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London Business School To Empower Nigerian Youths With Skills

Published

2 years ago

January 22, 2024

The London Academy Business School says it is bringing the University of Sunderland to Nigeria to empower Nigerian youths with relevant skills.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the school, Dr Larry Jones-Esan announced this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday.

Jones-Esan said this was in a bid to bridge the gap between job opportunities and the skills possessed by Nigerian graduates.

“This initiative aims to equip Nigerian youths with the relevant skills needed to thrive in the country’s job market.

“It is no secret that oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria have to continuously apply for expatriate quotas to bring in thousands of foreign workers.

“This situation arises due to the mismatch between the skills possessed by Nigerian graduates and the job requirements in the industry,” he said.

According to Jones-Esan, in spite of the presence of over 250,000 oil and gas jobs in Nigeria, many Nigerian graduates pursue degrees in fields such as Library Science, Linguistics, Sociology, Philosophy, and Political Science.

He explained that these courses have limited relevance to the country’s job market.

“This mismatch has led to a situation where foreigners are often hired to fill positions that could have been occupied by qualified Nigerian candidates.

“For instance, renowned companies like Chevron, Total, and Elf have resorted to bringing in non-graduates with technical skills from countries like France to perform jobs that Nigerian graduates could have easily handled with the right training.

“The consequences of this mismatch are far–reaching. For example, when Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, built a $19.5 billion refinery, he faced a significant challenge in finding 11,000 technicians to operate it.

“This scarcity of skilled technicians was primarily due to the fact that many Nigerian graduates held degrees in fields such as Botany and Philosophy, which were not directly applicable to the technical requirements of the refinery,” Jones-Esan

He said that Dangote had to import technicians from India to fill these positions.

Jones-Esan said that the London Academy Business School, recognising the urgent need to address this issue, partnered with the University of Sunderland to bring quality education and training programmes to Nigeria.

He said the initiative would empower Nigerian youths to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to excel in industries such as oil and gas, technology, engineering, and other sectors critical to the country’s economic growth.

According to Jones-Esan, by offering courses that are directly applicable to the job market, the University of Sunderland’s presence in Nigeria will help address the mismatch between job opportunities and the skills possessed by Nigerian graduates.

The CEO urged Nigerian youths to seize the opportunity and take advantage of the programmes offered by the University of Sunderland in Nigeria.

Jones-Esan said that acquiring relevant skills would make Nigerian graduates better positioned to secure well-paying jobs and contribute to the country’s economic development.

He urged Nigerians to visit www.labs.org.uk for opportunities the school offered to the youths.

NAN

Headline

12 Die, 30 Missing In Peru Landslide

Published

10 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

At least 12 people, including three children, died in a landslide at a river port in central Peru on Monday, and 30 were reported missing, officials said.

The landslide submerged a boat with about 50 passengers on board, and another with none, as they were docked at the port of Iparia in the Amazon jungle region of Ucayali, according to a police report cited by the Andina news agency.

Six people were injured, it added, and a search and rescue operation was underway at the start of the Peruvian rainy season.

Without giving a toll, Peru’s COEN national emergency operations centre said on X that tragedy struck at dawn due to “erosion” of the bank of the Ucayali river.

It said the navy has been called in to help.

AFP

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Nigeria Grants Asylum To Guinea-Bissau Opposition Candidate

Published

10 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian embassy in Guinea-Bissau has granted asylum to Fernando Dias da Costa, the country’s opposition presidential candidate, following alleged threats to his life after last week’s military coup, The Cable Reports.

The coup was announced by military officers on Wednesday, just days after Guinea-Bissau’s presidential election in which both incumbent President Umaro Embaló and his main challenger, da Costa, claimed victory before official results were released.

Nigeria condemned the takeover and urged an immediate return to constitutional order.

In a letter to the President of the Economic Community of West African States Commission, Omar Touray, dated November 30, the Foreign Affairs Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, said President Bola Tinubu had approved asylum and protection for da Costa inside the Nigerian embassy in Bissau.

Tuggar wrote that the decision was made “in response to threats made against da Costa’s life.”

“In this regard, it would be appreciated if you would kindly mandate the ECOWAS Stabilisation Support Mission in Guinea-Bissau to provide him protection and security while in the premises of the Nigerian embassy,” the letter stated.

The foreign affairs minister’s Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy, Alkasim Abdulkadir, confirmed the letter’s authenticity to The Cable on Monday.

He said, “The decision of the Federal Government of Nigeria to grant asylum and provide protection to Fernando Dia Da Costa falls squarely within Nigeria’s sovereign responsibility and longstanding commitment to regional peace, stability, and democratic governance.”

He added that Nigeria acted “in the broader interest of de-escalation,” saying the government had exercised its discretion “to prevent further deterioration of tensions and to promote social cohesion in Guinea-Bissau and the wider West African sub-region.”

According to Abdulkadir, the intervention aligns with ECOWAS principles and reflects Nigeria’s role as a stabilising force in West Africa.

Following the coup, ECOWAS held an emergency virtual summit of heads of state and subsequently suspended Guinea-Bissau from the regional bloc until constitutional order is restored.

Headline

Trump To Attend FIFA World Cup Finals Draw On Friday

Published

11 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

The White House on Monday confirmed US President Donald Trump would attend the draw for the FIFA World Cup finals in Washington later this week.

The United States will co-host the 2026 tournament alongside Canada and Mexico.

“On Friday, President Trump will attend the FIFA World Cup final draw at the Kennedy Centre,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

Trump has made the World Cup a centrepiece event of both his second presidency and the 250th anniversary of US independence next year.

But the giant sporting extravaganza has not escaped the political turmoil caused by Trump’s hardline stance on a host of issues.

Trump, a Republican, has raised the possibility of moving games from some US host cities amid a crackdown on what he says is crime and illegal migration in some Democratic-run areas.

AFP