Funmi Iyanda kicked off the first Sunday of March by discussing education in Nigeria with Jerry Mallo, the CEO of Bennie Technologies, Tayo Osunkoya, a professional diver, and the JAMB registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede.

Nigeria values education highly. However, what is the cost of the quality of education that we are getting in Nigeria? 

Several graduates are unemployable because the quality of education is deplorable. Yet, so many people cheat so much to get such poor education. What sort of education produces geniuses and genuineness? What kind of education will fix Nigeria?

According to Prof Ishaq Oloyede, “Should everyone go to University? The answer is no. Children go to university and end up benefiting nothing when they could be better at something else, maybe something more technical.”

“The system itself has to be addressed. In the UK, a plumber can earn as much as a professor, if not more. So, he is fulfilled. He doesn’t need to be what he is not because the system allows him to grow.”

Next, we heard from two people who will have been considered failures from Nigeria’s standpoint – Tayo Osunkoya, who abandoned stockbroking to be a diver, and Jerry Mallo, who dropped out of school in the UK.

On why Tayo decided he did, he said, “I was not gaining any satisfaction from what I was doing. So, in 1999, I decided to do something special. I didn’t know any divers and there was no diving school in Nigeria. But I knew this was something I wanted to do.”

Jerry Mallo then told the remarkable story of how he became the renowned innovator that we know today. In his words, “When my mates were writing Post UTME, I went to learn roadside mechanic work. I wanted to learn how the machines work.”

“I thought to myself, ‘If you’re looking to start a company, no one asks you for a certificate. It’s only when you want a job that they ask for a certificate. I never wanted a job. I wanted to create jobs.”

The full episode is available on Public Eye’s YouTube Channel:

Public Eye airs every Sunday at 5 pm on TVC News. You can catch them on any of these television channels: DSTV (channel 418), Startimes (channel 307), GOTV (channel 45), or channel 572 on Sky. 

Public Eye is supported by the MacArthur Foundation.