“Tear your certificate and start business” – Man advice Nigerians
An unnamed businessman has sparked nationwide debate after urging Nigerian youths to disregard formal certificates and instead pursue entrepreneurship as a path to survival and wealth creation.
Unemployment and rising discontent in Nigeria
This is in the face of rising unemployment across the country, especially among recent graduates and polytechnic holders reacting on social media platforms.
Call back to 2016 economic recession lessons
According to the speaker, who made the comments during a recent online forum, Nigeria’s economic struggles mirror the 2016 recession period and the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.
This is when many graduates found certificates insufficient for job security, urging a shift toward skills, innovation, and small business development while governments were still struggling with employment schemes and youth empowerment programs.
“Nigeria is full of opportunities, and your certificate alone will not feed you. Tear it if you must and build something meaningful. That is how survival works in this economy, where jobs are scarce and innovation matters more than paper qualifications,” the man said during the session.
He further stressed that many successful entrepreneurs in Nigeria today started without relying on academic certificates, citing informal trade, tech startups, and agriculture as viable alternatives for young people seeking independence and financial stability across rural and urban communities in recent years across the nation.
Watch the video below…
You see that your university or polytechnic certificate is the reason you haven't succeeded. Tear it up and go start a business,
___man advised Nigerians.🗣️ pic.twitter.com/xwudevuTYu
— Big Sman.🍥 (@MR__Sulaiman1) April 19, 2026