- Professor Nasir Hassan-Wagini at Umaru Musa Yar’adua University (UMYU) encourages students and young people to start small businesses instead of relying solely on white-collar employment.
- Hassan-Wagini, a vegetable seller in Batsari, Katsina, shared his perspective with the News Agency of Nigeria on June 23, 2025, at a local market.
Professor Nasir Hassan-Wagini of the Biology Department at Umaru Musa Yar’adua University (UMYU), Katsina, has called on Nigerian youth to embrace entrepreneurship and not depend solely on white-collar jobs for their future.
Speaking in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday, June 23, 2025, at a local market in Batsari, Katsina State where he also sells vegetables, Hassan-Wagini shared insights from his life and career.
The newly promoted professor said he comes from a farming background and began selling vegetables at a young age, a habit he still maintains today despite his academic status. His story recently gained public attention after news of his professorial promotion surfaced, revealing that he continues to engage in agriculture and market trading.
Hassan-Wagini advised young people, particularly students, to consider entrepreneurship and small businesses as practical ways to build a stable future, instead of waiting endlessly for white-collar employment.
His humble and hardworking example has inspired many online, sparking conversations about dignity in labor and redefining success in a tough economic climate.
The professor said …
“My call to the NCE, Diploma and degree graduates is that they should feel free and start small businesses in their communities instead of staying idle,” he said.
“I’m a professor of plant resources at UMYU, I want youths and students to look at me, know my rank and position, and I still engage in small business of this nature.
“That may clear their minds because they feel ashamed and too-big to go into such type of small businesses.
“What matters is what you are contributing to the society. So, stop staying at home doing nothing when you did not get job, start with small businesses like this one.
“Our youths should stop going to other places looking for job, they should get into farming and other small businesses to become self-reliant.
“Self-reliance is key to successful life. Try to merge your education with vocational skills for your own good.”
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