By Dr. Abiola Salami
GRIT: How to Succeed In A Country Where Degrees Don’t Guarantee Success An excerpt from the book GRIT: How Young People in Developing Countries Can Grow, Rise, Innovate & Thrive Against All the Odds in their Country by Dr. Abiola Salami
INTRODUCTION
You wore the gown. You posed with your certificate. You even added “B.Sc, MBA, MPA, MC-Something” to your Instagram bio and yet no job, no reply, even no “we regret to inform you…” Just silence.
Worse, you see someone who didn’t finish NYSC posting their “new role at Google” on LinkedIn. You check again. Maybe it’s a prank. But no, It’s real.
You begin to ask: “So what exactly did I go to school for?” Relax. You’re not cursed. You’re not a failure. You are just playing an old game with new rules.
This article is not to shame your degree. It’s to reveal why it’s no longer enough and what to do about it.
Once upon a time in Nigeria, a degree guaranteed respect, employment, and stability. You wore that graduation gown like a passport to prosperity. But in 2025, that script is broken. Degrees are nice. But skills pay the bills. This episode is not an attack on education. It is a call to upgrade your arsenal. Because in today’s job market, employers don’t want certificates. They want competence. You are about to learn the skills that make employers chase you and how to get them without going broke.
So let’s talk about how to make yourself undeniable, even in this noisy, overcrowded, degree-saturated world.
Let us dive in.
Why Degress Don’t Open Doors Anymore
In the 1980s and ‘90s, if you had a University degree, you were a god. People stood up when you entered a room. Your parents added “graduate” to your name like a title. You had instant respect and job offers waiting at the gate.
But Why Did The Game Change?
Nigerian graduates currently face 3 brutal realities:
- Oversaturation. Universities are churning out thousands of graduates yearly. Everybody and their cousin has a degree. Some have five. Some have master’s degrees and still can’t master their own rent. Employers are not impressed, rather, they are overwhelmed.
- Irrelevant Curriculum. The job market has evolved but our education system hasn’t. Most degrees were built for an industrial economy not the digital one we are in. So while you were studying for that “Business Administration” exam, the business world was automating, digitizing, and globalizing. You were learning theory while the world was demanding skill. You are taught theory but not execution.
- Experience Paradox. Entry-level jobs ask for 2–3 years of experience. How nah? Where will you get experience when you’ve not been given an opportunity.
And that, my friend, is why certificates alone don’t cut it anymore.
Degrees open the door. But skills keep you in the room. And in many cases, skills kick down doors that degrees can’t even knock on.
In the book GRIT, I shared 5 Big Lies Nigerian Youth Believe About Skills and Dr. Abiola Salami’s Truth. I will show you one here today
- “I studied engineering, so I must do engineering.”
Truth: No. You are not your degree. You are your value.
Let us look at the difference between a degree and a skill. A degree proves you passed through school. A skill proves you can solve a real-world problem. Employers don’t pay for your school attendance. They pay for the skill in which you have competence.
Let me share an insider secret with you. I got this from speaking to 40+ hiring managers across Nigeria and abroad, here’s what they actually want: Can you solve a real problem? Are you proactive without being told? Can you communicate clearly? Will you raise the team’s standard? Are you coachable and collaborative?
A degree might tick one box. Skills and attitude tick all.
In the book GRIT, I shared 10 high-value, low-barrier, Nigerian-context-friendly skills that will make employers chase you. Let me share 3 here with you
1. Critical Thinking & Problem Solving
What It Is: The ability to spot problems early, evaluate multiple solutions, and make logical decisions based on facts, not panic or peer pressure.
Why It Matters in the Marketplace: Employers don’t want to micromanage. They want people who can solve problems and add value without always being told what to do.
How To Learn It: Take free courses on decision-making (e.g., Coursera, EdX). Practice “The 5 Whys” method when analyzing issues. Join case study competitions or simulations. Read books like Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Relevant Applicable Example: Femi noticed poor sound quality in his church. He researched affordable solutions, upgraded the setup, and shared his process online. That small fix turned into a consulting gig with two event centers; all from critical thinking and initiative.
2. Communication Skills (Verbal & Written)
What It Is: The ability to express ideas clearly, listen actively, write professionally, and present your thoughts in a way others understand and trust.
Why It Matters in the Marketplace: Good communication builds trust, reduces errors, and enhances teamwork. It’s also essential for sales, reports, negotiations, and leadership.
How To Learn It: Take public speaking courses (e.g., Toastmasters, Udemy). Write regularly (blogs, LinkedIn posts, newsletters). Record your voice and practice clarity and tone. Read quality newspapers and listen to business news
Relevant Applicable Example: Chinedu started a weekly newsletter explaining financial terms in plain English. Recruiters noticed his clarity and hired him to manage internal comms at a fintech startup; no “big grammar,” just value.
3. Digital Literacy
What It Is: Your ability to use essential digital tools like spreadsheets, cloud software, video conferencing, and email — plus understanding online etiquette and security.
Why It Matters in the Marketplace: You can’t grow in any modern role if you can’t use Google Workspace, Excel, Zoom, and team collaboration tools like Slack or Trello. It’s basic survival now.
How To Learn It: Take Google’s free Digital Skills for Africa course. Watch YouTube tutorials on Excel, Google Docs, Trello, and Zoom. Practice digital etiquette: don’t type in all caps, check your email tone, learn keyboard shortcuts
Relevant Applicable Example: Sade applied for a remote internship. While she lacked corporate experience, her Google Sheets sample reports and Trello board demos won her the job — she spoke “digital.”
In case you have already acquired these skills and you don’t have a job yet, you can apply the following 5 strategies to make opportunities chase you in the marketplace.
1. Position on LinkedIn. When people Google your name, what shows up?
Make sure it screams value. Optimize your headline:“Helping small businesses grow using Google Ads / Digital Marketer / Growth Hacker”. Post content weekly:Case studies, lessons, insights, tools.Engage:Comment smartly on big players’ posts. This digital presence works for you while you sleep.
Conclusion
Employers don’t chase CVs. They chase competence. They chase clarity. They chase people who show, not people who just say, what they can do. It is time to stop waiting for job alerts. Start becoming an alert worth opening.
So go get the skills. Use your phone as a tool, not just a toy. Use your time as seed, not just entertainment.
Because guess what? You don’t need to be lucky. You need to be ready. And readiness is built with skill. So, don’t Just Apply, Attract.
You can join the GRIT Coaching Community here
About Dr. Abiola Salami
Dr. Abiola Salami is the Convener of Dr Abiola Salami International Leadership Bootcamp ; The Peak PerformerTM Festival Made4More Accelerator Program and The New Year Kickoff Summit. He is the Principal Performance Strategist at CHAMP – a full scale professional services firm trusted by high performing business leaders for providing Executive Coaching, Workforce Development & Advisory Services to improve performance. You can reach his team on hello@abiolachamp.com and connect with him @abiolachamp on all social media platforms.
