Actor and former Big Brother Naija star Seyi Awolowo has delivered a blunt message to Nigerian youths and policymakers on the state of education. Speaking on the Conversations With Kenni podcast hosted by Kehinde Ajose, he said the system feels deliberately stacked against ordinary people while calling for real incentives and smarter voting.
When asked for advice to young people on education, Seyi first pointed to personal choice.
“At the end of the day, this thing is about choices. You can force a donkey to the stream, but you can’t force it to drink water,” he said.
He quickly shifted focus to those in power.
“Before I speak to the young ones, I believe the people in charge of policies need to start incentivizing the educational system. They need to start giving rewards to people that do well because that’s a start to it,” Seyi explained.
He recalled that in his school days, intelligence brought tangible benefits such as scholarships and grants. State governments even paid for their indigenes studying in other states.
Today, he noted, many graduates face unemployment and are left with loans they may never repay. Referring to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), he questioned its long-term impact.
“People now have to take on loans they may never pay back because there are no jobs at the end of the journey. Even currently, there are a lot of graduates that do not have jobs.”
He argued that removing subsidies from power, oil, agriculture and now education has made life harder for the average citizen.
“The system feels and looks like it is rigged against everyone else who’s not well to do. And even if you are well to do, all it’ll take is one other policy to take everything from you. It’s very shaky,” Seyi stated.
He urged young people to get involved in the political process, stressing that voting for the right leaders is the only way to demand better policies.
“We need the young people to get involved because regardless of how much they’re making, they need to know what they are about to do because it’s going to be what we live with for the next couple of years.”
Seyi Awolowo, grandson of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, latest comments add to growing public debate about unemployment and the future of Nigerian education.