In Nigeria today, the classroom is no longer the only path to success. As degrees lose their dominance in hiring decisions, a new generation of young professionals is rising—not with certificates, but with skillsets sharpened by necessity, creativity, and resilience.
The Shifting Landscape of Employment in Nigeria
The change is clear that Nigeria’s evolving job market’s age-old emphasis on university degrees is giving way to a more practical criterion: skills. This shift is reshaping how young Nigerians prepare for employment and how forward-thinking employers now source talent, but the question lingers: why are educational qualifications becoming less significant than the mastery of skills?
The Rise of Skill-Driven Youths
Nigeria is home to over 600,000 young creatives, many of whom are products of a broken educational system and a government that has failed to provide them with sustainable opportunities. In response, these young people have turned to skills like graphic design, video editing, ghostwriting, and more, not just to make ends meet, but to build livelihoods that are meaningful, profitable, and future-oriented.
As a result, employers are no longer focused on where applicants went to school, but rather on what they can do. “We now hire based on what applicants can do, not where they went to school,” has become a shared sentiment among today’s hiring managers.
A Return to Indigenous Learning Models
As Nigeria’s formal education system continues to struggle under the weight of outdated models and inconsistencies, young people are returning to a more intuitive and culturally resonant mode of learning: communal and hands-on. Unlike the rigid, Western-style education system, which often isolates learners and ignores local realities, Nigeria’s traditional learning approach is rooted in storytelling, oral knowledge-sharing, and collaboration. This resurgence in skills-based learning reflects a deeper ideological shift, one where young Nigerians are slowly shedding the imposed belief that success must be certified on paper.
Notable Example
Chibuzor Obiora left his job as a television news anchor in Lagos, he had no prior background in computer science, just a budding interest in tech. Through a talent accelerator, he learned to code and began building projects. Within months, he was working remotely for U.S.-based clients and earning in dollars, all without ever presenting a university degree.“All that mattered was what I could build,” he told Wired. “Not where I went to school.” Chibuzor’s journey is one of many that highlight the growing priority placed on what a person can do, not just what credentials they possess.
The Death of the Degree-Only Mindset
For years, Nigerian graduates were told that a university degree was a golden ticket to success. Today, that narrative is being dismantled. Employers now ask, “Can you do the job?” rather than “What’s your CGPA?” There is a quiet rebellion against the systems that once filtered applicants based solely on certificates and transcripts.
As Prof. Idris Bugaje puts it, “If you have a skill without even a degree, you can find a very good job. But if you have a Bachelor of Science or any other type of degree without skills, you will go nowhere.” The success of creatives like Kolawole Olanrewaju, Kelechi Amadi-Obi, and Steve Babeko reinforces this shift. Portfolios have become the new résumé; skillsets, the new qualifications.
The Future of Degrees
So, is there hope for paper qualifications? The answer is a cautious yes. Degrees are still relevant particularly in specialized professions like law, medicine, banking, engineering, and pharmacy. But for many other industries, particularly in the creative and digital space, practical ability outweighs academic pedigree.
The more pressing question is whether Nigeria is ready to reimagine its educational frameworks. Our ancestors learned through oral traditions, apprenticeship, and mentorship. If we fail to align our systems with our cultural strengths, we risk creating a generation of young people lost between the pull of purpose and the pressure of paper.
Call for Change: A System that Validates Creatives
It’s time to build a system that recognizes and validates Nigeria’s creative class:one that does not treat them as rebels for rejecting outdated molds. We must create space for creatives to thrive, to be seen as professionals, and to be respected for their contributions.
Success should no longer be defined by a degree alone, but by innovation, vision, and impact. The future belongs not just to doctors and engineers, but also to storytellers, coders, animators, and digital builders.
