 So the skills of the future for Nigerians, my question is whose responsibility? Mine or the government's? We all know the Nigerian person is resilient, tenacious, goal-getting and almost aggressive in execution. However, what is it about us that makes us a nation of optimists? Have such a high unemployment rate and an increasing poverty index? It is interesting to note that the forward of the Inido Skills Gap Assessment Report of six priority areas of the Nigerian economy states that the high unemployment rate in Nigeria, among other issues, has impacted negatively on the economy, thus jeopardizing national security and social economic development. It has now been said that without new skills, Nigerians are being left behind in jobs of the future and in a few years from now, approximately by the year 2030, it's highly likely you and I will be working in a job that doesn't even exist yet. So according to the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs report, 50% of all employees will need reskilling by 2025, which is just a few years from now in case we're not aware of that, especially as adoption of technology increases and due to the double disruption of the economic impacts of the pandemic. Topping the list of skills to grow will be critical thinking and problem solving, while skills in self-management, such as active learning, resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility are also emerging, as well as skills in the use and design of technologies, otherwise known as digital skills. The forum estimates that by 2025, 85 million jobs may be displaced by a shift in the division of labor between humans and machines. But even more jobs or whooping 97 million may emerge that are more adapted to the new division of labor between humans, machines and algorithms. Another report by the International Finance Compression, IFC, highlights the existence of a skills gap, outdated curriculum in engineering programs and lack of opportunities for students to apply skills learned in the classroom in most African countries, including Nigeria. Nigeria also lags behind most of the world in terms of technology advancement, innovation, investment and digital skills. It is interesting to note that according to the 2020 Global Innovation Ranking, Nigeria as a country dropped seven places to rank 121st out of 131 countries. And so an example to drive this home would be that of an accountant. An accountant might become less relevant if he or she focuses only on theoretical accounting knowledge. However, if he or she decides to upskill by getting more knowledge in data analysis or sciences, it positions such a person as an accounting expert with additional digital capabilities. Meaning that the good news is that the very technological disruption that is transforming jobs could also very well be the key to providing us with new jobs and helping us learn new skills to adapt. As organizations are re-evaluating their operations and identifying personnel not crucial to their operations, it is important for you not to be complacent and comfortable your current skillset, but rather develop yourself in the four core areas of skills of the future, which once again are problem solving, self-management, working with people, technology use and development. So my thoughts today are very simple and they are very multifaceted at the same time. On one hand, will we as Nigerians adapt to innovation and skills of the future as quickly as required due to our competitive nature? Or are we going to continue with business as usual? And on the other hand, what role will our famous government play in harnessing the strength of our population and creating an enabling environment for our citizens? At the end of the day, it may very well be in the hands of each Nigerian to realize that the skills of the future which are simply put comprising of technical and social skills must be harnessed and it's time to take the bull by the horn. You are what you make your life to be. I remember when my first child started secondary school, she went to a private school, one of the good schools in Festak and I saw the curriculum, I saw the numbers of topics, number of subjects, there were so many, I had a problem with that. Then I saw Ibo and I was like, why is my daughter taking Ibo? She's Yoruba, she's struggling with Yoruba, I'm putting Ibo. And I told the teacher there and there that I'm not going to support this and I'm not going to help her to prepare for Ibo. So then and there, both myself and my daughter, we agreed that this Ibo will take zero and will move on. That's taking your life into your hands. Because of what benefits I'm learning Ibo, zero benefits. Now, what do we do? Let me, I'm going back to your point. What do we do? We channel our energy to the point, to the causes that matter. I'm an accountant, I have a PhD in accounting. I have a business that has absolutely nothing to do with my so-called accounting, MSc, BSc, PhD. It's not so much school is grossly outdated. You and I know that. And that is why it is important that the future is what we make of it. This technology skill that you're clamoring for. Are you going to find it in Nigerian schools that are still teaching my daughter Ibo in 2022? No, it's what we make of it. These entrepreneurial skills that CISI is clamoring for, that is what the future lies. And that is what you arm the children with. What is most important? This so-called X plus Y. Where is it going to take them to? How many of the top silicon companies employ somebody with a BSc? They don't need your BSc. What do they need your ability to sit down there, take decisions and produce results? You see, that is one thing that I think that maybe we are not particularly understanding. Now, why I said I disagreed with the Ibo part was it's not so much so learning Ibo. The thing about skills is that what skills are gotten from actions that you carry out. So when we look at critical thinking, problem solving, decision making and the floor classifications. If my daughter was to learn Ibo, I probably would not discourage her. Not because she's going to use Ibo, but because I understand that the process of actually going through learning that language is actually developing a skill set that she will use. I remember when I was trying to do a lot of things at the British Council back then and they were talking about competency-based interviewing. I do a lot of stuff around human capacity building and I realized that when we talk about experience, maybe that's one thing that even for interviewers and in the HR space there might be some misunderstandings. When I'm asking you for experience or competence and they put their head in that, they said you may not have the experience required in this particular role you're asking for. But what from your general life experience can you extrapolate and then bring out those competences? At that time they were speaking over my head. I lied not to you. They were speaking Latin, gibberish. Every single day I was like, what are they talking about? I don't understand what you're saying. So I think that it's that's what we're learning from the actions. The process might be more important than the real things. This is what we're taking 16 courses. You see, when I was second in school, we did all... I remember the SS one. Okay, yes, SS one. They were second in school. And here you are today. How many of those experiences have you translated to what you are today? Oh, quite a lot actually. This is what I think. I think both of you are speaking from two sides on the same coin. So what I'm saying is this. I'm just trying to make it clear. This is what I'm saying. I agree with you. So what you're saying is that the learning, the subjects that have been learned that have been outdated and needs to be thought in terms of the content. She's talking about the process of actually learning. So if I'm learning Igbo and I'm learning French, it's a process of picking up new words. So it requires a certain cognitive ability to pick up new words. So that's what she's talking about. Wait, if you're learning French in the number of useful languages in the world, do you know that studies have shown that Nigerians are one of the most linguistic people in the world? But unfortunately, the languages we speak have no place in the international world. No, I think you are a very focused, straight to the point. And that's good. No, you need to have put that effort into Igbo. Put that effort into Mandarin. Let's have Sizi bring your perspective from another side of the continent. Sizi, do you want to learn Mandarin? I've been advised to be brief because I know myself I've got verbal diarrhea and this is the kind of stuff that gets me going. And if I start, nobody can stop me. But I want to say, you know, language on cognition, you know, it's just a topic on its own. But what I want to say is just to add on what you guys are saying, I want to say what is important is you guys might have the same skills, might have the same knowledge. But what's important is, you know, being innovative, being creative. Those are very fundamental, you know, in the present situation. But on the issue of language and, you know, I'm pro-mother tongue education and I really don't want to get started. I hope that next we'll have time when we speak about mother tongue education. So what I wanted to highlight is innovation and creativity is very critical. Yes, it is. Thank you for your contribution, Sizi. Yes, most definitely. Am I allowed to say make a point? Okay, two seconds. They're very correct on the language issue. But my point still remains, she's Yoruba. You've not access to speak and write to Yoruba, SSC and let her pass. The next thing I'll expect you to give to Pamela is that you know that the language of the future is the Chinese language, Mandarin. Bring it to the table. You know, in America, for example, America, the researchers showed that in the next two decades, Spanish is going to be the most sought-after language in America. So you cannot have a student in class and you'll not teach that child, equip the child with Spanish. So must we learn it for the future? Thank you for using the word focused. I think that are very interesting dynamic conversations and truly what I would say is that in everything that we're talking about I think we're going to have to look at both the school and the entirety of community as we have said across what everything we said today has kind of tailored around that. Anyway, we thank you for your attention while the program lasted. We hope our conversation resonated with you and that in some small way, encourage you to contribute to your immediate environment. Little drops of water they say makes a mighty ocean. Don't forget, The Advocacy continues on our social media platforms on Facebook, Plus TV Africa, hashtag The Advocate NG or on Instagram at Plus TV Africa, hashtag The Advocate NG. To catch up with previous broadcasts, go to plustvafrica.com slash The Advocate NG. Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel Plus TV Africa. Join us next week, same time on this station. Let's keep advocating for a better society. See you next time. Bye.