The Senate President also urged the graduands to take up the challenge of entrepreneurship. The Senate President, Bukola Saraki on Sunday, July 22, 2018, delivered a keynote address at the 4th Convocation Ceremony of Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State.In his speech titled: National Economic Development Through Entrepreneurship: The Role of Private Sector Universities in Nigeria, Saraki urged graduands to take up the challenge of entrepreneurship.The Senate President also called for a departure from the educational system where emphasis is placed more on paper certification and theory based teaching.According to him, vocational and technical education will help the youth develop skills that will help them create jobs.Adeleke University is a private faith-based institution founded in 2011 by Dr. Adedeji Adeleke.See the Senate President’s full speech below:It is a special pleasure to be here with you all on this great occasion which is the Fourth Convocation Ceremony of Adeleke University, one of the shining private institutions of learning that are helping to restore pride in tertiary education in our country. It is a day filled with the golden promise of tomorrow, and that promise is embodied in every single graduating student here today, in whom rests a glimmer of our hopes for the future of our dear country, Nigeria.I thank Professor Samuel Ekundayo Alao, President and Vice Chancellor of Adeleke University, for my invitation to this great event in the life of this institution, and in the lives of the students and their families. I congratulate you all for the laurel-adorned achievements being celebrated today, because anyone looking at the graduating students can see that they radiate the excellence that has been imparted to them during their time at this university. I congratulate the entire members of staff, the academic and the non-academic staff. It is said that you never forget a good teacher, and I am sure a good number of these students will testify to the diligence of their lecturers at many points in their lives in the future. I must congratulate the man that made all this possible, in whose vision the gem of the idea for Adeleke University first took shape, and whose commitment and tenacity brought it all into being. I speak, of course, of none other than the founder of this institution, Dr. Adedeji Adeleke, a true visionary.Naturally, on an occasion such as this, the most fulsome kudos must go to the graduating students who have distinguished themselves in their various fields of learning, and who sit in the place of honour today. Having earned their stripes, they are ready to go out into the world and contribute their quota to the upliftment of our society and to humanity. I congratulate the parents and guardians who saw them this far, supporting their charges in every weather, through boom and recession. I know, as a proud father of children who have passed through this stage in their lives, the joy is indescribable when one’s child fulfils expectations, and shows every sign of attaining their potential and destiny. I have no doubt in my mind that it is a similar feeling for every parent or guardian watching their ward graduate at this Fourth Convocation Ceremony of Adeleke University today. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, when I look at the graduating students, I see a crop of freshly minted economic actors whose endeavours can give the needed impetus to our quest to realise our nation’s potentials. The choices they make, the paths they choose, will not just inform the direction of their individual lives but also the country’s push towards growth and development. That is why it is important, at this juncture, to get a measure of what is at stake, to better prepare these young ones for the road ahead. It is also why the title of this address, ‘National Economic Development Through Entrepreneurship: The Role of Private Universities in Nigeria’ is one I believe holds particular resonance for an occasion such as this.Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, we should put into proper context the job market that the graduating students are going into, in order to remind ourselves as to the factors at play and the nature of the challenge before us as a nation. According to the World Economic Outlook as projected by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for 2018, Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita at purchasing power parity (PPP) adjusted rates is $5,929.20. This places us at number 137 on a list of 187 countries. By comparison, however, the adjusted GDP per capita for Singapore is $93,905.50. The difference is clear, and it is even more so, when we consider the fact that Singapore and Nigeria were virtually neck and neck in terms of macroeconomic statistics during the 1960s. Five decades later, we are playing catch up. Singapore, on the other hand, is being celebrated as one of the four Asian Tiger countries with highly developed economies powered by entrepreneurship.The Asian Tigers, namely, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan — are countries that have achieved high levels of economic growth driven by exports and rapid industrialisation, such that they now line up with the richest and most developed economies globally. Over the last few decades, the Asian Tigers have jumped ahead of most African countries, leveraging on the boom in emergent technology and globalisation, and have propelled themselves forwards to become the economic powerhouses that they are today. In 2017, the last of what I would call ‘The Fab Four’, South Korea, overtook Japan in GDP, making this highly successful quartet of countries second only to China in economic might. From all indications, there is no stopping the Asian Tigers; Hong Kong and Singapore are major financial centres, while South Korea and Taiwan are global manufacturing hubs for automobile and electronic components as well as information technology. For us in Nigeria, the impact of a country like Taiwan is all too plain to see when you walk into Computer Village or Ladipo Market in Lagos. Still on the Asian Tigers, a case in point is Singapore, which, not too long ago, was at a similar economic level with Nigeria. Singapore has one of the Top Ten GDP per capita in the world, with one in six households having over $1 million in cash savings. The key to this remarkable transformation is entrepreneurship. The number of Singaporeans owning their own businesses has doubled in the last decade, making the country the world’s second in terms of entrepreneurs per capita; the United States of America occupying the number one position in that regard.Again, the key ingredient in the rise and rise of Singapore is entrepreneurship. Not for them an economy dependent on natural resources. Quite unlike Nigeria, with our oil-fixation that has led to the unfortunate neglect of many economically potent alternatives, especially the talent of our massive population. By contrast, those at the helm in Singapore realised a long time ago that the country’s future prosperity lay in the talent of its people and in information. That realisation — and the will to act on it — proved to be a game changer that allowed them to leapfrog over Nigeria in the economic stakes. The government of Singapore laid out a framework for political, economic and cultural adjustments to make the country ‘a hub of talent, enterprise and innovation.’ This was articulated in an Economic Review Committee Report commissioned in 2001 by the then Prime Minister, Goh Chok Tong. The objective was to inculcate in the people the embrace of entrepreneurship characterised by pioneering ventures and risk-taking, with success as the goal.A decade after that groundbreaking Report, 21.4% of Singaporeans indicated the intention to start their own businesses. This percentage had doubled in less than five years, and was second only to Taiwan, another Tiger economy. Most encouraging is the demographic that is driving Singapore’s economic growth — youths — like our graduating students here today. That transformative culture of entrepreneurship is what I would like to commend to the accomplished youths that have the honour of place at this Fourth Convocation. Nearly 25% of Singaporeans between the ages of 35 and 44 say they want to start their own business; and one in six of their compatriots have already taken that decisive step. It is expected that this culture of entrepreneurship driven by the youth population will continue to make all the difference in driving growth in Singapore’s economy. And this is the challenge for us here in Nigeria, as we work to bolster the recovery of our economy from the recent recession, to diversify the revenue base for greater development.It should be of interest to those coming out of our universities that in the third quarter of 2017, 40 percent of Nigeria’s labour force was either unemployed or underemployed. Analysts say our economy must create an estimated five million jobs annually in order to meet the unemployment challenge. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), we managed to create only 1.6 million jobs in 2015, and we are no closer to closing the deficit gap. With a population of over 190 million growing at the rate of two per cent per annum, the challenge is ever so urgent, to create jobs for the teeming masses of Nigerians, and to drive productivity and prosperity.We are an emerging economy with a large youth demographic which constitutes 70 per cent of the population — including those leaving university this year, as in this hall — and we have youthful drive and energy on our side as we seek to bridge this gap. Our population is growing and is on track to hit 400 million by 2050, when we will become the third most populous country in the world. Experts project a huge demographic dividend for us as a country by that time, but only if we can harness the immense potential of our youth driven population now, for innovative ideas that can become large business empires and create the much needed jobs for our people. There is no reason why any of today’s graduating students cannot become a Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter, net worth $5 billion — or Brian Chesky, a co-founder of Air BnB. Michelle Phan of the cosmetic business Ipsy is now worth $300 million — not bad for someone who first started by uploading her videos on YouTube.Of course, Nigeria is not exactly a non-starter in tech, where the impact of youthful innovation is already transforming many sub-sectors, from payment solutions to health outcomes and entertainment. Nigeria is one of the Top Three destinations in Africa for tech investors; and tech start-ups have already put Yaba Lagos on the world map in this regard. Visiting Lagos in 2016, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, “I was highly impressed by the talent of the youths in the Co-Creation Hub in Yaba. I was blown away by their talent and the level of energy.” Not only were our tech start-ups able to weather the recession without breaking a sweat, they are attracting major seed funding. FinTechs like Flutterwave and Paystack not only raised over $100 million funding between them in less than two years, they are revolutionising online payments and the adoption of card payments in Nigeria, fueling the growth of online retail ventures similarly powered by young entrepreneurs, of which Jumia and Konga are among the market leaders.What I would like our graduating students to note is that this frenetic activity is only a drop in the ocean, when we talk about the potential of the tech sector in Nigeria. We have about 15.5 million smartphone users in this country; that translates to only 23 per cent of the population. At 47 per cent, internet penetration captures less than half of the population. There is room for exponential growth still, and analysts are confident that FinTech, for example, has the potential to transform the financial services landscape in Nigeria over the next five years. We are looking to the youth to take up the challenge and grasp the opportunities, to drive entrepreneurship in this area.Agriculture is a major plank in our drive for the diversification of the revenue base, to wean our economy off its dependency on oil. And yet, we are nowhere near tapping into the Agricultural Value Chain in any sustainable way. From Rice to poultry to dairy products, we are producing far below required volumes. The unavoidable fact is that there is room for exponential growth.The 8th National Assembly, under my leadership, is focused on strengthening the legislative framework to make Agriculture more investor friendly. We have provided a further boost for the sector through legislation that not only supports existing businesses but encourages the entry of new investors and Agro-preneurs. Believing that entrepreneurship is crucial to success in the various sectors of the economy, and to encourage the greater participation of the private sector, the National Assembly has, since its inception, prioritised the passage of landmark economic laws to enable Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to grow. We have carried out legislative reforms that have helped improve Nigeria’s position on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business ranking. This is further strengthened by the recent passage of the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), which is the most significant business reform law enacted in this country in three decades. It may interest many of your graduating students that it is easier than ever to start your own business, as we have removed much of the regulatory burden in this area. It is now possible for a single person to form a private company; and this is consistent with other trail-blazing economies including the United Kingdom, India and Singapore. A Company Secretary is no longer obligatory for small companies or those with only one shareholder; Annual General Meetings are no longer mandatory; small companies are exempt from having to appoint an auditor and so on. The cumulative effect of the provisions of CAMA means that any of today’s graduates can start a company with relative ease and become an entrepreneur, thus becoming a driver of economic activity in the country.It is my firm belief that, when we can usefully engage our teeming youths so that they grab opportunities for themselves in order to contribute their quota, we would have gone some way towards alleviating some of the many problems bedeviling our society. This is where the role of private universities really comes into focus, to help provide an enabling environment for the nurturing of raw talent. The education ethos ought to move away from the over-emphasis on theory-based approach and paper certification towards inculcating practical skills that support apprenticeship and boost innovation and industry.
