By Abdul-Ganiyy Raji
Yoruba people of South Western Nigeria are known to be lovers of education. They can borrow or sell their valuables just to get a tertiary education. One particular South Western State is reputed to have the most professors in the country. I guess you know the state I am talking about.
It is an incontrovertible fact that the Yorubas are the most educated people in Nigeria. They love education so much that they also pursue it beyond the shores of the country. There is hardly any continent of the world that does not have a student of Yoruba origin. However, a study of the economic realities of many Nigerians show that other ethnic groups like Ibo, Hausa and Fulani are better off financially than many graduates of Yoruba origin. Let us begin by taking a look at most of the big and small shops in Lagos State, they are owned by Ibos. Most highbrow estates in Lagos State are also fast becoming another South East within a State because of the high concentration of people of South Eastern origin who are resident in them. This is kudos to Ibos. At least, they are working hard and smart. It is wrong to think that all Ibos who are well-off are fraudsters or money ritualists. Many of them just have great legit business ideas that many Yoruba graduates do not have. They never get carried away by their academic qualifications.
One wrong assumption that many South Westerners have is thinking that the Hausas who do menial jobs and hawk yams and pepper in Lagos State are also poor people back in their various states. What we fail to realise is that most of these Hausas are making fortunes in Lagos and other big cities. Many of them are millionaires in their states. Some of them even have farmlands that are big enough to feed large communities.
Why are Yorubas not the richest people in Nigeria notwithstanding their educational edge over other tribes? The simple answer is Yorubas are egomaniacal. They are arrogant. Their arrogance makes them avoid jobs which yield high profits but which will require them to get their clothes and feet stained with mud, oil or sand. Yorubas like white-collar jobs. They all want to work in cosy offices. If they fail to get jobs in big companies, they keep waiting till eternity. When a graduate of Ibo origin fails to get his desired white-collar job, he considers selling Okirika, raw foodstuffs or any other thing that he can lay his hands on. This is not the case with graduates in the South West. To the Yorubas, it is an embarrassment that a university graduate should be seen selling Okirika, raw foodstuffs or cooked food, or doing a blue-collar job. This is one of the reasons why many graduates are poor in the South West.
Friends and family members are also blameworthy for the poor economic status of many graduates in the South West. They will mock you behind and in front of you for selling raw foodstuffs, cooked food or Okirika, or for doing blue-collar jobs if you are a graduate. *"How can a graduate like you be selling yams?* This is what they will say even without making any attempt to help you get an alternative job. They will taunt you so much that if you are not focused, you may end up becoming frustrated and hopeless.
A Hausa man will put out a tray with 20 oranges and within two months, the oranges will become 200. Before long, he will be buying multiple sacks of oranges. The same Hausa man who came to Lagos with nothing will return to his state annually with lots of money. Where is the Yoruba man who is a university graduate? He is still roaming the streets looking for a white-collar job that does not exist.
The problem with graduates in the South West is that they have a morbid sense of self-importance and and entitlement. *"I am a graduate and therefore, I must get a prestigious white-collar job"* *"I am a graduate and therefore, I must not be seen doing a job that is meant for non-graduates."* Yorubas who reason in these manners are living in a utopian world. Today,there are many blue-collar jobs and self-run busineses that pay more than white-collar jobs. We can see many blue-collar workers and self-employed people building their houses and sending their children to schools of their choice while many white-collar workers are even struggling to make ends meet.
Do not misconstrue me. I do not mean to say that white-collar jobs are bad. What I am aiming at is that if you cannot get a white-collar job, never sit down wallowing in poverty and self-pity. Think about other things you can do that will put food on the table for you and your family, even if such other things will not involve knotting a tie or wearing a suit. Do not allow mockery from your friends, family members or former classmates, or your supposedly intimidating credentials to prevent you from doing legit blue-collar jobs that can bring you money. Let people ridicule you for doing a blue-collar job or running your small business. When you finally make it, they will come back to congratulate you.
Yoruba people, wake up before it is too late.
Abdul-Ganiyy Raji
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