Not only in Nigeria but also in Africa, frustrated graduate burns certificates

In Nigeria, like almost everywhere in Africa, the unemployment rate for young graduates has been rising steadily for years, leading to some burning their certificates.

The inability to find a job led a young Nigerian graduate from Katsina State to burn all of his diplomas. The man identified as Usman Abubakar tore the certificates to pieces before burning them.

Unemployment is one of the major problems Nigeria is trying to tackle, as best it can. But Usman Abubakar, who is a young unemployed graduate, seems to be at wit’s end.

As a symbol of protest, the young man would have set fire to all his certificates—one way to show the Nigerian government its frustration.

Part of the certificates burned by the young Katsina State graduate included those he had obtained from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), a higher institution, and Secondary school certs (WAEC).

So Usman Abubakar gathered all the certificates he obtained, tore them to pieces before burning them. Photos of charred certificates have since gone viral on social media platforms.

Separately, a 33-year-old woman identified as Helana Darwin took an outing on Twitter to express her sadness at being unemployed, despite two master’s degrees and a doctorate. ‘How at 33, can I find myself with two Masters and a doctorate and still live in such a precarious situation on the job market?’ She indicated.

“As a sociologist, I would like to encourage everyone here to zoom out and resist individualistic neoliberal rhetoric,” added Helana Darwin.