by Christian Ken Aniche

I’m not of the opinion that university education is not important but the fundamental truth is; it is not compulsory to have a university certificate to work on your creative skills.

Regardless of the fact that a greater percentage of Nigeria’s population falls within the ages of 18-35, there is still low productivity in most sectors of our economy.

To increase and take full advantage of the productive capacity of the country, we need to move forward with the economic and intellectual growth and development of the youths by encouraging and introducing new youth initiatives in various fields to assist these youths choose the best among the alternatives.

Why are you in the university? Are you there because you want to make your parents happy or are you there because it aligns with your future career? Most students in the Nigerian universities are either there because they want to please their parents, studying courses that have nothing to do with their passion and they end up wasting irretrievably precious years there.

It is of immense importance to note that there are hardly any guidance counselors in this part of the world to assist the young ones.

You want to do music. What are you doing in the accounting department? Why must you while away four years before you focus on your dream career? Is it a crime to create a niche for yourself at a tender age?

And then, most of our parents are selfish when it comes to career choices. Nigerian parents practically select what and what may not be studied by their wards.

They want to bear Mama Lawyer, Papa doctor and so on without due consideration of the factors at play, especially the question of the child’ comfort in that field.

Also, as soon as we discard the notion that everyone must cop at least a university degree, the better for us.

There are still a few youths that know what they’d want for themselves.

Wizkid and Davido are celebrated stars today. If these young men had remained in the university till now, nobody would perhaps have heard of them. But they ventured out when they realized they were delaying destiny.

I assure you; I’m not of the opinion that university education is not important but the fundamental truth is; it is not compulsory to have a university certificate to work on your creative skills.

If you have no business in the university, please drop out and focus on the real thing. Most people after graduating from the university still don’t know where to fit in because they have passed through university just to bear the tag “I’m a graduate”.

You leave the university and come out, looking for about ANY job. And you wasted four, five years in the university to come out and do what you’re presently doing?

Everybody is looking for a job and I’m forced to ask, who creates the job? What is the basis for employment? This is the question I’d like to leave in the minds of every young person.

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Christian Ken Aniche is with the Business Development and Brand Management Unit of the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA).

 

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.