Nigeria becomes primary market for Nexford with graduation of 200 pioneer MBA graduates

Nexford University, which birthed five years ago in Nigeria, has recorded its first milestone with the successful graduation of 200 pioneer MBA graduates.

Olamidun Majekodunmi, the country director of the University who disclosed this during a hybrid graduation ceremony held in Lagos said she made sure Nigeria becomes a primary market for Nexford.

“Today marks a major milestone and also emphasizes the impact of a vehicle of disruption like Nexford to society at large. We must be proud of what we’ve all achieved together as we celebrate this set of 200 pioneer MBA graduates from Nigeria alone. This is only the beginning.”

She said with your MBA from Nexford, you’re a cut above the rest. You applied extra tenacity to complete your online degree, many of you working full time jobs, during a pandemic, often without constant power supply and connectivity, combined with spikes in FX rates… choi, you’re blessed, Majekodunmi said.

Obiageli Ezekwesili, advisory board member of Nexford University in her speech at the event canvassed public-private partnership in Nigeria’s education sector.

The country’s former Minister of Education said, “It is about the public and private sectors working in harmony. You have to address issues of access, relevance and quality. And it requires government as regulator of education, the standard sectors as well as the private sector, with a lot more money to support the kind of quality faculty that teaches the kind of things that Nexford is able to teach.

“Every university system is determined by the quality of its faculty and curriculum. If you do not work with your private sector for tertiary education, you will be producing graduates that have no business in the economy; so, they will become jobless. It is important to bear that in mind in the way we design education policies.”

Ituah Ighodalo, senior pastor of Trinity House Church, said the pandemic made virtual education part of the new normal.”I want to congratulate the graduands. I think they have moved to the next level of education. Virtual education where you can receive education anywhere in the world and education-knowledge is power. Without knowledge, the people are defeated, the more knowledge and exposure you can have, the more you can be an international citizen, the better you are,” he said.

Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, the founder of Andela said, “It is important for us to understand where the world is going now, which is that all of a sudden, there is a huge shift from natural resources being the primary source of the country’s wealth to human resources. That is why the work that Nexford is doing is very important.

“Over the next 15 years, we are going to be over 300 million people and we don’t have any scalable infrastructure for educating our children.”

He added, “In the last 18 months, young people have not been able to go to any university because of the pandemic and the Academic Staff Union of Universities strike. Online education is fast becoming a lifeline for our schools.”