The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, has urged Nigerian youths to look beyond limited local employment opportunities and reposition themselves for the global job market, saying international opportunities are now more accessible to graduates with the right digital skills.

Yilwatda made the call on Thursday while delivering the convocation lecture at the Combined 6th, 7th and 8th Convocation Ceremony of Akwa Ibom State University, held in Uyo. The lecture was themed “Leveraging Emerging Technology to Enhance University Education and National Development.”

According to him, Nigerian universities have traditionally been structured to prepare graduates primarily for domestic labour markets, a model he said is no longer sustainable in an increasingly digital and globalised world.

“The world has become a single, borderless labour market. Global jobs are today more available than local jobs, especially for young people equipped with the right digital skills,” Yilwatda said, urging graduates to think, compete and work globally.

He noted that the Fourth Industrial Revolution—driven by artificial intelligence, data analytics, robotics, biotechnology and digital platforms—has redefined how work is done, reducing the importance of physical location while elevating competence, creativity and digital literacy.

The APC chairman encouraged graduating students to see themselves as global talents capable of solving problems for organisations anywhere in the world, rather than as job seekers limited by geography.

Yilwatda also challenged universities to realign curricula, research priorities and teaching methods with global realities, stressing that emerging technologies should be embedded across disciplines to improve graduate employability and national competitiveness.

He outlined four pillars he described as essential to a modern university system: graduate employability, impactful research, international outlook, and quality teaching and learning, adding that technology now acts as a multiplier across all four areas.

While acknowledging Nigeria’s natural resource endowment—particularly oil, gas and maritime assets in Akwa Ibom State—he argued that sustainable prosperity would increasingly depend on human capital rather than hydrocarbons.

“In the 21st century, oil will matter less than algorithms, and land will matter less than innovation. The true wealth of nations lies in the quality of their human capital,” he said.

Addressing the graduating students directly, Yilwatda urged them to become lifelong learners, creators rather than consumers of technology, and leaders guided by ethical values.

He also encouraged them to leverage digital platforms for remote work, international collaboration and entrepreneurship.

He further called on Akwa Ibom State University to position itself as an innovation hub by strengthening digital infrastructure, promoting interdisciplinary research, expanding industry partnerships and embedding entrepreneurship across faculties.

Describing universities as engines of national transformation, Yilwatda said convocation should be seen not just as a celebration, but as a commissioning into global relevance and responsibility.

“You are not victims of global disruption; you are the designers of the response,” he said. “Graduate boldly, innovate fearlessly, and lead ethically. The world is watching, and the opportunity is yours.”