There’s a quiet fear growing in the hearts of many young Nigerians — a fear most people don’t talk about out loud. This fear shows up in the long queues at job interviews, in the tired eyes of graduates holding CVs, in the countless youths scrolling online late at night hoping to find something that looks like a future, betting on Sporty Bet, misbehaving on TikTok just to get views and gifts and even prostitution, both Male and Female.
Every day, more young people are applying for jobs that don’t exist, learning skills they can’t afford to practice, and fighting a system that makes survival feel like an achievement. We’re a generation filled with dreams, yet constantly held back by an economy that doesn’t recognize our worth.
Sometimes, when you sit alone and think about the next 30 or 40 years, it hits you:
“Will all this struggle lead to anything? Or are we just running in circles?”
This article is for anyone who has ever felt that fear, that uncertainty, that quiet anxiety about the future. Because you’re not alone — and the truth needs to be told.
Nigeria is bursting with young people who are talented, creative, ambitious, and hungry for progress. Everywhere you turn, youths are building brands, learning digital skills, dabbling in entrepreneurship, or doing whatever they can to survive. Yet despite all this energy, one reality keeps staring us in the face:
The system is failing the Nigerian youth.
Unemployment is rising. Opportunities are shrinking. Salaries are not matching the cost of living. And a lot of young people are stuck in survival mode with no real chance to build the kind of future they deserve.
It’s no surprise that many are asking:
“If things are this hard now, what will life look like for us in 40 years?”
Let’s face it — the question is scary, but it’s necessary.
The Harsh Reality Young Nigerians Are Facing Today
Life for the average Nigerian youth is already a struggle. The economy is unstable, food prices keep rising, and most people are simply trying not to drown in daily expenses.
Some truths are hard to ignore:
Many graduates are unemployed or underemployed.
Salaries can’t keep up with inflation.
Rent, food, and transportation costs are becoming unbearable.
People are working hard but not building wealth.
Savings and investments feel like luxury.
For most youths, life has become hand-to-mouth, not because they lack discipline, but because the system leaves very little room to breathe.
A Growing Crisis: More Graduates, Fewer Opportunities
Every year, Nigerian universities and polytechnics release thousands of new graduates into the world. But the sad reality is that:
There are no jobs waiting for them.
Many graduate without employable skills because our education system is still heavily theoretical. They come out with certificates but no practical exposure, and the job market doesn’t have space for them anyway.
This creates a cycle where:
Fresh graduates stay jobless for years
Skilled jobs remain inaccessible
Families struggle to support their children
Young adults lose confidence and direction
It’s really heartbreaking because a degree should be a step forward — not the beginning of a long struggle.
Remote Jobs Should Help… But Nigeria Has a Reputation Problem
Many young Nigerians try to escape local unemployment by applying for remote jobs abroad. And honestly, the opportunities are there — global companies need designers, developers, marketers, assistants, writers, and more.
But here’s the catch:
Nigeria’s global reputation makes it harder to get hired.
A small group of people engaged in fraudulent activities online in the past, and the world painted the entire country with the same brush. Now:
International companies hesitate to employ Nigerians
Freelancers receive fewer responses on platforms
Job postings secretly blacklist Nigerian applicants
Clients are nervous about trusting Nigerian workers
Some remote opportunities come with extra verification or restrictions.
- I even read in the news today that Canada advised its citizens to travel to Nigeria at their own risk.
This means many youths are fighting two battles:
Trying to prove their skills and trying to prove their innocence.
It’s unfair, but it’s the reality many Nigerians face daily.
Fast Forward 40 Years: What Happens If Nothing Changes?
Let’s just sit down and imagine the future honestly without sugarcoating it.
Today’s 20–35-year-olds will be in their 50s, 60s, and early 70s in the next four decades. This is the age when energy drops, health becomes unpredictable, and the ability to work reduces.
If Nigeria continues on this same path:
1. We may have an elderly population with no savings, no pensions, and no support.
Because most people are not earning enough now to save for the future.
2. Many will still be working at old age just to survive.
Instead of enjoying retirement, they’ll still be hustling.
3. Poverty among the elderly will rise sharply.
The country will struggle to support an aging generation with no financial base.
4. Dependence on children will increase.
Putting pressure on the next generation and repeating the cycle.
5. National development will stagnate.
A country where youths struggle today will be a country where the elderly suffer tomorrow.
This is not fear — it’s reality.
Nigeria is at a crossroads — and so are its youths. We are living in a country where talent is abundant but opportunities are scarce; where dreams are big but the system is small; where young people work twice as hard just to earn half as much. But even in the middle of all this hardship, one thing remains clear:
The future of Nigeria will rise or fall on the shoulders of its youth.
If nothing changes, the next 40 years could be an era of regret, poverty, and wasted potential. But if we choose differently — if we invest in skills, support creativity, strengthen our values, demand accountability, and rebuild our global reputation — we can create a future that looks nothing like our present reality.
Our generation is not powerless. We’re not hopeless. In fact, we’re the most resourceful Nigerians ever. We’ve survived things that should’ve broken us — and we’re still standing… still building… still dreaming.
The future is not guaranteed, but it is negotiable.
And every decision we make today — big or small — is a vote for the kind of life we want to live when we’re older.
The next 40 years start now.
They belong to those who refuse to give up.
They belong to us.
✍️ About the Author
Fintan Echeozo is a web designer, creative strategist, and hands-on problem solver who believes in learning, fixing, and creating things yourself. When he’s not designing websites at Bluoyster Technology Services, he’s probably tinkering with a DIY project or writing about personal growth and creativity on his blog.
