No fewer than 8,000 graduates converged on the auditorium of Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Lagos, where Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, canvassed greater investments in digital technologies and entrepreneurial training as measures to address the country’s youth unemployment rate.
Although they have all completed their programmes, most of the graduates are faced with an uncertain future – shrinking opportunities, whether in securing paid jobs or exploring generational wealth that entrepreneurship always offers.
Conscious of this challenge, the college came up with its 37th convocation lecture, which Chairman, Governing Council of the college, Prof. Funso Afolabi, said was “both timely and profoundly strategic.”
Its essence too, according to him, was to prepare the new graduates for how to navigate the challenge of shrinking opportunities. This perspective shaped the theme of the convocation lecture titled: “Entrepreneurship development in the digital age: Leveraging technology for job creation and economic growth.”
Afolabi justified its focus, which, according to him, became imperative at a time when digital transformation is redefining global competitiveness, reshaping labour markets and expanding the frontiers of innovation.
While Chairman, Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, chaired the event, Bamidele delivered the lecture purely from the institutional perspective.
Each of them provided deep insight into the deployment of new technologies for the development of start-up businesses that can catalyse exponential economic growth.
In his lecture, Bamidele canvassed greater investments in digital technologies and entrepreneurial training as measures to address the country’s youth unemployment rate.
He pointed out the trends in different parts of the world, whether in the established or emerging economies. The trends, he said, show that it is no longer tenable for governments “to provide white-collar jobs for graduates from higher institutions.”
He, therefore, highlighted the emergence of the digital economy, which he said new technologies and digital skills had been driving.
He explained the roles of the younger generation, especially the new graduates, in driving the country’s digital economy through new technologies and requisite skills in blockchain, data analytics, artificial intelligence, cyber security, web development, content marketing, cloud computing, immersive technologies and other forms of digital marketing.
The Senate leader emphasised the centrality of digital skills to the 21st century world.
He argued that countries seeking economic growth and sustainability in the present world should prioritise the need to import innovative knowledge and digital skills for the advantage of their people, especially the youth population.
He also pointed out that it “is no longer realistic the world over for governments to provide white-collar jobs for all the young graduates from the universities, polytechnics, technical colleges and other tertiary institutions. This is no longer fashionable, nor is it sustainable. The governments have now assumed the positions of creating environments that can enable creativity, innovation and invention.”
Bamidele noted that governments “are seriously looking for ways to prune the cost of governance and taking bold measures to drive innovations through synergy with private sectors. This is evident in the recent resolve of the National Assembly to enact the Nigeria Data Protection Commission Act, 2025, to reflect new realities in the country’s digital environment.”
He pointed out the epicentre of this legislation, which he said was designed to shape the country’s digital economy; strengthen its data protection and ensure sustained regulatory oversight in the digital space. The review of the Act, according to him, became crucial in defining the future relationship between the government, tech companies and Nigerians.
Bamidele also explained the strategic national significance of the 2024 National Digital Economy and e-governance Act. Enacted by the 10th National Assembly, the senate leader said the legislation, which came into force in July 2024, attests to the readiness of the federal government to take advantage of the new skills and technologies generously offered.
He explained how the Act effectively “defines the country’s digital economic environment. Its mandates primarily include enhancing the use of digital technology to grow Nigeria’s economy; creating an enabling environment for fair competition to promote innovation, growth and competitiveness for the Nigerian Digital Economy and enabling the digital transformation of public institutions and government processes for efficient and effective service delivery, among others.”
With these reforms, the senate leader encouraged the new graduates to embrace the new technologies and acquire digital skills, pointing out that the new wave of technological revolution and the attendant emergence of digital economies around the globe indicated that countries determined to survive the prevailing global economic realities should prioritise the impartation of innovative knowledge and technical skills in their young people.
“This is the secret behind the exponential growth of emerging economies in Asia. To attain a similar feat in Nigeria, our policy makers and state actors must prioritise entrepreneurship training. We must also incorporate the development of technical skills, creative innovation, digital education, problem-solving skills, the imparting of managerial capacity and interpersonal relationship development in our educational curricula from the primary to tertiary levels.
“This is the future we all envisage. This is the future we are looking forward to. And Nigeria, Africa’s leading nation in all ramification, cannot afford to be left behind,” Bamidele challenged both the academics and the new graduates.
He thus recalled the essence of establishing YABATECH, which was to provide full-time and part-time training in technology, applied science, commerce and management, agricultural production and distribution and research.
He observed that the priority which the institution attached to the development of technology, creative innovation and entrepreneurship training could not be overemphasised. For him, it is an eloquent testimony to the depth of the vision of past leaders who played a vital role in its establishment. He, however, challenged the leadership of the college to come up with more initiatives that would revolutionise the country’s digital education and transformation.
He admitted that the public institutions could not drive the process alone. He thus highlighted the role of the private sector in building capacities required for harnessing the gains of the digital economy. He called on the private sector “to focus on mentorship and networking by pairing upcoming entrepreneurs with experienced ones; creating peer communities; facilitating access to markets.”
Also at the lecture, Afolabi first appreciated the guest lecturer for prioritising matters of public interest above his personal comfort. He noted that Bamidele put aside the load of work on his table “to share his perspectives to the necessity of digital skills for entrepreneurial development in Nigeria and how the new graduates can leverage the new skills and technologies to tackle the spate of unemployment in the federation.”
He said the institution was indeed honoured “to have Bamidele, a seasoned legislator, advocate for youth empowerment and a passionate voice for national progress as guest lecturer.” His insights on this subject, he said, would no doubt enrich their understanding of the intersection between digital innovation, entrepreneurship and economic growth.
In his welcome address, the Rector of the institution, Dr Ibraheem Abdul, said the lecture captured the essence of the transitioning of YABATECH to a specialised University of Technology and Vocational Training. The essence, he said, is to fill the skill gaps in the country’s digital space.
He said: “We are not only preparing our graduates for the future of work; we are equipping them to shape it. The digital age demands creators, innovators and problem-solvers, and today’s conversation challenges all of us to harness emerging technologies for sustainable economic growth.”
