Increasingly, organizations in Nigeria as a matter of policy are now sourcing their workforce from outside the country. Some employers of labor said the outsourcing became very necessary following the falling standard in the nation’s education and the performance of its products in real work environment. They however warned against the negative implications in the long run. An expert in the Oil and Gas industry said its company has made it a policy to employ Diaspora Nigerians to fill their vacancies whenever there was an opening.
“What is happening in our education sector is of great concern. The incessant strikes and quality of the products are really not meeting the manpower needs of the country. To tell you the extent to which the education sector has degenerated. I graduated from a University in the country, one of the old federal universities. After some years, my first son needed to go to the university and I was planning to send him to my alma-mater, but a professor I knew very well told me that sending my son to that university would be the greatest disservice I would do to my son. It was a wise counsel and I took it” the expert said.
“Today in my organization, all our human resources are sourced from outside the country. They are better in terms of work ethics, skill and ability to deliver”, the technocrat added.
Franca Ovadje, Director, Centre for Research in Leadership and Ethics, Lagos Business School (Pan-African University) observed that the country had sunk so low in its educational system, so bad is the situation that may of those who pass through the system cannot defend their certificates. This terrible state of affairs has impacted negatively on the nation’s productivity. Ovadje noted this as a serious challenge to the nation’s quest for development.
From the research we have, the real problem is with our educational system. Human resources managers are complaining that they can’t find the right kind of talents that they are spending a lot of time and money developing university graduates to be relevant in their organizations. Now these are companies that can spend that money. A lot of companies out there do not have that resources or do not even realize what they need to get the graduates prepared for what they are needed to do in office.
You hire them today, you fire them tomorrow; it is a big issue and people are not addressing it. We are looking at the educational system and see how situation can be improved. The other concern that came out in this research is the gap between the rich and the poor. Employers are employing graduates from private universities and from universities abroad. Who are those people being employed? Usually they are children of rich people. Now, what happens to children from poor backgrounds that have no opportunity to attend private universities or study abroad? Most times, we hope that the next generation will be better”.
