For decades, the Nigerian dream was simple: Go to university, earn your degree, and step into a well-paying job preferably in oil and gas. That line has since crumbled into a maze. The oil sector alone once accounted for 6 percent to 9 percent of Nigeria’s GDP and was the golden ticket to prosperity. But the ground has shifted beneath the feet of today’s graduates, and the old playbook no longer works. Today, those opportunities have shrunk. Oil is no longer the only cash cow it once was, and the public sector appears less prestigious.
For decades, the Nigerian dream was simple: Go to university, earn your degree, and step into a well-paying job preferably in oil and gas. That line has since crumbled into a maze. The oil sector alone once accounted for 6 percent to 9 percent of Nigeria’s GDP and was the golden ticket to prosperity. But the ground has shifted beneath the feet of today’s graduates, and the old playbook no longer works. Today, those opportunities have shrunk. Oil is no longer the only cash cow it once was, and the public sector appears less prestigious.