Fostering Entrepreneurial Mindsets: A Key to Unlocking Nigeria’s Employment Potential

One of the major issues in Nigeria today is the need to create more jobs as there are lots of unemployed graduates in order to reduce mass unemployment that has reached a top priority which needed urgent intervention. Thus idea would only be effective with change of attitude towards entrepreneurship education.

The yearly increase in the number of children attending school and those completing tertiary education without job is alarming, millions of the young people face bleak employment opportunities. The increase in the number of youths in secondary and tertiary education is a positive development: however, labour markets in many countries are presently unable to accommodate the expanding pool of the skilled young.

It is estimated that about 800 million new job would be needed to absorb today’s youths. Due to this decline in jobs and the rise in the number of those unemployed, young people are forced in the formal sector. In Nigeria today there are increasing rate of unemployment, poverty, corruption, kidnapping and so many other social problems become worrisome to the government and to every well-meaning citizen.

Unemployment preens poverty which in term is one of the greatest problems plaguing developing nations today, and put the figure of Nigerian living below poverty level at over 90million. Entrepreneurship education has to do with the training of individuals to understand and develop key entrepreneurial attribution, skills and behaviours. Bringing the entrepreneurship into classroom is capable of shooting down unemployment of any nation to lowest level because entrepreneurship education seeks to prepare people, especially youths, to be responsible, enterprising individual who become entrepreneurs or entrepreneurs thinkers and who contribute to economic development and sustainable communities.

The problem of unemployment is particularly pathetic as the number of those coming out from various institutions looking for employment is increase day by day. This is why entrepreneurship education as a course of study is needed for the tertiary level, and one of the goal, can simply be a tool for securing employment and emancipation of people through the provision and acquiring of necessary knowledge and skills to make lives more flourishing.

Schooling in Nigeria must prepare the young generations from secondary to the tertiary institution such as polytechnic, NCE and university education to tackle the problem of self-reliance rather than thinking of white collar jobs.

If Nigeria desire to move out of the disturbing high level of unemployment and  ravaging level of poverty, corruption and kidnapping adequate attention must be given to the growth of entrepreneurship education they concluded that Nigeria still remain in the doldrums because of the combination of ignorance, low capacity building and lack of encouragement of entrepreneurship education.

A careful look at the current state of affairs in Nigeria reveals that we are not in the current century in the education system. A system whereby much emphasis is still place on the conventional classroom environment with much reference for certificates for graduates who in most cases are trained to be job seekers as evidence in present high unemployment rate in the land.

However, we must accept the fact that times have changed and we must adjust by transiting from the old styled era of Adam smith  inspired concept of the industrialized specialist which has out lives its usefulness to a more dynamic, resourceful and ICT based model where skills and creativity takes precedence.

National Populations Commission (2006) states that more than half of the Nigerian population are under the age of 30years. Therefore it can be asserted that the economy of Nigeria is a youth economy expectedly, today’s youth will become in a short decade tomorrow’s parents leaders, labour force, president, teacher and armies. However, the Nigerian youths are said to be confronted with poverty, unemployment,  kidnapping, corruption, urbanization, lack of capacity and skills needed to move the economy forward. This is where entrepreneurship education as a course of study is necessary for the tertiary level and one of the goals, was stated by Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) is the acquisition of physical and intellectual skills which will enable individuals to be self-reliant. Thus shows that the Nigerian government in blue-print, lays emphasis on self-reliance and self-employment with the ultimate aim of developing and sustaining the economy in which leads to reduce unemployment in Nigeria.

Graduate unemployment is a major problem Nigerians youth encounter a major sources of feat for the university undergraduate is the plight of joining countless other weary job seeker on the streets. This problem is not curbed but rather exalebrated as private sector organizations have found that to survive the stiff competition brought about by globalization, they need to adopt new technologies and processes. More work positions are being replaced by technological innovations. A glaring purpose of the importance of entrepreneurship education is the need to create more jobs.

The study and practice of entrepreneurship will provides available vehicle and financial growth, representing a way of thinking and doing that is beneficial for success in many types of undertaking and in life generally. Nevertheless, the main purpose to promote entrepreneurship education seem to be the necessity of new jobs.

Some of the advantages of Entrepreneurship Education:

1. Entrepreneurship education programme has helped students come to the knowledge and understanding of the concept: entrepreneurship education provides students with early awareness of entrepreneurship and contact with the world of business and wealth creation. It also gives students an understanding of the roles of entrepreneurs in the society.
2. Entrepreneurial education helps students to identify and implore entrepreneurship a career choice: entrepreneurship education has helped raise students awareness of self-employment as a career option.
3. Even with the presence of white collar paid employment in the private and public sectors graduates who want to pursue professional careers. It is also expedient to acquire entrepreneurship skills as a means to the end of generating extra income and lift themselves and their families out of poverty.
4. Young people (children) and women are the worst hit under the financial predicament of the Nigerian masses/populace, poverty and unemployment cuts across all social strata, and now it seems a university education cannot serve as a lifeline out of poverty because of the alarming numbers of graduates still searching for job that don’t exist or accepting job that are below their qualification.. This is evident in the growing member of university graduates who due to frustration from lack of employment accept jobs as small office assistants and sectaries, nursery and primary school teachers and even security women.
5. Entrepreneurship education helps students develops economic and financial literacy as a result of this education, students gain better knowledge and understanding of economic and financial issue related to entrepreneurship. They know the steps to take in surveying markets for business opportunities, financing projects and solving business problem.
6. It has inculcated in the students and spirit of self-employment and wealth creation students become aware of the need to engage in entrepreneurship activities not just to sustain self but to create wealth for the good of large community. Relevance of entrepreneurship in today’s Nigeria cannot be over emphasized, as unemployed graduates can come to rely on their skills and entrepreneurial knowledge to discover market opportunities and maximize factors of production to their benefit.

Factors that Hinders Entrepreneurship Education in Nigeria

There are several factors that hinder entrepreneurship education in Nigeria, they include:

Inadequate Capital

One of the major factors that hinder entrepreneurship education in Nigeria is inadequate capital to embark on business after certain knowledge have been acquired or learned in school and various institutions as a result it leads to unemployment.

Inadequate Implementation and Formulation of Policy

Some of the policies formulated in Nigeria are not well implemented as a result of political inability which affects the entrepreneurship education, and leads to unemployment.

Poor Societal Attitude to Entrepreneurship Education in Nigeria

The society does not encourage entrepreneurship education in Nigeria because the educational that was earned by colonial masters prepared them to seek white collar jobs instead of being job creator that emphasis by entrepreneurship education.

Unhealthy and unstable Macroeconomic Environment.

Inability to attain macro-economic objectives will need to insecure for entrepreneurial to invest in a business. For instance, the issue of Boko haram, political instability and so on are unstable economic environment which does not encourage investors.

Fear of People to take risk on Entrepreneurial Activities

Fear of people to take risk on the business is due to insecurity in the country and it is also factor s hinder entrepreneurship education which leads to unemployment.

Solution to Factors Hindering Entrepreneurship Education in Nigeria

1. There should be provision of capital to the final year students by the government, to make them embark on business.
2. students should be enlightened on how to take risk which may help them to be engaged in business enterprises.
3. there should be formulated and implementation of appropriate policies that favours entrepreneurship education in Nigeria.
4. Students should be encouraged to seek knowledge of entrepreneurship education in various higher institutions.
5. there should be health and stable macroeconomic environment which will encourage graduates to invest in any parts of the country.