The British Council Nigeria has raised concerns over the growing unemployment crisis among university graduates, revealing that nearly 80 percent of them are struggling to secure employment due to persistent skills gaps and limited practical exposure in higher education.

This was disclosed during a visit by a British Council delegation to the National Universities Commission (NUC) in Abuja, where the Council formally presented an Entrepreneurship Toolkit designed to strengthen entrepreneurship education across Nigerian universities.

The delegation, led by the Director of Programmes, Mr Chikodi Onyemerela, said the toolkit was developed following extensive research conducted across selected higher education institutions in Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.

He explained that the resource is intended to support the validation and possible integration of practical entrepreneurship education into the nation’s university system.

According to Onyemerela, the British Council considers the NUC a strategic partner in advancing reforms within Nigeria’s higher education sector.

He commended the commission’s ongoing efforts in curriculum development and institutional reforms, noting that they align with the Council’s broader educational goals.

He stressed that entrepreneurship education has become increasingly important in addressing unemployment and underemployment, arguing that it should no longer be treated as an optional academic component, but as a critical tool for economic and social transformation.

“Entrepreneurship must be fully integrated into teaching, collaborative learning and research activities, with a clear focus on producing practical and commercially viable solutions that can benefit society,” he said.

Onyemerela also explained that the British Council partnered with Co-Creation Hub (CcHub) and De Montfort University, Leicester, United Kingdom, to develop a framework that can be adapted across Nigerian universities.

Executive Secretary of the NUC, Professor Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu, in his remarks, welcomed the initiative and described the British Council as a long-standing and valuable partner in educational development.

He noted that entrepreneurship has already been incorporated into the Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS) as a compulsory course for all students in Nigerian universities.

He added that entrepreneurship has also evolved into a full academic programme, emerging as one of the most sought-after disciplines alongside Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.

Ribadu assured the delegation that the Commission would carefully review the toolkit and identify areas of alignment that could strengthen entrepreneurship education within the university system.

During a presentation titled “Enhancing Entrepreneurship Education in Nigerian Higher Education Institutions,” the Head of Higher Education at the British Council Nigeria, Mr Daniel Emenahor, highlighted the urgency of the intervention.

He stated that by 2030, young Africans are projected to account for about 42 percent of the global youth population, while over 70 percent of Nigeria’s population of more than 200 million is currently under the age of 30.

According to him, this demographic reality presents enormous economic opportunities, but only if young people are equipped with the skills and mindset to become job creators, rather than job seekers.

Emenahor noted that despite a government directive issued in 2004 mandating universities to establish Entrepreneurship Development Centres (EDCs), implementation across institutions has remained weak and largely theoretical.

He identified inadequate funding, poor mentorship structures, limited industry exposure and weak university-industry linkages as major barriers preventing students from translating classroom learning into viable enterprises.

To address the challenges, he said the British Council developed the Enhancing Entrepreneurship Education in Nigerian Higher Education Institutions Programme, aimed at strengthening institutional capacity and promoting enterprise creation.

He explained that the programme is built around six major components: stakeholder engagement, capacity development workshops, train-the-trainer programmes, needs assessment for Entrepreneurship Development Centres, a national entrepreneurship forum and eventual adoption of the framework across institutions.

The toolkit, he added, is based on the SEPPII Framework, an evidence-based model designed to build entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems in higher education institutions.

The framework focuses on six pillars: Strategy, Environment, Pedagogy, Partnerships, Implementation and Impact.

Emenahor said the ultimate goal is to equip Nigerian students with the practical skills, entrepreneurial mindset and innovation platforms needed to create sustainable ventures and contribute meaningfully to national development.

During the interactive session, Professor Ribadu highlighted additional concerns affecting entrepreneurship education, including inadequate infrastructure, weak implementation frameworks and the need for measurable outcomes to ensure real societal impact.

Also speaking, director of the NUC’s Directorate of Skills Development and Entrepreneurship, Dr Esther Mmeka, appreciated the British Council for the initiative and disclosed that the Commission is already taking steps to bridge the gap between theory and practice through reforms in the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) and stronger university-industry collaboration.

She added that the commission is also working to ensure that research outputs from Nigerian universities are commercialised, while ongoing assessments of Entrepreneurship Development Centres are helping to identify gaps and areas requiring urgent improvement.

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