President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has placed education, skills development and access to higher education at the centre of his administration’s next phase of economic reforms, saying Nigeria’s large youth population must become a productive force in the country’s drive for prosperity.
Tinubu made the position known in his 66th Independence Day address to Nigerians on Thursday, where he outlined the administration’s efforts to move from what he described as difficult economic reforms to a period of broader prosperity and opportunity.
The President said the government would continue to support education, including through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), which he said was established to ensure that students from low-income families do not abandon higher education because their parents cannot afford the cost.
He also pledged continued collaboration with state and local governments to strengthen basic education, while stressing the need for greater investment in the skills required by employers.
According to Tinubu, the issue extends beyond getting young Nigerians into schools and universities to ensuring that education equips them to participate meaningfully in the economy.
He said millions of young Nigerians enter adulthood every year, making it necessary for the country to convert its demographic strength into productive capacity rather than allowing the growing youth population to become a source of frustration.
The President linked this objective to investments in skills, digital connectivity, enterprise and infrastructure, arguing that the country’s young population could become an important driver of economic growth if provided with the right opportunities.
His emphasis on skills comes as Nigeria continues to face the challenge of aligning education with the changing demands of the labour market, particularly as employers increasingly require digital, technical and entrepreneurial competencies.
Tinubu also pointed to NELFUND as part of the administration’s response to the financial barriers confronting students seeking tertiary education.
The student loan scheme provides funding for eligible institutional charges and upkeep, with the broader objective of reducing financial barriers to accessing higher education.
The President’s latest commitment therefore places affordability alongside skills and employability in the government’s education agenda, suggesting that expanding access to tertiary education is expected to be accompanied by efforts to make young Nigerians more economically productive.
Beyond higher education, Tinubu said the government would continue working with subnational governments to strengthen basic education, an area that remains critical to the quality of Nigeria’s education pipeline.
The emphasis on basic education is significant because weaknesses at the foundational level can affect students’ progression into secondary and tertiary education, as well as their readiness for further training and employment.
The President’s education message formed part of a wider Independence Day argument that the economic reforms undertaken since 2023 were intended to correct structural weaknesses and create conditions for long-term growth.
He acknowledged that the reforms had brought difficulties but argued that abandoning them would amount to returning to the conditions that necessitated the changes in the first place.
For the education sector, the next test will be how these commitments translate into sustained funding, wider access, stronger foundational learning, relevant skills and employment opportunities for the growing number of young Nigerians entering the labour market.
Tinubu’s Independence Day address thus places education beyond the traditional question of access to schooling, framing it as part of the country’s broader strategy for converting its youthful population into the skilled workforce required to sustain economic growth.
