Varsities Must Prioritize Entrepreneurship, Says Okonkwo

​Nigerian universities have been urged to fundamentally re-engineer their academic curricula by embedding mandatory entrepreneurship training across all disciplines, ensuring that higher institutions graduate self-reliant job creators rather than dependent job seekers.

​This call was made by the Chairman of United Nigeria Airlines, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, during the 15th convocation ceremony of Veritas University in Abuja. Speaking to an audience of academics, dignitaries, and proud graduands, Okonkwo stressed that the traditional focus on theoretical qualifications is no longer sufficient to address the country’s escalating youth unemployment and economic shifts.

​“Entrepreneurship I am advocating should not just be a by-pass discipline; it should be a core subject that must be made available to all the students in every department,” Okonkwo stated.

​He explained that practical enterprise education should cut across specialized fields, preparing medical students for private practice, law students for commercial structures, and science researchers for commercializing their innovations.

​Drawing from his personal background as a professor of entrepreneurship who established his own enterprise as a student—remaining self-employed throughout his academic and professional life—Okonkwo noted that early exposure to the mechanics of business gives graduates an unmatched competitive edge.

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​Bridging the Classroom-Industry Gap

​To bridge the yawning chasm between theoretical learning and market realities, Okonkwo strongly advocated for deeper, institutionalized collaborations between universities and the private sector. He highlighted several practical steps higher education institutions can take:

• ​Mandatory Internships: Expanding student industrial work experience to expose learners to live workplace demands before graduation.
• ​Active Corporate Partnerships: Citing United Nigeria Airlines’ memorandums of understanding with institutions like Nnamdi Azikiwe University and Afe Babalola University, where engineering students receive specialized, paid training in aviation maintenance units with pathways to automatic employment based on performance.
• ​Curriculum Overhauls: Moving performance metrics away from mere headcounts of graduating classes toward the actual utility, moral grounding, and problem-solving capabilities of alumni.

​A Wider Vision for Higher Education

​The 15th convocation ceremony drew several prominent figures who echoed sentiments on national development and institutional responsibility. The Visitor to the university and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, Most Rev. Dr. Matthew Ndagoso, noted that Nigeria’s prevailing socioeconomic challenges require a courageous, competent, and morally sound generation of citizens. He further urged the Federal Government to extend robust support to private tertiary institutions.

​Similarly, the Vice-Chancellor of Veritas University, Prof. Hyacinth Ichoku, emphasized the critical need for a conducive national infrastructure and economic environment to curb brain drain and enable young professionals to thrive locally.

​As the higher education sector faces mounting scrutiny over skills mismatches in the modern labour market, industry leaders maintain that reshaping tertiary education into a breeding ground for enterprise and innovation remains non-negotiable for Nigeria’s long-term prosperity.