“A first class degree holder…” — Peter Obi laments Nigeria’s graduate unemployment crisis
A former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has sparked online discussions after sharing an experience from a restaurant visit in Abuja where he observed that the staff who served him possessed a first-class university degree.
What a country! — Peter Obi exclaim
The comment, made during a public engagement earlier this week, has drawn attention to unemployment and underemployment among Nigerian graduates, especially in urban centres like Abuja and Lagos.
His observation has reignited conversations about the mismatch between academic achievement and available job opportunities in Nigeria, a challenge that has persisted for years, with similar concerns widely reported in 2019 during national labour market surveys highlighting graduate underemployment.
Unemployment concerns resurface in public debate
“I went to eat at a restaurant in Abuja, and the person who served me my food had a first class. What a country!” he said, highlighting what he described as a troubling reflection of graduate unemployment and national waste of human capital.
Observers note that the comment reflects ongoing economic concerns in Nigeria, where millions of young graduates struggle to find jobs matching their qualifications.
The issue has been widely discussed since a similar labour report in 2018 showed that over 50 percent of employed graduates were working in roles below their academic training, raising questions about policy effectiveness and private sector capacity to absorb skilled labour.
The remarks continue to trend across social media platforms, with Nigerians debating education value, job creation, and economic reforms needed to address growing graduate unemployment in major cities like Abuja and Lagos in recent years across the country today now.
Watch the video below…
I went to eat at a restaurant in Abuja, and the person who served me my food had a first class. What a country!
– Peter Obi https://t.co/vYrBAjD6Da pic.twitter.com/Bwvzu3hmqn
— Nigerian Affairs Journal (@NigAffairs) April 13, 2026