What Peller and other Nigerians who think like him are saying is that in the Nigeria of today, a university degree is as good as nothing when it comes to job prospects.
By AZUKA ONWUKA
The recent social media crisis that erupted over TikTok personality known as Peller (Habeeb Hamzat) over his mockery of master’s degree holders left a sour taste. On the surface, it was a case of a tactless young man without a university degree but with social media fame and money trying to ridicule university degree holders. But it went beyond that.
The summary of the story is that Peller advertised for a camera operator who must have a minimum of a master’s degree. The salary would be N500,000 per month. Predictably, many young Nigerians applied for the job. Peller recorded the sessions and used them as social media content. He was seen in the videos talking down on the candidates, body-shaming them, ridiculing them and making them look inconsequential.
Peller did not just ask for an excellent camera operator. He did not ask for people with first degrees. He consciously asked for people with a master’s degree. He did it on purpose because he wanted to prove a point. And the point is that even though he does not have a university degree and is seen as a “boy” who is not soundly educated, he can employ someone with a master’s as his cinematographer.
Let it be remembered that having a master’s does not confer any advantage on a camera operator in terms of skills. A camera operator does not need even a university degree to excel, especially one who is working for oneself. A university degree can only help such a camera operator speak better English, and a cameraman, while discussing with clients, which can also be acquired through reading and practice.
Therefore, it was obvious that Peller was not primarily concerned about getting a top-notch camera professional. He wanted to create some news around himself and ridicule the whole institution of scholarship in Nigeria. His attitude aligns with the popular saying among some classes of Nigerians that “education is a scam”. It is intended to prove that education is a waste of time, that people no longer need to go to school to achieve success. This saying is usually buttressed with celebrities (musicians, comedians, footballers, entrepreneurs, as well as people whose source of wealth is unknown but who are known to throw money around) as examples of successful people who achieve fame and financial success without a university degree.
In Nigeria, unlike in Western countries, secondary school education is not considered good enough. Someone without a university degree is technically seen as one who has not truly acquired education. In Western countries, people with a secondary school certificate are considered educated. They can get good jobs. They can rise to become directors and CEOs without ever acquiring a university degree. All they need to do is to continuously upgrade their skills and get some licences in their profession. This was obtainable in the Nigeria of the colonial era as well as two decades after Independence.
But from the 1980s, things began to change at a fast pace. A university degree began to be seen as the minimum qualification for employment that paid well and had some prospects. Those without a university degree were restricted to blue-collar jobs – drivers, cleaners, security officials, machine operators, factory workers, etc.
By the turn of the century, it was becoming obvious that one might be employed by an organisation with a first degree, but one needed a master’s degree to be seen as someone with a bright future in any organisation. But what Peller and other Nigerians who think like him are saying is that in the Nigeria of today, a university degree is as good as nothing when it comes to job prospects.