualification. In fact, not too long ago, the federal Government announced it will only accept academic degrees as base qualification instead of professional certification. The drive for paper qualification had made many start chasing all manner of qualifications they really do not need and in a few instances some had gone to ‘procure’ paper certification from unregistered institutions or in a few instances present fake certificates. All these are showing in Nigeria’s inability to move forward in innovation, creativity etc. The above formed the basis of this podcast. My two guests are Temitope Odude and Olukemi Ade-Adeniji Happy listening