The Vice Chancellor of Summit University Offa, Kwara State, Prof. Abiodun Musa Aibinu, has decried the high rate of unemployment in Nigeria, linking that to the increase in crime.

According to the Vice Chancellor, over 21 million young Nigerians are without any job to make ends meet.

Of the 21 million unemployed persons, Aibinu said 2.9 million have either graduate or postgraduate degrees from tertiary institutions of learning.

He expressed worries that the majority of unemployed persons fall between the productive ages of 15 and 34.

In his concern, the Professor warned that the high rate of unemployment has continued to “lead youths to criminal activities to gain income to feed themselves and their families.”

Aibinu spoke at a lecture he delivered during the Elective National Convention and 20th Anniversary of the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta Muslim Alumni, (MAPAMA), held yesterday in Abeokuta.

Speaking on the theme, ‘Creativity And Innovation: Tools For Solving Economic Crises In Nigeria’, the VC lamented that most research projects carried out by students at the end of their academic years were being abandoned on shelves.

He said there was no motivation to turn the ideas in the research works into products that could be sold to the public.

While explaining that there is no link between tertiary institutions and industries, the don said this has created a chasm that discourages the transformation of these academic research projects into products that are marketable.

He regretted that Nigeria, with over 300 tertiary institutions, was ranked 124 in the global innovation rankings in 2021, according to the global innovation index.

Aibinu also complained that though the nation has several agencies saddled with the responsibility of promoting innovation and creativity, the output from the said agencies has never resulted in any significant increase in the country’s technological ranking.

He, therefore, opined that the use of innovation and creativity can be implemented to develop the economic situation through what he termed ‘Acadoprenuership’, which he said is the turning of academic ideas and researches into viable businesses and start-up ventures.

With this, he expressed optimism that graduates would no longer rely on the government for job opportunities, but they would have the creativity and innovation to transform their knowledge and skills into sustainable firms.

Earlier in his speech, the MAPAMA National President, Prince Taofeek Oyeniyi, stated that the association has served as a platform for the growth of members in all aspects.

Oyeniyi disclosed that the body has been implementing key programmes in the area of education, economic empowerment, welfare and institutional capacity enhancement.