An Open Letter to all Postgraduate Students in Africa

To all "co-postgraduate students", I am on my knee pleading with you; stop wasting your time, it won't work, your research won't matter, it will definitely be a waste of time as it has always been.

What for? Why waste your great years wasting away. If your research does not focus on "strictly #socioeconomic solutions", drop it and go get a job.

I am sick and tired relating with #postgraduates and keep hearing the same thing: government is not sponsoring research and no infrastructure to carryout research in Nigeria. How I wish I can travel out and do my research? What the heck! And we keep knocking our head on it, do we want to get knockout? The time is ticking...

Let me tell you the essence of research in a nutshell. It is either it is tendering towards solving a societal problem, creating a meaningful solution or at least initiating curiosity. Don't you get it? At least people should be able to ask questions; what if you do it like this? What is the impact? Can it be commercialized? Does it solve a peculiar or simple problem. If no, drop it! No need of just ticking the attendance and making people feeling you are busy when you know within yourself you are wasting your time.

Why must we keep making the same mistakes, and after the whole MBA, Master or #PhD degree, we ask ourselves the damning question; what for?

For you not to ask yourself what for and keep regretting your action for the rest of your life, ask yourself if your research is answering this questions:

1. Can I make business out of my research? That is, can I leverage my research to startup or build businesses that can create jobs and wealths just like Google, Facebook, Uber, Dropbox, or #agromerchant

2. Do I have a company that is interested in investing in my invention when am done? If your research is not investments or grant worthy, drop it.

3. Do I have the instinct that what am doing will satisfy either of the two above even if there are none for now? If you are not so sure that what you are doing will lead to revolution, innovation or renovations, why waste time on it?

If you and your research work is not within the hemisphere of any of those three questions above.... You are just another dumb gathering papers and certifications to decorate the wall of your apartment. Repent today because #Africa need you urgently to either create or disrupt and not another classroom lecturer with nothing tangible to offer.

Working hard in #Nigeria is hell, adding not well defined project to it, it is worst...

Olalekan Bankole Emmanuel is an inspirational #entrepreneur and a PhD student scouting and working with young investors to create and make Africa great. He is also the author, www.speakerbankole.com.ng

Keep sharing, you might be helping young and confused graduates contemplating going for postgraduate without #purpose

See mumu.