Nigeria's Investment in Youth Education

Youth power

Youth is the asset of every country. They are the future of a nation. Especially, in an underdeveloped continent like Africa, where poor education and increasing failure in educating the younger generation has led to difference from the rest of the world, the issue of generation gap and increasing conflict between generations, regarding more autonomy and modernisation of youth, in contrast with traditional education remains as the cause. Empowerment of youth requires education, and that requires investment.


Education and investment

 

The current global leader in youth education is South Korea (Republic of Korea)

with 60% of its youth highly educated. Formerly, the United States used to hold this place. Both the nations have taken education seriously, making it as cheap as possible to produce more and more graduates and less dropouts. If Nigeria is to succeed in being the 12th largest economy by 2050, the stated target, then it needs to educate its youth for economic empowerment as knowledge-based leadership and more more clarity and transparency in administration, including business, is becoming the trend in a gradually progressive world.

Comparison with other countries of the world and global scenario

As it is mentioned in the previous paragraph, knowledge has taken the front seat in administration, business and every official matter. Knowledge is being used as

commodity, an object to be bought and sold. It's the currency that is running the world in its material, as well as cultural prosperity. So, naturally, higher education plays the most important role in development, and being successful in enrolling people and making them passouts, is a great achievement for a country aiming higher goals. Take the examples of Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair or Bill Clinton. All of them are highest passouts of apex universities like Oxford or Yale. One of the founding fathers of modern Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, a Cambridge degree holder, in his poineering efforts started a journey that ended up making Singapore a first-world country, from its third world status. World Bank president Jim Yong Kim, professionally a medical doctor have won in running the World Bank in its effort to eradicate socio-economic problems worldwide, without being from economic or political background, solely emplasizing on knowledge-based solution. If Nigeria wants to succeed, it has to follow the path of knowledge as well. And there is no other path of doing so, without educating people.


The future ahead

In a country like Nigeria, with so much political turmoil and obstacles to overcome, making the platform for youth education and following the ideal of developed countries require positive political will. Investment is just one part of it. Financing might fuel the movement towards future prosperity, starting with youth education, but making the cultural shift, building of a conducive environment for the acceptance of modern education requires not only direct investment in making physical bodies like institutes, schools, colleges, universities and with it classroom formalities without assimilation and conscious realisation of what is taught, but also qualitative change in the mind-set that requires investment is other fields as well and building of a general environment that reflects progress and development from backwardness, and promotion of reasonable, productive, constructive, creative scientific thought. Online education can be especially relevant in this regard, as it will provide respite from compulsory classroom education, keeping education itself intact.

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A Quick Guide To Entrepreneurship Education In Nigeria

How do you think you can become a successful entrepreneur in Nigeria? Is it through education? Or is it through experience? The answer is both. With the help of well developed entrepreneurship education you will be able to gain the knowledge and skills required to launch and grow your startup. I believe that effective entrepreneurial learning can enable us to achieve long term development in Nigeria.

Why entrepreneurship education

Our nation is currently facing a number of serious challenges which range from high poverty and unemployment levels, limited economic development, terrorist threats, poor infrastructure facilities, high standard of living and excessive dependence on technology and foreign goods. However, we will be able to overcome all the challenges in time, only if we arm our students with helpful entrepreneurship education that will make them self-reliant and create more jobs.

To succeed as an entrepreneur, you will need to acquire some specific skills, attitudes, knowledge and practices. Moreover, you also need to have a thorough understanding of the market so that you can identify various business opportunities, make the most of them and take calculated risks. Entrepreneurship education can help you prepare to be entrepreneurial thinkers and entrepreneurs so that you can significantly contribute towards the development of sustainable communities and the overall economy.

How to study entrepreneurship

Do you wish to acquire entrepreneurial education in Nigeria? Well, then you must realise that the formal institutions in the country, such as colleges, polytechnics and universities, will not be able to offer you the knowledge you need. These institutes will only teach you how to grow up to be an employee, not an entrepreneur. It is for this reason, numerous educated youths across Nigeria who tried to start their own business have either failed or in the process of closing down. American businessman and motivational speaker, Robert Kiyosaki once said “It's difficult for people to realize that school (traditional education) is obsolete. It's difficult for people to understand that what they consider to be "the norm" is damaging their and their children's financial futures.”

This is why you need to study entrepreneurship online. There are several high quality online fast track business programmes offered by UK universities and B-schools that can help you to acquire the right skills and knowledge. These programmes have been developed to provide you entrepreneurship training and enable you to start your own business. Moreover, these affordable online courses will also help you to earn a recognised MBA degree without investing excessive time or money. However, if you think that affordable means cheap, then you couldn't be more wrong. When you pursue an ATHE Diploma in Business programme, you will receive high quality business education that follow similar curriculum utilised in the classroom programmes and conducted by in-house and international professors.

Studying entrepreneurship online

Here I am going to talk about how online Fast Track MBA degrees can offer you effective entrepreneurship education which you will not receive from Nigerian formal schools. Read on...

Continuous learning opportunity

Online entrepreneurship education allows you to constantly learn new

information about relevant industries and the overall market so that you can gain a competitive edge. You will receive regular and updated content and information about the global business scenario that will help you make successful business plans. Moreover, a fast track business degree will allow you to top up your qualification by advancing to the final year of an accredited MBA programme, either online or on-campus.

Apply your knowledge

Learning about business and entrepreneurship is simply not enough; you must know how to apply your knowledge at work. It does not matter how much you know, but what you can achieve with what you have learned. As online programmes are highly flexible, you will be able to study and work simultaneously. This means you can immediately apply your knowledge into your business and hone your skills.

Learn to deliver value

I have seen many new entrepreneurs invest most of their time, energy and resources in acquiring new customers, instead of providing the best value to existing clients. The right entrepreneurial education will teach you not only how to gain new business leads but also how you can turn your present client into repeat clients.

If you ask me, pursuing a fast track mba degree online is one of the best ways to acquire entrepreneurship training for Nigerian youths. You will get to learn what you want, how you want, where you want, without emptying your bank account.

What do you think? Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas with me by commenting below. I would love to hear from you.

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How The American University of Nigeria Is Changing The Education Scenario

Since more than 250 schoolgirls were abducted in Nigeria by the terrorist organisation Boko Haram, security has become the top priority for Margee Ensign, head of the American University of Nigeria. The institute is perhaps the only academic institute in the African continent which follows the western pattern. The university is situated Adamawa state in the troubled northeast region of Nigeria. Ensign is aware that the Islamist extremist group, responsible for numerous deaths in the area from 2009, is aggressively against Western influence, particularly in education. She recently said “Our primary responsibility is making sure the students and the community stay safe.”

Creating a platform

The American University of Nigeria now serves as the residence of 21 girls among the 250 schoolgirls who were abducted at the crack of dawn in April 2014 from a secondary school located in Chibok town near Borno state. Although dozens of the victims have successfully escaped, around 219 of the kidnapped girls still remain unaccounted for. After finding out about the keen interest of the escaped girls in education, Ensign set up a foundation which would offer scholarships to them and other students. However, at present the students do not take any regular classes. Regarding the focus of the girls on preparing for exams, she said “ They were taking their national exams the night they were kidnapped.”

The institute had introduced the Adamawa Peace Initiative back in 2012 in order to “foster peace through education, empowerment and community development.” Last spring, President Goodluck Jonathan instructed the army into Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states after a state of emergency was imposed by the government.

Before the presidential election last month, where former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari won the support of the voters, the government said it has been successful in eradicating the terrorists from Adamawa state and was focused on doing the same in other states.

Destruction and damages affecting education

Ensign, director of the peace initiative, recently informed that she had “just returned from a trip up north, where damage is horrible.” In the latest blog update for The Huffington Post, where she occasionally writes about Nigerian developments, Margee Ensign described numerous scenes of destruction in houses, mosques, churches, communications facilities and even health centers. According to her, in one town “most of the public buildings had been shelled or burned. … No farms were being cleared and prepared for the rainy season.”

She believes that NGOs “have been quite slow” in their response to the exceptional humanitarian needs in the region. Ensign admitted that the Nigerian Red Cross and some other groups were actively providing support. But she said that “over 200,000 young children are not in school,” and she wishes to establish “mobile education” training centres to help these students access education easily.

Making education accessible

The American University of Nigeria has already set up a literacy programme which is focused “to reach as many young people, boys and girls,” as possible. She believes that most Nigerian parents are interested in getting their girls educated. However, they lack the proper resources, access and security.

What are your thoughts on this topic? Would you like to add to the discussion? Then feel free to comment below.

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How You Can Create The Right Work-Life Balance

 

Do you work to live? Or do you live to work? Nowadays, our jobs have become so important in our lives that we often wonder if we are actually married to our work. The fact is you tend to spend more time with your peers and colleagues at the office than you spend with your friends and family. Your work is often a reflection of your education, skills and ambition. When you get involved with work which is compatible with your skills, your job will help you feel important, useful, productive and alive.

When you are engaged with the “right” work, then it can feel challenging and exciting. However, if you are employed in the wrong work, it will make you feel increasingly unhappy and frustrated. If you are already feeling tired of your job and think your productivity is getting hampered with every passing day, then it's time for you to develop the right work-life balance.

Here are a few ways that can help you to effectively balance your work and your personal life and boost your career in the long run-

Create A Distinctive Line

The first thing you must do in establishing a work-life balance is to set up a clear and distinct line that separates your work from your personal life. You need to understand the distinction between your job and your life and then effectively separate both in order to create a balance.

Don't Be Stressed

A new study conducted by the American Psychological Association revealed that among all the age groups surveyed, Millennials tend to face the highest levels of stress. This is mainly due to their doubts related to professional capability and job insecurity. If you allow yourself to be stressed about your job, it will undoubtedly affect your life adversely. Hence, you need to find a way to relieve yourself from stress, whether it is by exercising regularly, listen to music, meditating or simply spending time with your family.

Do Something Important With Your Day

Although, you will end up spending most of your day at your workplace, it is imperative that you still manage time to do something worthwhile on a daily basis, especially if you don't love your job. Hence, you just might have to put in some c to do what is actually important to you. This will give your life meaning and motivate you to get up and get going the next day.

Take Enough Vacations

Are you afraid of taking vacations? And no, I don't mean sick days or working from home. I mean actual long duration vacations. If you get 12 vacation days, then make sure you take 12 vacation days. Go and visit a new city or meet a friend in a different state or simply go on a solo trip to your dream destination. You can also just take random days off to simply lazy around your home or do some chores. This will not only make you feel better but it will also improve your performance at work in the long run.

What else do you think you can do to create work-life balance? Let us know if you live to work or work to live. Comment in the box below and add to the discussion.

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How You Can Become The Next Billionaire In Nigeria?

Do you want to start your own business and become a billionaire? Well if you are an aspiring entrepreneur in Nigeria then you have very marginal chances of becoming a billionaire, according to statistics. However, all that can change with the right education, training and determination that will empower you to turn your business idea into reality. Let's have a look at what it takes to become a reputed billionaire in Africa....

The Billionaire Study

Being a billionaire is certainly not an easy thing as it is a highly selective club with globally renowned patrons. But does that mean that you can never become one? Of course not. Although it may seem that billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates area different breed, but they just like any other human being with an outstanding idea and the determination to turn their vision into reality. However, it is also important that you have the right education that will help you through your journey. So what educational choices did these special people make?

A new study conducted by UK-based Approved Index, a business-to-business platform, revealed that Engineering is the most common academic degree among the top 100 billionaires in the world. It was found that more than 22 per cent had pursued this course while at university, including Larry Page,co-founder of Google. The study compiled statistics from world's 100 richest people and used the Forbes 2015 list. The findings were rather surprising as around 9 per cent studied an arts degree, whereas Law, Mathematics and Science programmes had merely 2 per cent takers each (a total of 6 billionaires). On the other hand, 12 billionaires had studied a business degree and 8 per cent had pursued a degree in economics and 3 per cent studied finance at university level.

The study also found that that around 40 per cent of billionaires are from North America, while 29 per cent are from Europe and 22 per cent from Asia. It revealed that Australia and Africa have been able to create only 1 billionaire each till now.

Can You Become A Billionaire?

Do you think you have what it takes to become a billionaire? Or are you having doubts after taking a look at the data? Well then let me tell you that you have as much chance of becoming the next billionaire like any other person around the world. The Billionaire Census found that most of the billionaires in the world are self-made and merely one-in-five are heirs of rich parents. So it's time for you to enroll for the right degree and begin your journey.

But how do you know which programme will be the right one for you? That's actually simple! If you wish to be an entrepreneur in Nigeria then a business degree would be most beneficial for you. But as tuition fees in colleges and business schools worldwide are rising, studying a traditional business programme does not seem feasible anymore. If you ask me, I believe pursuing an online undergraduate diploma in business is the smartest option for you. Why?

Why You Should Study Online

One of the biggest advantages of an online undergraduate business diploma course is that these are highly affordable. Hence, you can easily gain effective business knowledge and skills without taking out a huge student loan. With the growing demand for online business courses, most reputed global B-schools and universities are now offering recognized business programmes to attract more students. Hence, you can be rest assured about the quality of education you will receive. Moreover, online business programmes are highly flexible so that you can study at any time you want from the convenience of your own home.

All these benefits and features will enable you to study and work simultaneously and provide you the opportunity to apply your learned knowledge at the work place immediately. Thus, you will be able to take your business forward and get one step closer to becoming a billionaire.

How do you plan to become a Nigerian billionaire? Fell free to share your thoughts and ideas with me by adding your comments below.

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Vocation and Technical Education - A Key to Improving Nigeria's Development

The issue of unemployment is increasingly becoming a serious problem for Nigeria as it is adding fuel to the rising problem related to mass poverty. The truth is unemployment often results in disillusionment and frustration that leads to drug abuse and crime as a useless attempt to runaway from the reality. Unemployment has even impacted thousands of school students, graduates and dropouts of tertiary institutions as they are still unable to find proper job opportunities.

How technical education can help Nigeria

There is no doubt that unemployment is one of the biggest threats in Nigeria that is affecting the future of Nigerian youths. However, there are some ways that we can still counter the obstacle and transform the scenario. One of the best solutions towards this goal is technical education that can enable us to lead Nigeria towards economic development. There are numerous highly qualified and skilled individuals who could not manage to find a job and are financially dependent on their families and/or parents. The main reason for this is the dearth of required occupational skills that can enable our youths to be self employed and face various challenges related to employment and business. But we can instill these skills in them by offering quality technical and vocational education.

Technical education and training helps individuals to learn essential techniques and knowledge and how they can implement it for improving their conditions. With the help of technical and vocational education you will be better prepared to join the workforce as well as start your own business. It will enable you to be self reliant and significantly contribute towards the development of their communities. As most recruiters look for fresh graduates with new skills every year, it is imperative that apart from earning necessary academic qualifications, you also need to acquire certain skills that will give you an edge over your fellow graduates.

Enabling Nigeria to progress

As the Nigerian economy is becoming increasingly globalised, you need to earn the right knowledge and skill set which will empower you to become an integral part of the global economy immediately after your graduation. Hence, you must develop skills in entrepreneurship, innovation and technology in order to prepare yourself to enter the international market place.

Only when we will give the due attention to education and technological advancement, Nigeria will be able to develop into a noteworthy economic force. We also need to encourage and recognize creativity, and channel the essential materials as well as human resources to the best use. It is also important that our national leaders recognize the real value of technical and vocational education for overall national development which will motivate them to adopt what effectively works in developed countries.

We must start now

The importance of technical education as a key for economic progress can't be overemphasized. Nigeria will not be able to advance without institutes that offer high quality technical and vocational institutions. Nigeria needs to start now and make the necessary investment in vocational education and skills training as it will enable our nation to compete with the global market place and empower our youths to be come skilled workers with gainful employment.

What do you think? Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas with us by commenting below.

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Top 5 Tips To Help CEOs Retain Their Valued Employees

Recruiting skilled and talented employees who can add substantial value to the company is a serious challenge for most employers. However, it is an even bigger challenge to retain such employees in the business as most tend to quit in search of better career opportunities and higher pay. Here we are going to talk about how you can make your most valued employees stay within the comp-any and help your business prosper. Read on.....

Retaining Your Employees                         

In a recent article, Entrepreneur, Results-Oriented CEO and Author Brett Fox writes “Employees, in my experience, have usually made up their mind when they resign. It’s become an emotional issue, and it’s very difficult to overcome emotion. Thus my perfect batting average. My view is simply, 'Don't let employees get to the point where they want to quit'.”

He believes that it is important to treat everyone properly, create a great work culture, assign interesting and challenging work and this will help to increase employee retention across all levels. Fox states “We unabashedly stole our company culture from Netflix with a little bit of Zappos and Sandy Koufax thrown in. We were thieves and robbers, but I’d like to think we were just being smart. I’ve always felt you can take inspiration from many different sources, not just from your industry.” He adds “I was fortunate to be exposed to Reed Hastings' (CEO of Netflix) wonderful culture manifesto (Culture) right after we started operations, and many parts of it resonated with me. I shared it with our executive staff, and they liked it as well.”

Here we are going to have a look at 5 important things that Brett Fox believes will help any company to develop a “fantastic” culture.

Hiring The Right Guy

Imagine you run a start-up with a team of 20 employees. What happens when you realise you have one bad performer? It means that 5 per cent of the workforce is incapable and ineffective. This is where you need to take fast action to fix your recruiting mistakes. However, you need to deal with terminations in the proper manner. Fox writes “Nothing kills a company quicker than mediocre co-workers, and this is especially true at a start-up where there is tremendous pressure to hire key personnel.”

Offering A Good Severance Package                     

You are bound to encounter different types of employees, but it can be overlooked as long as they perform effectively and embody the values of the business. According to Entrepreneur Brett Fox “It’s easy to tolerate jerks when things are going well, but things don’t always go well. One jerk, especially in a small start-up, can destroy a company. Hiring pressure can push you to hire a jerk, and you will likely regret it. We did hire a couple of jerks along the way. Shortly thereafter, they were given a generous severance package.”

Offering Freedom Is Important

Fox writes that only responsible employees are “worthy of freedom” and tend to thrive when provided freedom. Usually most businesses tend to impose more rules, restrictions and procedures as they grow. But it is imperative that businesses resist the temptation to do so no matter what.

He adds “Instead, make the bold decision that Netflix made to increase employee freedom (shown brilliantly in slides 43 and 55). We did, and it paid off for the team. Do it, and your team’s motivation will go up big time.”

No Vacation Policies

Yes, make sure you don't have any particular vacation policy, instead allow your employees to take as many vacations as they need, provided they get their work done effectively and without delay. Of course there is the possibility that your employees might misuse this opportunity. But it can create a negative outcome only if you are unable to recruit the right employees. In his post, Fox says “Hire the right people and this policy is self-correcting. By the way, a hidden benefit is that you don’t have to financially reserve for vacation when you go to a no vacation policy.”

What's Best For Business

You need to make sure that all policies are formed to enable the employees to work in the best interest of your company. Fox writes “The executive staff had a vigorous debate about enacting a rigid expense and travel policy. Again, the worry was abuse. Our theory was that it’s self-correcting. Employees that continually abused the policy would be given a generous severance package. I do remember one employee who tried to expense a one-mile car trip to interview a candidate. Can you imagine receiving a $0.55 expense report? I couldn’t. We talked about it in our staff meeting, and one of his peers set him straight.”

So there you have it...I hope these tips help you to create an excellent work environment that not only challenges and motivates your employees but also boost employees retention as well. Fox concludes by saying “All of this is great, but there is one more thing you, as a leader, need to do, no you MUST DO, to retain employees: You need to really care about your team.”

Feel free to leave your comments below. I would love to know what you think about this topic and how you retain your employees.