By Adasi Adasi Dick
July 2, 2025 | Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Nigeria is at a crossroads — one where its greatest resource, the youth, is faced with a future shaped more by digital skills than traditional degrees. Recently, the Federal Government took a commendable step by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a private firm to train thousands of young Nigerians annually in Foreign Exchange (Forex) trading.
This decision is more than just policy — it is a loud declaration that digital financial literacy is no longer optional. But while the government leads this charge, Nigerian universities remain asleep, stuck teaching economic theories without practical relevance to today’s fast-paced global economy.
Forex Trading: A Global Reality, Not a Side Hustle
In 2024, the global forex market saw an average daily turnover of over $7.5 trillion. Young people in countries like the UK, India, and South Africa are already building careers and businesses from forex — some while still in school. Meanwhile, millions of Nigerian students graduate every year with degrees that do not equip them to survive, let alone thrive, in this digital financial landscape.
If the Federal Government is officially endorsing forex training, shouldn’t our universities — the supposed think-tanks of national development — take the lead in embedding it into the formal education system?
Dangerous Disconnection
The current disconnect between academic training and economic reality is not just inefficient — it is dangerous. It creates a generation of paper-certified graduates with little or no practical, income-generating skills. What’s worse, these same graduates are often forced to learn forex trading informally through unregulated online platforms, risking scams, misinformation, and financial losses.
Integrating forex into university curricula, especially in departments like Economics, Finance, Business Administration, and Computer Science, is no longer a suggestion — it is a necessity.
Why Forex Should Be in the Curriculum
Here’s what universities and the country stand to gain:
✅ Global Competitiveness: Nigerian graduates will no longer be limited by local job offers. With digital skills like forex, they become global citizens, able to work, earn, and invest from anywhere.
✅ Massive Employment Potential: With structured training and proper risk education, forex can offer students a self-sustaining income stream, reducing pressure on Nigeria’s already weak job market.
✅ Boost to FinTech and Innovation: Departments in IT and Engineering can explore algorithmic trading, AI-driven forecasting, and blockchain integration — creating a breeding ground for new fintech entrepreneurs.
✅ Practical Financial Literacy: Forex education teaches students about inflation, interest rates, global economics, and currency management — real-world knowledge most never learn even after four years in a finance department.
Remember that while signing the MOU the Minister of Youth Development said “this partnership reflects our strategic vision for sustainable youth development.” Speaking further he said “beyond trading, we’re teaching our youth to think critically, embrace digital skills, and seize global opportunities to build wealth and add value to the Nigerian economy.”
How can we as citizens add substantial value to our economy, when we are yet to tap into the global financial market? When most of our youths don’t even understand the stock market. Vast majority of us don’t even know how to trade indices. For some Nigerians, FOREX is a scam, so unfortunate. A market with daily turnover of about $7 trillion dollars is steering at African most populous Country. What are we waiting for?
A Youth’s Journey from Hustle to Hope
“Before I discovered forex trading, I was a frustrated graduate selling recharge cards in Lagos. After getting trained, I now earn over $1,000 monthly trading currencies online — and I didn’t need to leave Nigeria to do it,” says Emmanuel D., a 27-year-old Accounting graduate.
Emmanuel’s success is inspiring, but his journey was filled with risks — self-taught through YouTube, exposed to unverified content, and scammed twice before finding a reliable mentor. If Nigerian universities had formal forex programs, youths like Emmanuel wouldn’t have to gamble with their future to gain financial independence.
What Other Countries Are Doing
One will ask “what other countries are offering forex in their universities?” The straight answer to such a question is that there are many of them, including “our continental rival” South Africa.
South Africa includes forex modules in business schools and has licensed youth trading academies.
India offers online forex and crypto finance courses through universities and technical institutes.
Singapore partners with brokers and fintech firms to teach trading in higher institutions.
Even in the U.S. and UK , universities now run student-led investment clubs that manage real portfolios, including forex and crypto assets.
So why is Africa’s largest economy lagging behind when it has the largest youth population on the continent?
The Government Has Done Its Part — What Are the Universities Waiting For?
The Federal Government has sent a clear signal: Forex is a 21st-century skill worth investing in. But if Nigerian universities continue to operate as if it’s still the 1990s, they will keep producing graduates who are unfit for today’s realities with respect to the global financial market.
For UNN, “the University of Nigeria understands this and decided to take a step further in preparing her students for the digital world of tomorrow. The school offers students key courses in emerging and advanced areas of digital computing such as Artificial Intelligence, Cryptocurrencies, Machine learning, Digital forex trading and so much more.” Others should follow without any further delay.
“We see forex trading not just as a skill, but as a digital livelihood tool. Universities can partner with us to deliver structured, certified training as part of the academic experience,” a senior official from the Federal Ministry of Youth Development said recently.
It’s time for vice chancellors, academic boards, and curriculum developers to act. Universities should:
- Create electives and full courses on forex and digital markets.
- Partner with licensed forex brokers and institutions for practical training.
- Establish student trading clubs and competitions backed by verified mentors.
- Fund research in digital finance as a path to fintech development.
Conclusion
Nigerian students are ready. The market is ready. Even the government is ready. What remains is the willpower within our universities to break the old cycle of outdated learning and embrace skills that truly matter.
This is not a luxury skill — it is survival. The Nigerian economy is changing, fast. If our universities won’t evolve, then they risk failing the very people they were created to empower. The time to add forex trading to the curriculum is not next year. It is now!