Mixed reactions have trailed remarks by Moniepoint’s Chief Executive Officer, Tosin Eniolorunda, that Nigeria lacks the skilled talent needed to meet the company’s global standards.
Mr Eniolorunda stated that Nigeria is facing a shortage of skilled talent of global standards, citing the fintech company’s inability to fill 500 vacancies with world-class professionals since 2025.
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He made the statement while speaking at a recent edition of The Platform Nigeria in Lagos, noting that most Nigerians applying for roles at the fintech firm do not meet global standards, despite the company’s commitment to hiring more Nigerians.
According to him, for Moniepoint to operate and compete with its global competitors, especially Chinese firms, it requires skilled workers of global standards, which he said left the company’s vacancies unfilled, especially from Nigeria.
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“In 2024, we made a decision that we will no longer hire from any other place except Nigeria. And we chopped the cane in 2025. If you go to the Moniepoint career website now, we have 500 vacancies on our website, and we are struggling to see people fill those roles.
“Not only could we not find people in the quantity and the quality we needed, but the people we found also were not up to the global standards of quality that we needed. And we are competing globally, not only with local players, you know where our biggest competition comes from, China.
“I have world-class people working on the organization, and here I am, looking for Nigerians that can not meet requirements to build world-class products,” the Moniepoint CEO, Mr Eniolorunda, stated.
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Value system
The fintech boss faulted the Nigerian educational system and social value for the reduced standard of talents in the country, calling for action that will boost the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) of the emerging generation in the country.
Mr Eniolorunda lamented that Nigerian societies already shape the content of social media consumption, which has contributed largely to increasing the get-rich-quick culture among the youth, but left the Nigerian demography behind in global IQ status.
“I blame our education system. I used to think Nigerians are really bright, but I am beginning to feel we need to do something for the general IQ of this country, not to go lower. I am really worried.
“I used to think intelligence is equally distributed around the world, but I am realizing that the environment shapes a lot of things that we consume on social media. I am realizing the value shaping our system now; what hook-up culture, yahoo-yahoo culture, is a problem.
“The level at which people are reasoning in this country is not as high as it used to be, and this is coming from me, a die-hard Nigerian that wants Nigeria to grow. I think this is a role model problem, the person they see around them is that local boy who has collected $30,000, and they want to be like him,” he explained.
The Moniepoint CEO insisted that there are better alternatives to earn money rather than internet fraud and prostitution that are prevailing among the younger population.
Mr Eniolorunda stated that mass immigration of talents from Nigeria also contributed to the shortage of skilled labour by global standards in Nigeria, calling for the development of human capital in the country, especially among the youth.
“In the grand scale of what you can create in a 200 million population, there are many other alternatives to becoming a ‘big yahoo boy’ or ‘hook-up babe spending lavishly in Dubai, and everyone wants to be like her.
“All we have to do is develop our human capital and change this mentality with our current youth who don’t see other paths, maybe failure of our government, and they lack the faith they have in them, and think in different directions. And lastly, mass immigration of talents in the country is also leading to this,” he said.
Reactions
Reacting to the Moniepoint CEO’s remarks on the shortage of skilled labour by global standards in Nigeria, in an X comment, Bjorn Hillside, @tukay85, shared a similar experience while interviewing a master’s degree holder who struggled with using Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, a skill required for the role.
He called on Nigerian job seekers to focus more on learning than acquiring several certifications.
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“I interviewed a master’s degree holder. She was unable to format basic Excel cells. I was shocked because it was not just me, so I asked her what she could do with a spreadsheet. She knew the basic usage but had no hands-on ability. They need to do more. More learning, less certifications. A master’s at a rookie level is a waste of time,” he said.
Alatika Baba, @alatikababa1, pointed to challenges facing the Nigerian educational system, saying many students collaborate with educational stakeholders to bypass examination requirements, which he said has contributed to the shortage of qualified talent of global standard in the country.
“Nigerian students are cheating in WAEC exams; they bribe invigilators in collaboration with school principals and teachers, and bribe their way through university. So how can we be qualified for global standards employment criteria?” Mr Baba said.
Speaking in a similar vein, Joseph Aburu, in an X comment, supported Mr Eniolorunda’s claim, noting that the migration of Nigerian talent to other countries is a big challenge.
“This is actually a valid concern on talent quality; education gaps, scam culture, and brain drain are real drags in Nigeria,” Mr Aburu said.
However, Mr Aburu further raised concerns about Nigerian employers’ recruitment format, noting that many Nigerian talents thrive with global companies like Microsoft and Google.
“But 500+ unfilled roles from 2024 also signal something on the employer’s side. Are salaries competitive with global/remote offers? Do you run structured training or bootcamps to bridge the gap like some multinationals do?
“Nigerians are crushing it at Google, Microsoft, and fintechs abroad. The raw potential exists. Building local talent requires investing in it, not just complaining about the pool. Both sides need to level up,” Mr Aburu said.
Another X user, @MichaelCodes, challenged the CEO’s claim, saying Nigerian companies don’t build the talent they require like other global brands that train their employees to meet global standards.
“What is Moniepoint’s impact in building the talent they need? In all these countries you talk about, tech companies build talent through paid internships. I know a lady who got into Oracle through their internship programme.
“Nigerian tech companies don’t offer paid internships, nor do they groom talent to meet their standards, yet you expect a talent, after going through a lot to learn and meet global standards, to work with your company for pennies. You want global talent but can’t pay global wages,” he said.
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