Professor Yakubu Ochefu, a distinguished scholar in economic history and development studies, has outlined crucial steps necessary for Nigeria’s public and private universities to prepare for future relevance in a rapidly evolving global landscape.

Speaking as a guest lecturer at the 81st Interdisciplinary Research Discourse of the Postgraduate College of the University of Ibadan, Professor Ochefu emphasized the need for Nigeria to revamp its university system to produce a well-rounded and fit-for-purpose workforce for the emerging world of work.

Identifying numerous challenges facing university education in Nigeria, including shrinking funding, poor quality of teaching and non-teaching staff, infrastructural deficits, and curriculum inadequacies, Professor Ochefu underscored the importance of converting these challenges into opportunities to attain greatness.

He highlighted the importance of soft skills or micro-credentials that university graduates should possess to become relevant in the evolving world of work. These skills include sense-making, social intelligence, novel and adaptive thinking, cross-cultural adaptability, computational thinking, new-media literacy, transdisciplinarity, design mindset, cognitive load management, and virtual collaboration.

Moreover, Professor Ochefu noted that the 4th Industrial Revolution has revolutionized the nature of work, rendering traditional boundaries between learning and teaching obsolete. He emphasized that learning and teaching now transcend traditional boundaries, with knowledge generation happening across various sectors beyond academic institutions.

Regarding the future of Nigerian universities, Professor Ochefu projected the emergence of new ownership models, including public-private partnerships and for-profit universities. He also envisioned a rise in “edupreneurs” and a significant increase in the choice of schools available across levels.

Highlighting the global market value for tertiary education and the projected growth in the student population, Professor Ochefu urged stakeholders to tighten their belts and embrace the recently introduced New Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards for Nigerian universities to steer the education sector towards greater excellence and relevance in the future.