The Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University, UNIOSUN, Professor Clement Adebooye, has urged Nigerian students to channel their creativity and efforts towards achieving success within Nigeria rather than seeking uncertain opportunities abroad.
Speaking during the 2025 Entrepreneurship Studies and Innovation Training Programme held at the university’s Osogbo campus on Friday, Professor Adebooye said Nigeria presents vast opportunities for those willing to explore them innovatively.
“Nigeria is a land of opportunities for everyone. It only requires identifying your area of strength, building on it, and becoming successful. Once you can think out of the box, you achieve success in Nigeria better than in the United States of America or Canada,” he said.
The Vice-Chancellor expressed concern over the increasing trend of professionals abandoning established careers in Nigeria for low-skilled jobs abroad.
“It pained me to see professionals, managers of businesses escape the shores of the country to take up jobs that took away their dignity,” he stated.
He criticised the idea of highly qualified Nigerians leaving lucrative positions, such as bank or enterprise managers, to become support staff in foreign countries.
He emphasised that the solution lies in applying knowledge locally, developing ideas, and contributing to nation-building.
“If that is the way we are thinking as Nigerians, then we have a problem. We should use the knowledge we have gained to build this nation by identifying that single idea, blow it up, and make a living from it,” he added.
Delivering the keynote address, Dr Dayo Sobowale of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, highlighted the importance of combining vocational training with business acumen.
Dr Sobowale noted that practical entrepreneurial knowledge would help graduates create job opportunities rather than depend on limited vacancies.
He explained, “Vocational skills alone are not sufficient; the ability to manage, market and expand a business is what makes the difference between self-employment and wealth creation.”
In her remarks, the Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship Studies at UNIOSUN, Dr Adepeju Adigun, said the university has embedded entrepreneurship training into its curriculum to prepare students for life after graduation.
“We are committed to producing job creators rather than job seekers,” she affirmed.
