Beyond Making Money: Rethinking Financial Education for Nigerian Youth

There is perhaps no phrase that captures contemporary Nigerian youth culture better than: **"I just want to make money"**

It is difficult to blame them. In an economy characterized by rising living costs, limited formal employment and growing uncertainty about the traditional pathway from education to financial security, the pursuit of income has become more than an ambition for many young Nigerians. It is a survival strategy.

We have responded by teaching them how to make money. Young Nigerians are encouraged to learn digital skills, start businesses, invest, freelance, create content and develop multiple streams of income. Government and private organizations are increasingly promoting entrepreneurship and financial literacy as tools for youth empowerment.

But an important question remains largely unanswered: Who is teaching them how to use the money once they make it?

This is not simply a question of budgeting. It is a question about the kind of economic culture we are creating. Money has never been merely an economic instrument. It also carries social meaning. It influences status, identity, relationships and perceptions of success.

Social media has intensified this reality. Young Nigerians are constantly exposed to images of wealth: cars, houses, holidays, expensive restaurants, businesses and lifestyles presented as evidence of achievement. Consequently, young people increasingly compare their economic progress with that of their peers.

This has contributed to what can be described as a culture of visible success. It is no longer enough to be economically stable; one increasingly feels the pressure to appear successful. This distinction matters because it can transform the meaning of entrepreneurship. Business ceases to be merely a means of creating value and becomes a means of achieving social status.

The danger is that when society celebrates the outcome of wealth more than the process through which it was acquired, ethical considerations can become secondary. A young person may begin asking, “How much can I make?” without asking, “How should I make it?”

This is where financial literacy become essential. Young people should understand saving, budgeting, investment, credit, risk and financial planning. But financial knowledge does not automatically produce financial responsibility. Someone may understand investment and still invest recklessly. Someone may understand debt and still borrow excessively. Someone may understand accounting and still manipulate figures. An entrepreneur may understand marketing and still deceive customers.