Is a university degree overrated? Case study: Nigeria.

     In Nigeria today, an individual without a university degree is seen as an unserious individual, some even sees the person as a failure. It is a known fact that the most successful individuals in Nigeria and around the world do not have university degrees, although many of them can boast of several university degrees ranging from graduate degree, masters degree, doctorate degree etc. These degrees do not guarantee an ordinary person ( without connection) a successful and fulfilled career.
     Nigerian universities churn out about 1.8 million graduates into the already saturated labor market yearly. Only a very few percent gets employed and are being paid the actual salary they deserve, another few are employed but are being under paid and used more or less like slaves. The remaining percent of this population who are unemployed would have to seek for an alternative way to make ends meet. This involes thinking deep about what talent they have and how they can transform it into money. Some of this talents includes: arts, sports, music, fashion, business, craft etc.
     Let us take for instance, the most successful business man in Nigeria who also doubles as the richest black man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has no university degree. It is interesting to know that if you combine the wealth of all the professors in Nigeria, their total networth does not amount to half of Alhaji Aliko Dangote's wealth. Another example is Bill Gates, the richest man in the world. He has no university degree and yet he is the most successful and richest person in the world even after donating almost half if his wealth to charity!
     There are many successful millionaires and few billionaires with university degrees. One can confidently say that their university degrees did not get them to where they are today! They had to think outside the box, that is, they did not rely only on the things they were taught in the process of aquiring their various degrees.
     A university degree in Nigeria is a necessary evil in the sense that, having a university degree automatically qualifies one for a job. You cannot work in organizations without a university degree except for some menial jobs like cleaning, driving, security etc.
     On the other hand, it is evil because organizations give jobs to quacks who can only state theories and cannot out put them into practice. Some of these degrees are given out after bribe has been paid. Employer would not give the qualified person the job because they have no university degrees.

     So to me, i think a university degree is overrated, what do you think?
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