Buhari expresses worry over graduates’ employability as 153 bag first class at FUTA

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed concerns about the “less than complimentary assessment” of graduates of Nigerian universities who are constantly perceived as unemployable or lacking the requisite skills that could make them relevant in the workplace.

Buhari said he expects Nigerian universities to produce graduates “who are imbued with the requisite knowledge, competencies, attitudes and skills to be active players in our quest for socio-economic and technological development.”

The President made the remarks on Saturday in his address to the 31st convocation of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, read on his behalf by the deputy executive secretary of the National Universities Commission, Dr. Suleiman Rahman-Yusuf.

He said universities need to be proactive in ensuring that their graduates have the right skills to function meaningfully in the world of work.

He made a strong case for the involvement and active participation of employers of labour, with other critical stakeholders, in the design and review of curricula.

This he said would provide an opportunity for employers to shed light on the skills and competences they expect graduates to bring to the world of work upon graduation.

“On its part, the government shall do all that is necessary to support the realisation of the laudable objectives of this triple helix partnership between academic, industry and government through appropriate policy frameworks and provision of incentives, among other strategies,” he said.

The president also reiterated his administration’s commitment to the diversification of the economy “to wean our dear nation from decades of over-dependence on oil.”

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But he added that the government would rely on the universities to play a more active part through research and innovation to proffer solutions and elucidate road maps and the trajectories through which government can achieve its laudable objectives.

Buhari particularly challenged the nation’s specialised universities to redouble their efforts to demonstrate their relevance by contributing more significantly through research and innovation towards Nigeria’s attainment of specific SDGs relevant to their core mandate and mission.

He called on universities of technology and other specialised universities to seek out and collaborate with venture capitalists and entrepreneurs to create innovation hubs and technology parks on their campuses to practicalise their research and innovation endeavours.

“The glory days of research for the sole purpose of publication for promotion and citation in so-called high impact journals without corresponding demonstrable practical impact on poverty reduction, job creation and national prosperity are numbered,” Buhari said.

A total of 3,110 graduands received their degree certificates at the ceremony. Of this number, according to the vice-chancellor, Professor Joseph Adeola Fuwape, 153 obtained first-class honours, 1,514 got second class honours (upper division), 1,212 obtained second class honours (lower division), 216 got a third class degree and 15 obtained the Pass degree.

Professor Fuwape listed the various achievements of the university in the past one year, including grants won by academic staff, awards and scholarships won by students, accreditation of the university’s programmes, academic development feats, infrastructure development, internationalisation/exchange programmes/collaboration, research awards, among others.

The vice-chancellor congratulated the graduands and charged them to “develop self-confidence, appreciate the dignity of labour and uphold integrity.”

He admonished them: “Keep the flag of our university flying and raise the bar wherever you find yourself by investing your time, talents and resources into productive ventures.

“With a rapidly changing world, it is necessary that you should be dynamic in acquiring transformative knowledge in order to fit into the fourth industrial revolution.

Saheed Adesile Lawal of the Department of Physiology, School of Health and Health Technology emerged the overall best graduating student of the 2018/2019 academic session with a CGPA of 4.92.