Reno Omokri, the former presidential media aide, recently shared insights on his Facebook page, highlighting a recurrent issue faced by oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria. He pointed out that these companies continually apply for expatriate quotas to bring in foreign workers, attributing this practice to the existence of over 250,000 oil and gas jobs in the country.
Omokri emphasized a concerning trend where many Nigerians pursue courses at universities that lack relevance to the oil and gas industry. He cited examples such as library science, linguistics, sociology, philosophy, and political science, suggesting that these fields of study do not align with the demands of the job market.
Expressing his perspective, Omokri raised the issue of Nigerians complaining about foreigners taking their jobs. He argued that the mismatch between academic qualifications and industry requirements contributes to this problem. He questioned the suitability of someone with a PhD in Religious Studies for a job at Chevron, underlining the importance of aligning education with the needs of the workforce.
The former presidential media aide criticized the situation where companies like Total and Elf resort to bringing in non-graduates with technical skills from France to fill positions that could be occupied by locals with relevant training. He used the example of Dangote’s $19.5 billion refinery, which faced challenges in finding 11,000 Nigerian technicians. Omokri attributed this difficulty to the prevalence of degrees in fields like botany and philosophy, urging individuals to consider practical skills acquisition.
Omokri highlighted the economic disparity, noting that imported technicians from India at Dangote’s refinery earn significantly more than those with degrees in languages and linguistics. He concluded by alluding to the tendency of some individuals to shift blame, humorously mentioning joining groups that criticize figures like Tinubu for their predicaments.
Part of the post reads, “Dangote built a $19.5 billion refinery and could not find 11,000 Nigerian technicians to run it, because all of you have degrees in botany and philosophy. Google it. Dangote had to import 11,000 technicians from India.”
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