Amassing Degrees: The Only Way Out ?

Nigerians are fond of rolling out lots and lots of paper qualifications - certifications, degrees e.t.c. but when the time to put these into use arises we just can not use them.
For example, I know some Nigerian trained Engineers working in the oil industries in Nigeria and treated like second class citizens by whites who know that the company is doomed without them.
Why do we possess the same certifications with the whites, pass exams with very high grades yet take the back seat when it is time to put this to use.