MTN Nigeria CEO, Dr. Karl Toriola, has issued a strong call for curriculum reform and digital skills adoption to boost employment, saying: “We must make education employable.”
Speaking at the 11th Public Lecture of the Sigma Club, University of Ibadan, Toriola delivered his keynote on the theme Leveraging Technology & Digital Education for Mass Employment, Wealth Creation and Poverty Alleviation.
He argued that technology and education can drive mlarge-scale transformation by unlocking access to global and local job markets.
“Technology enables entrepreneurship, remote work, and access to essential services, especially in underserved areas,” he said, but warned of several barriers. These include the infrastructure deficit from high deployment costs, poor electricity, insecurity in rural areas, digital literacy gaps, gender and regional disparities, outdated policies, and weak public-private coordination.
Referencing a recent story of a high-achieving Nigerian doctor with multiple simultaneous specializations, Toriola said: “It’s incredible what some of our people are doing. Our youths are ready. Our systems must be ready too.”
He urged stakeholders to expand digital infrastructure, reform school curricula, strengthen public-private partnerships, and design programs with gender and cultural awareness in mind.
“We have to create the opportunities for students to practice what they are learning with institutions, private-sector institutions that are using those skills of the future,” he said.
While automation and robotics often dominate conversations about the digital economy, Toriola emphasized that significant opportunities also exist in content creation, manufacturing, and agriculture.
“Huge opportunities exist in Nigeria. We need to provide the environment for the Nigerian youth to thrive by driving connectivity, changing the curricula to allow our students to acquire the skills that are required in the job market of today.”
He closed with a message of encouragement: “It does not matter however you start. Where you get to at the end of the day is a product of how dedicated, focused and hardworking you are. Never give up. Nigerians have an immeasurable capacity to deliver if given the right opportunities.”
Earlier in his welcome address, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, represented by his Deputy Chief of Staff, Hon. Folajimi Oyekunle, described the lecture’s theme as timely and in line with the administration’s focus on innovation and inclusive development.
He cited the state’s Waste to Wealth programme, which has created 12,000 direct jobs, and the recruitment of 21,000 teachers as examples of efforts to improve employment outcomes. Makinde also noted that Oyo State’s internally generated revenue had risen to N8.5 billion in the first quarter of 2025, compared to a pre-2019 average of N1.6 billion. “The government so far has worked with all stakeholders to create an enabling environment for job creation, which gives our graduates the opportunity to be employed in government work,” he said. “We continue to support and encourage wealth in the state and also to support programs like this, which in one way or the other, give back to their school.”
Other dignitaries at the event included the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade; Dr. Gani Adeniran, retired lecturer from the University of Ibadan’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, who served as Father of the Day; and Professor Gabriel Ogunmola, Chancellor of Lead City University, Ibadan.
The event also highlighted MTN’s recently launched Digital Skills Academy, part of its Foundation’s Digital Skills for Digital Jobs programme. The platform offers a career guidance tool to help users identify and pursue in-demand career paths, supporting the National Digital Economy Policy and Sustainable Development Goal 4 on quality education.
