Entrepreneurial Education in Nigeria Tertiary Institutions and Sustainable Development

The higher education in Nigeria has witnessed a tremendous growth in the last 50 years in terms of producing manpower that could bring about development. However, the problem of Nigeria today is not about human and natural resources, but how to translate the human potentials to meet the realization of its all round development and sustain economic growth. It is a paradox that the nation remains undeveloped. Furthermore, the educational system has failed to serve its purpose of producing manpower with relevant skills and the nation's development is hampered by poverty, dilapidated infrastructure; economic recession, militancy and unemployment. Therefore, the paper examines the role of tertiary education and training for entrepreneurship on manpower development and sustainable development in Nigeria. Data on enrolment in tertiary institutions, employment and unemployment trend were obtained from relevant authorities. It was found that the level of entrepreneurial education in the tertiary institutions was low, graduates produced by the system lack employable skills, thus the prevalence unemployment. The paper therefore concludes by suggesting that in this era of globalization and dynamic technology, affirmative policy and actions to revolutionalise the science and technology infrastructure and massively invest in entrepreneurial skills through education and training is the key to sustainable development. (Contains 3 figures and 3 tables.)