PhD holders as truck drivers: Which headway for Nigeria

By Ikenna Asomba

President Goodluck Jonathan: "We shall tackle the situation"

Amidst news making the rounds that about six Ph.D holders were among the 13, 000 applicants who applied as truck drivers in a recent job placement by Dangote Group, mixed feelings have continued to trail the alarming unemployment statistics of Nigeria.


Speaking during a mentorship meeting of the World Bank Youth Forum, Chairman of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote said that the company only needed 100 drivers, but received the overwhelming applications.

“Of the 13,000 applications received by the company for Graduate Executive Truck Drivers, there were six Ph.D, 704 Masters and over 8,460

 Bachelor degree holders,” Dangote revealed.

Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu: "I think there's hope"

As the Statistician-General of the Federation, Dr. Temi Kale, had recently put the number of jobless Nigerians at 20.3 million and with this recent scramble for a common truck driving job by doctorate degree holders who had spent no less than 10-15 years to bag their respective degrees, “the future spells doom for the nation,” Captain David Ndiaye, Managing Director, Inshira Freight Forwarders Limited has said.   

In an exclusive interview with NIGERIANCOMPATRIOT, Captain 

Ndiaye expressed dismay at the alarming rate 

of unemployment in the country, noting that 

government’s insensitivity at providing enabling 

environment for private enterprises to thrive 

attributes largely to it.

Retrace Nigeria’s economy to agriculture

According to him, “there may not be anything extra-ordinary for Ph.D holders to take up truck driving, but if you are an intellectual, you will be shocked. Howbeit, this is not a good example for the younger generation. If a young boy sees a Ph.D holder driving truck, he will be discouraged going to school. What quickly rushes to his mind is what’s the essence of going to school, when there are no jobs for me after graduation. If nothing is done to check this high rate of unemployment in the country, such young ones may tomorrow take up arms against the society,” he averred.

He also opined that the over reliance on oil continues to spell doom for the nation. He thereby urged government to retrace the nation’s economic root to agriculture, noting that agriculture is the backbone of every successful nation.

The Guinean experience

As countries like China, Ghana, Mali and others have discovered oil in their lands, the ship captain also implored government to toe the line of a country like Guinea, where agronomy has now become the main stay of its economy.

He said: “If you check a country like Guinea, the government trains its youth populace in agriculture. It has also refused the Whites to come and work, taking all the monies away. It is often disheartening that when financial institutions like the World Bank grant loans to Third World nations such as Nigeria, they still rely on the Whites to help them fix the jobs the loans were meant for. When you spend large chunk of the money providing better welfare packages for the White expatriates and their servants, the bonafide citizens of the country, especially the youth populace are left to roam the streets.”

To avoid further recurrence of this appalling situation, he noted that the Guinean government trains large chunk of its youth populace in agriculture, even as it also sends them abroad for refreshers course to upgrade their knowledge.

Continuing he said: “Nigeria won’t record this kind of situation where a PhD holder is taking a job meant for unlettered members of the society, if government doesn’t take agriculture with levity. Nigeria can create massive employment for its teeming population out of agriculture than the so-called oil and civil service.

“Traveling from Lagos to Abuja, a whole lot of lands are wasting, untapped. To addressing the problems, I expect government to toe the line of countries like Ghana, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Guinea and even Cameroon, who will tap this land to cultivate banana, pineapple, cassava and cocoyam plantations.

“When you visit some of these countries, you discover that they have tapped so much into agriculture, that they even build transplantation factories on farm plantations, so that both the farms and factories will provide jobs for their teeming youth populace. You also find out that schools and recreational centres are built on these farms so that the children of the workers can enjoy easy access to quality education like those of the elites. This is not too difficult for successive Nigerian governments to do, considering the wealth of the nation,” he enthused.

Create well equipped Agriculture Varsities, Development Banks

Ndiaye added: “What is the essence of creating more of our traditional universities, when government can invest in the establishment of well equipped universities of agriculture? Perhaps, in these universities students can be trained on how to engage in cultivating cassava, cocoyam and potato plantation, while also trained to rear rabbits, fishes, piggery, tortoise and even mushrooms. These are the main stay of most of these French speaking countries. When this is done, you empower and establish a self dependent youth society, who will further create jobs in the country.”

Tied to this, he also suggested that government establishes Agriculture Development Banks, where after graduation these youths could approach them for soft loans, noting that the banks will also monitor and supervise them at impulse, so that they won’t misapply the monies given them, by marrying, buying big houses and cars.

Send corrupt civil servants, politicians to firing squad

Saddened by the gross disregard for the social security of poor masses in the country, while politicians live in largesse with the country’s wealth, Ndiaye in an emotion-laddened voice sued that “corrupt public office holders and civil servants found wanting of embezzlement of public funds should be sent to firing squad. By so doing, it will serve as deterrent to prospective thieves.”

He, however, lauded the efforts of Alhaji Aliko Dangote and few other patriotic Nigerian elites invest in the country, thereby creating massive jobs for citizens. “If we have about 20 Dangotes in Nigeria, patriotic individuals who would rather than storing up stolen wealth in Swiss banks, invest massively to create employment in the country, I doubt if Nigerian masses would cry of poverty and impoverishment.”