Why Tertiary Institutions Lack Impact on Nation’s Economic Potentials, Says Enyindah

. Says over 85% of Nigerian graduates lack digital skills

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

Education is the highest investment any developing country can embark on, because of the assured revenue flow on the investment, and the expectation that the graduates would be adequately prepared to take over vital roles in development of the country.

An expert and Medical Director of Psychiatric Hospital, Port Harcourt, Dr Nonyenim Enyindah, has observed that most of the tertiary institutions are in dilapidated conditions and unable to make the desired impact on the nation’s economic potentials

Dr Enyindah made the observation in his presentation titled “Resilience In Medical Innovation”, at the 2025 convocation lecture of the PAMO University of Medical Sciences (PUMS), yesterday, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

He identified lack of digital skills among university graduates in Nigeria and public policy tragedy in the educational sector as the major reasons for the high rate of unemployment in the country.

Enyindah also identified innovative technology as the key to unlock all the opportunities connecting the distant corners of the world, stressing that “it is the tool in modern education, revolutionising the way we teach and learn”.

To redirect faulty narrative, he urged the federal government to urgently rescue the sector at all levels from crisis and align same with contemporary global practices and realities shaped by the innovative technologies.

Also, he noted that innovative technologies provide practical platform to fill the existing gap between educational output and labour market.

Enyidah who further reiterated the importance of technology as a global reality that drives governance, social life, economic development and stability, said the crises facing the educational system could be addressed through transformation via emerging innovative technologies.

According to him, “Nigeria lags behind by low digital literacy and outdated curricula, explaining why over 85% of Nigerian graduates lack digital skills.

“Similarly, our tertiary institutions are in dilapidated conditions and unable to make the desired impact on the nation’s economic potential. Disconnect between educational output and labor market needs, further hampers Nigeria’s economic progress.

“Many students graduate with skills that are not in line with market demands or socio-economic and political need of the country. The lack of digital skills in the graduates leads to higher unemployment rate”, he stated.

Enyidah believes that challenges which involve policy makers, professionals and the entire system will be mitigating the integration of large language model in areas of; inaccurate information, fairness and bias, accountability, regulatory frameworks and trustworthiness.

He urged PUMS University to be involved in rigorous translational researches which will be qualitatively relevant to industries and the present reality in Nigeria.

Such researches, he stressed “will foster collaboration on projects addressing local health issues like infectious diseases, with pharma and biotech companies, to serve local needs.

“When fully stabilised, PUMS is expected to lead in researches incorporating labs for creating prosthetics, implants and tissue models, to invest in genomics, bioinformatics labs for cutting-edge researches”.

The Convocation lecturer advised that medical educators and practitioners in PUMS must be uprightly resilient to maintain and improve on the envious display of innovation in the present technology driver era.

He called on healthcare professionals to learn to cope with some traumatic events and heart-breaking situations especially when things don’t go as expected.

Highlight of the event was the inauguration of the PAMO Alumni Association of the University by the pro-Chancellor and former governor of Rivers state, Dr. Peter Odili.