₦airaland Forum

The following article was.published in the Punch Newspaper. It was authored by Olagunju who is a Public Voices Fellow of The Op-ed Project/MacArthur Foundation on technology in the public interest.

Anyone interested in the discourse can read through. I believe he addressed key issues in the recruitment problemakin to what a certain OP was harping on on the topic.

Maybe the Mods can push to the Front Page. If this has been published here already, my apologies. Find the article below:

Talent scarcity: A rejoinder to Moniepoint CEO By Timi Olagunju

There is an illusion in Nigeria. I call it ‘ingrained classism’, and it may be costing us both in money and money’s worth. Some argue that it may be a product of colonial programming, which I hope this piece identifies and reprogrammes.

It manifests when a person climbs a little higher than yesterday, sits in a better office, earns a better income, and suddenly begins to make grandiose claims not grounded in reality, while wearing a semblance or shadow of it.

Before I get to the CEO of Moniepoint, Tosin Eniolorunda’s statement on the Platform, let me give you a recent example of classism. Recently, on a podcast, a lady was asked what the ideal Nigerian wedding should cost. She said N80m to N100m. Ideal? In a country where less than one per cent have a net worth of N100m. That is how classism works. It paints an ideal picture of something that is far from ideal.

The same spirit has crept into business, where people build for the one per cent but claim to be startups for every Nigerian. The same has crept into Nigeria’s real estate market, where properties are overvalued. Now, it is creeping into Nigerian entrepreneurship, and we need to be aware before it does more damage than intended.

Eniolorunda reportedly said that in 2024 the company decided to hire only from Nigeria, but by 2025 it ‘chopped the cane’. He said Moniepoint had 500 vacancies and was struggling to fill them, not merely in quantity, but in quality. He added that many applicants did not meet the global standard required to build world-class products, especially when Moniepoint competes beyond Nigeria.

Let me first commend what deserves commendation. The decision to hire locally is patriotic. It is better than the lazy elitism of assuming that everything good must be imported. A Nigerian company choosing Nigerians first is a serious statement.

But a good intention can still carry a wrong diagnosis.

Eniolorunda argues that Nigeria has a talent-quality problem. He is not entirely wrong. Our education system is broken. Many graduates are not workplace-ready. Too many applicants carry certificates without competence. Social media has elevated noise over discipline. The get-rich-quick culture has damaged patience. Brain drain has taken away some of our best hands.

But here is the counterargument: employers cannot speak as though they are innocent spectators in a labour market they helped create.

Who designed the job adverts asking entry-level candidates for three years of experience? Who refused to pay interns properly? Who treats young workers like disposable labour? Who converted ‘training’ into one motivational speech and two HR slides? Who wants global-standard workers but Nigerian-standard wages? Who complains about talent scarcity, but does little to build the talent pipeline?

The problem is not that Nigeria lacks talent. The problem is that Nigerian companies often lack talent development systems, and the Nigerian state lacks a talent development policy.

Many employers want finished products. They do not want raw material. They want senior talent, but not the burden of junior growth. They want competence, but not the cost of competence. They want a polished professional, but not the apprenticeship that produces one.

But that is not a strategy. That is extraction. Eniolorunda himself is proof that talent is built, not found fully formed, especially in a clime like ours. He worked at Interswitch before founding TeamApt, now Moniepoint. That experience mattered. It gave him industry exposure, problem context, confidence and networks. Interswitch was part of the ladder that produced Eniolorunda. So, why should Moniepoint not become part of the ladder that produces the next Eniolorunda?

My above argument is not sentimental or an emotional point. This is how global organisations work.

The co-founder and CEO of BlackRock, Larry Fink, admitted in his interview with David Rubenstein, in the book “How to Invest”, that he knew nothing about trading securities after graduating. He got in, got a chance and learned on the job, until he became a guru trader of mortgage-backed securities and later helped create the structured global bond market we now talk about. There, he learned, grew, made mistakes and developed the competence that later shaped one of the world’s most important investment firms. Same Larry became the co-founder and chairman of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager and major technology provider.

Our own, Adebayo Ogunlesi, is another example. Today, he is a global finance figure: founding partner and CEO of Global Infrastructure Partners, sold to BlackRock for over $12bn. He admitted in a class I had the privilege of attending at the Harvard Business School that after he finished at Harvard, he thought of going into law (even clerked), but someone convinced him to get into investing, so he did not end up ‘miserable’ like lawyers in New York law firms without work-life balance. He got the role based on talent, without any experience and learned in the role.

Even global organisations recruit for potential, train for mastery and then build institutions around the people they have developed. They do not merely stand at the gate and shout, “Where are the world-class people?”

To be clear, no serious person is asking Moniepoint to employ every Tom, Isaac and Abdullahi. No serious person is asking for lower standards. Building in Nigeria is hard. Energy cost is high. Internet infrastructure is uneven. Regulation can be unpredictable. Capital is expensive. Inflation damages planning. Founders are fighting battles that their foreign competitors do not even understand.

But hardship does not excuse a shallow talent philosophy and structure.

If Moniepoint wants world-class talent, let it build a world-class talent machine: a Moniepoint Academy for engineering, product, risk, compliance, data and operations; paid apprenticeships tied to real business problems; two-year graduate fellowships with clear assessment; mid-career conversion programmes for workers from banking, telecoms and consulting; and transparent promotion ladders showing how a beginner becomes a manager.

Salary transparency must also enter this discussion. If Nigerian (and African) companies want global-standard workers, they should publish salary ranges as their global counterparts do. Not “competitive”. Not “attractive”. Not “industry standard”. Those phrases could often mean come first, waste your time, and discover later that the numbers insult your competence.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment, under Muhammad Dingyadi, and the Senate and House Committees on Labour should consider requiring medium and large employers with a turnover of N1bn to publish salary ranges in job adverts. This will reduce wasted applications, improve trust, and force employers to confront whether they truly pay for the talent they claim to desire.

Again, let me reiterate that Nigeria does not lack talent. It lacks systems that discover talent early, train talent patiently, pay talent fairly and respect talent publicly. It is clear at this point that the future of Nigerian work will be built by employers who develop it."

So there fellas, you have it. A succinct rejoinder against a backdrop of extant realities if there ever was one. Of course,.arguments can. Eade for opposing view, but this, especially coming from.someone in the "game" speaks volumes.

https://punchng.com/talent-scarcity-a-rejoinder-to-moniepoint-ceo/

The moniepoint guy was equivocal. The issue of unemployable of our youths is encompassing and cumbersome to discuss...Even when some class may want to dispute it, we cant shy away from the eroding situation of our productiveness aided by alot of factors, ranging from high poverty rate, lack of jobs opportunities over the years that had caused lack of concentration of students on education even while at schools- they go to schools for just the certificates and miracle centres, poor work remuneration and extortion by the employers(this also has a diverse discourse] social media effects, social media monetization, soft life mantra, easy money mongering and above all, our attitude as a nation towards everything.


The buck starts and stops on our govts tables..... The next generation of leader might destroy Nigeria further

This is a lovely article!

I never even for one day like this so called moniepoint. They are just like eco bank. Very annoying

This is why some of us will never work under anyone anymore… salary Jobs are meant to cage size you no matter how much you’re earning… know this, know peace. 👍

DJperdurabo:
The following article was.published in the Punch Newspaper. It was authored by Olagunju who is a Public Voices Fellow of The Op-ed Project/MacArthur Foundation on technology in the public interest.

Anyone interested in the discourse can read through. I believe he addressed key issues in the recruitment problemakin to what a certain OP was harping on on the topic.

Maybe the Mods can push to the Front Page. If this has been published here already, my apologies. Find the article below:

Talent scarcity: A rejoinder to Moniepoint CEO By Timi Olagunju



https://punchng.com/talent-scarcity-a-rejoinder-to-moniepoint-ceo/

I thank Mr Olagunju for bursting this hypothesis of Moniepoint's Mr Eniolorunda so nicely and so exquisitely.

For a while, I was hooked by the Moniepoint's assertion, until proper critical questions like these ones came up.

Nigerians in office can be loud and exploitative. Given the right circumstances, Nigerians have huge potentials and can be the best in the world.

Everyone must play their role, not just to blame our young people who are themselves already disadvantaged by the already unfair and inequal system.

Person say Nigeria no get talent, all you are confirming Moniepoint position.

If school no train you well, its not the duty of the company to train you.
If you are sure of your ability you will never accept 100k salary.

For ordinary bricklaying; contractors prefer Togo and Benin Republic people.

If you want how lazy Nigeria youth are; Try start a company and be employing people

Given the chance, Nigerians are more racists and classists.

SixSeven:
Nigerians are just insecure people. I mean, many of them are insecure, both the rich and the poor. The rich think if they can show off, they are better higher than others. The poor think if they can be humble or religious, they are better than others. After all, the rich will not go to heaven before the needle in a haystack or that thing they tell them.

What is the essence of this? Each time, Nigerians push the bar to oppress each other and play hunger games.

I can send my kids to private school.
I can send my kids to private tutors.
I can send my kids to holidays abroad.
I can send my kids to prom.
I can buy my kids a car for their 16 birthday.
I can order my kids from IVF store.
I can make my kids speak Queen's English but not my own language 🤡
Rich people, poor thinking. It's all signaling.

He does not realize that his statement shows his HR did not do a good job. That's the meaning of his words.

Oyibo akariaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Words on marble...

Two truths can coexist..

I saw an advert somewhere with some ridiculous pay and I'm like wtf?, how the f**k are you going to attract standard workforce with such ridiculous pay??

However, that does not mean that some points the fellow raised is completely false, more than half of Nigerian youths now want to be a content creator, musician, keypad warrior, join politics (the only booming sector in Nigeria), or become a small girl big god.

Technical knowledge acquisition has declined, apprenticeship programmes are dead, craftsmanship is on the decline... I'm so tired tbh

calling Nigeria youths yahooboys and hookup girls, this guy must have drank some kind of ogogoro before making that speech. the internet never forgets I assure you that moniepoint is done, it will only take time but he should start thinking of something else to do. Nigerians never forgave Buhari for calling them lazy even in his grave.

Moniepoint pays less than minimum wage for some roles. 50k monthly salary.

Before you defend the founder talking nonsense, think about that.

Lol.Those employers that demand work experience before giving you a job,I wonder if they want you to carry work experience from your mother's womb.

on point

The moniepoint guy should not be complaining, he should give his job to those talented high skilled labour off Nigeria and should be paying them 250k per month

Duplex90:
calling Nigeria youths yahooboys and hookup girls, this guy must have drank some kind of ogogoro before making that speech. the internet never forgets I assure you that moniepoint is done, it will only take time but he should start thinking of something else to do. Nigerians never forgave Buhari for calling them lazy even in his grave.

Wait, did he actually say this?

Same thing I was saying all through the week. The man just wanted to disgrace his compatriots. He should take his jobs to India while we focus on better thing.

Na una wey dey use him product dey give am opportunity to talk

Wickedtruths:
Wait, did he actually say this?

go look up the video on tiktok, i couldn't believe my ears lol. that guy got a leaky tongue

Yeah moniepoint can develop all these things (that the government has failed to properly do).

Or they can just hire foreigners and save themselves the headache.

Duplex90:
go look up the video on tiktok, i couldn't believe my ears lol. that guy got a leaky tongue

most annoying thing is he was once a graduate from nigeria

Pootle:
most annoying thing is he was once a graduate from nigeria

u see black man especially Nigerians we dont make money to do good things, we simply want to oppress every poor people around us. I actually tot moniepoint was foreign owned like opay

Same guy was trained and mentored to a world class engineer by Interswitch before he started TeamApt but all of a sudden and according to him Nigeria has no more talent.

As was stated in the rejoinder, let him create a MoniePoint Academy to groom and model his engineers like Interswitch which he was a product of.

All these pained talents, employ yourselves na

Britishpea:
The moniepoint guy was equivocal. The issue of unemployable of our youths is encompassing and cumbersome to discuss...Even when some class may want to dispute it, we cant shy away from the eroding situation of our productiveness aided by alot of factors, ranging from high poverty rate, lack of jobs opportunities over the years that had caused lack of concentration of students on education even while at schools- they go to schools for just the certificates and miracle centres, poor work remuneration and extortion by the employers(this also has a diverse discourse] social media effects, social media monetization, soft life mantra, easy money mongering and above all, our attitude as a nation towards everything.


The bulk starts and stops on our govts tables..... The next generation of leader might destroy Nigeria further

Government cannot do everything for you Sir/Ma. People should work on themselves and then the light comes

This Editorial really made my day.

Are you guys still on this Moniepoint matter?

The last time there was this level of chatter on a person's misyanings was during NSDC man's "My oga at the top" comment

Tosin Eniolorunda will be somewhere thinking about his life right now

Because you employ people makes no difference, People also employ CEO's even the moniepoint CEO is an employee cause he has investors. Im sure he must have been rejected at somepoint by some investors. All I can say is that he is a bad CEO, a very bad one at that.

I say that because you operate in Nigeria and even people who seek employment with you are Nigerians!, these are your potential customers for God sake. You are a servant of your brand your personal feelings against your customers should come second, you are a seller!! Even in "advanced countries" talent is hard, if you know the amount of effort companies go through to find talent from wherever and everywher you will be supprised. I have a very good friend, a network engineer who Cambridge university literaly flew all the way from Jos to Cambridge for a Senior network engineer Role in Cambrige- sponsored his visa and everythinh.
I dear say moniepoint CEO is a disgusting person, I pity the people who work with him! he has done no one a favour. He isn't an invetor, he was simply at the right place at the right time. There are other fintechs doing better than moniepoint today, If he leaves the market others will step in and be better

Respect is the least your potential customers deserve!! And if these are the so called" youth and captain of industries" Nigeria is producing well we are in for a very long ride

Sonofgod1990:
I never even for one day like this so called moniepoint. They are just like eco bank. Very annoying

Arsenal FC don suffer for una hand

HawkTuahGirl:
Person say Nigeria no get talent, all you are confirming Moniepoint position.

If school no train you well, its not the duty of the company to train you.
If you are sure of your ability you will never accept 100k salary.

For ordinary bricklaying; contractors prefer Togo and Benin Republic people.

If you want how lazy Nigeria youth are; Try start a company and be employing people

It is every where in the World, people don’t want to work but want to eat. The case of a software engineer is different, train them and they will deliver, especially when you get them young. Same with Toyota Nigeria Engineers or Elizade Engineers