PRACTICAL SKILLS UNDERVALUED IN NIGERIA – ACE BROADCASTER

PRACTICAL SKILLS UNDERVALUED IN NIGERIA – ACE BROADCASTER

• By Admin
• COLLEGE
• Jul 11, 2025 02:35 pm

Ace Broadcaster and the Group Controller, Current and Public Affairs, TVC Communications Ltd, Mr. Babajide Kolade-Otitoju has decried the undervalue of practical skills in Nigeria as against the country’s  growing youth population and persistent skills gap.

He made this stand at a public lecture, themed "Technical Education and National Development: The Place of AI, Its Credibility, Trust, and Transparency," held at Yaba College of Technology, Yusuf Grillo Auditorium, in honour of Dr. Omobayo Taofeek Raheem, immediate past Director of the Centre for Information, Communication and Public Relations (CICPR) and former Deputy Rector of  the college.

Mr. Babajide Kolade-Otitoju in the paper delivered but, represented by the Managing Editor and Chief Executive Officer,  Premium Eagle Media,  Mr. Dotun Oladipupo, challenged the national obsession with certificates over capabilities.

According to him, “in Nigeria, practical skills are undervalued. We must begin to shift from paper qualifications to practical competencies,”.

“Technical education offers a viable alternative, equipping youths with the hands-on expertise, the economy desperately needed;” he added.

Kolade-Otitoju underscored how internships, industry partnerships, and applied learning can close the unemployment gap while igniting innovation in sectors ranging from engineering to digital media.

He also called on President Bola Tinubu to sign the bill abolishing the dichotomy between HND and BSc, and urged increased funding for polytechnics nationwide.

Delivering the welcome address, the Rector, Yaba College of Technology, Dr Engr Ibraheem Abdul described the lecture as both a tribute and a strategic forum.

“We are gathered to celebrate a man of repute and, at the same time, reflect on a subject that is of immense importance to national development,” he said.

Adding that “the future of education, especially technical education is inseparably linked to technology, and most notably, artificial intelligence.”

The rector said that beyond policy and pedagogy, the event served to honour Dr. Omobayo Raheem for his years of service to the college and his leadership of CICPR.

“This event is a reaffirmation of our commitment to excellence,” as “Dr. Raheem leaves a legacy of principled leadership and unwavering dedication.”

He described him as a mentor, visionary, and bridge-builder whose tenure strengthened the institution’s communication strategy and academic visibility.

The chairman of the lecture and  Rector, Federal Polytechnic, IIaro, Dr. Mukail Akinde, argued that technical education must evolve to include emerging technologies.

“Artificial Intelligence has become one of the most revolutionary forces in modern development and its  integration into technical education enhances training quality and prepares students for high-demand roles in automation, data science, and robotics.”

Dr. Akinde stressed that the ethical deployment of AI must be rooted in credibility, trust, and transparency but however cautioned against the unchecked spread of AI tools lacking the values.

Akinde called for interdisciplinary collaboration among developers, educators, and policymakers and elaborated on real-world use cases from intelligent tutoring systems and AI-powered coding assistants to virtual labs and automated assessment tools demonstrating AI’s power to personalize learning and boost student performance in technical fields.

He warned that without ethical safeguards, the technology could deepen inequalities or propagate bias and is not whether we use AI but how responsibly we do so.”

 

 

 

 

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