AN ADVOCACY FOR REVITALIZING THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY THROUGH ENTREPRENEURIAL EDUCATION

Abstract

Nigeria, with its ever-growing youth population, faces the multiple challenge of high youth unemployment, under-employment and a lack of clear-cut curriculum as well continuity in policy implementation. The concurrent effect of these challenges is the waning and dwindling interest. Despite having the largest population of young people in the world, the lack of decent employment opportunities has hindered productivity and slowed down development. For example, the 2020 #EndSARS protest in Nigeria underscored the urgency of addressing youth unemployment. Although in response, the Nigerian Ministry of Education introduced an entrepreneurship skills development curriculum in universities, aiming to equip students with an entrepreneurial mindset, the implementation is nowhere commendable. This because, a decade later, graduate unemployment rates remain high in Nigeria. In view of the underpinning factors affecting the growth of economy in the nation leading to massive youth unemployment, there was the need for a rethinking of approach already advanced.This paper advocates for revitalizing entrepreneurship education as a catalyst for sustainable economic development. Dwelling heavily on Forbes's recommendation for the attainment of entrepreneurial autonomy, the paper sought to propose a more practicable template with emphasis on (1) Practical Approach, (ii), Funding and Infrastructure, (iii), Collaboration and Partnership