“We made a decision that we will no longer hire from any other place than Nigeria. If you go to Moniepoint career website, we have maybe 500 vacancies, and we are struggling to find people to fill those roles.”
If you have been online for the past few days, then you’ve most likely seen the discourse online right now. The recent comments by Tosin Eniolorunda, CEO of Moniepoint, have ignited a firestorm across Nigeria’s digital workforce.
“I used to think intelligence is equally distributed around the world, but I am realizing that the environment shapes a lot of things that we consume on social media. I am realizing the value shaping our system now; what hook-up culture, yahoo-yahoo culture is a problem”
These were direct words from the CEO
His comments come at a time when Nigeria’s tech industry is expanding rapidly, even as companies struggle with hiring, retention, and scaling.
Eniolorunda pointed to the continued migration of skilled professionals commonly referred to as “Japa” as a key challenge. The issue, he suggested, is not just that Nigeria is producing limited globally competitive talent, but that much of what it does produce is leaving. The result is a double strain: a weak pipeline and a persistent brain drain.
Beyond migration, he raised concerns about cultural and environmental factors shaping how young Nigerians learn and work.
“The level that people are reasoning in this country is not as high as it used to be,” he said. “And this is coming from me, a diehard Nigerian who wants Nigerians to grow.”
He also pointed to the role of distraction and shifting values, suggesting that social media and the appeal of quick success are competing with the kind of deep, focused thinking required to build complex systems.
For Eniolorunda, aspiration is part of the problem.
“The person they see around them is that local boy that has collected thirty thousand dollars, and they want to be like him”
In his view, visible success stories are shaping what younger Nigerians consider achievable, often tilting ambition toward short-term wins instead of long-term value creation.
For many Nigerians, this felt like a slap in the face. Moniepoint, after all, is a homegrown success story built on the backs of millions of Nigerian shopkeepers, agents, and everyday users. To hear that the very people who power the brand aren’t “qualified” to work for it has sparked a necessary, if uncomfortable, conversation about talent, compensation, and the reality of the Nigerian tech ecosystem.
Speaking at The Platform Nigeria in May 2026, Eniolorunda revealed that in 2024, Moniepoint made a conscious decision to hire exclusively from Nigeria. However, by 2025, they faced the music. He cited a lack of high-level technical skills and a “declining general IQ” as reasons why hundreds of roles remain unfilled.
The CEO’s primary argument is that Moniepoint isn’t just competing with local startups; it’s competing with global giants, particularly from China. To survive that arena, he argues, the company needs “world-class” senior talents.
Critics have argued that global standards are often corporate shorthand for “experience we haven’t helped build.” The Nigerian tech community pointed out that Nigerians are currently leading engineering teams at Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. If the talent is good enough for Silicon Valley, why isn’t it good enough for a Lagos-based fintech?
One of the loudest arguments online centers on the “Pay-to-Skill” ratio. Tech professionals have accused local unicorns of wanting “Silicon Valley skills” at “Lagos prices.”
If a senior engineer can earn $100,000 working remotely for a US firm, why would they take a fraction of that at a local firm where they also have to deal with power outages, inflation, and high-pressure work cultures?
The talent hasn’t vanished; it has simply migrated either physically or virtually via remote work.
In his follow-up clarification, Eniolorunda made a more nuanced point: Nigeria lacks “feeder industries.” In mature markets, junior developers start at smaller firms, gain experience, and eventually “feed” into senior roles at giants. In Nigeria, there is a massive pool of juniors but a tiny, over-saturated pool of seniors. Everyone is fighting for the same ten people.
While the Eniolorunda’s comments about declining IQ were widely seen as elitist and insensitive, the underlying issue is structural.
Our universities are often decades behind current tech stacks.
It is hard to become “world-class” when you are fighting for consistent electricity and affordable data.
If companies want senior talent, they must be willing to invest in the “mid-level” talent of today. You cannot harvest a crop you didn’t plant.
For the Nigerian youth, the Moniepoint discourse shouldn’t just be a reason for digital outrage, it should be a catalyst for a strategic pivot. While the talent gap narrative feels like a dismissal of the sleepless nights spent mastering code, design, or marketing in the face of erratic power and many local constraints, there is a hard truth hidden within the noise: The world does not owe us recognition; we must command it.
Instead of seeing global standards as a barrier, we should see it as a baseline. The reality of the digital economy is that geographical borders are dissolving. If you are a developer in Abakaliki or a community manager in Lagos, you aren’t just competing with the person next door; you are competing with talent in Bangalore, Tallinn, and San Francisco.
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Don’t just master the “how” of your craft; master the “why.” Deepen your understanding of business logic, high-level architecture, and cross-functional. Become so undeniably proficient that your results not just your CV do the talking.
If a local unicorn claims it cannot find the talent it needs among its primary consumer base, it creates a unique opportunity for the unseen talent to explore optionality.
If you are world-class, you are a global commodity. If Moniepoint or any other local giant refuses to see the gold in their own backyard, the global market is waiting. There is a certain irony in a company losing out on top-tier local talent because they underestimated them; eventually, that talent goes on to build the very competitors that disrupt the incumbents.
The most potent response to being told you aren’t “enough” isn’t a long Twitter thread, it is a better version of yourself. Nigerian youth have already proven they are the “soul” of the African tech revolution. By doubling down on deep work, specialized skills, and relentless self-improvement, you ensure one of two things: either these companies will eventually have to pay a premium to get you back, or they will watch from the sidelines as you build the next big thing.
Moniepoint is 90% Nigerian-staffed, which shows a commitment to the local soil. However, the outcry from the public serves as a reminder: Patronage is a two-way street.
If Nigerians provide the market that makes a company a unicorn, they expect to be seen as the mind capable of sustaining it. The solution isn’t to look down on the talent pool, but to bridge the gap through better pay, structured mentorship, and an understanding that world-class isn’t a status you find. It’s a status you build.
What do you think? Is the talent gap a harsh reality we need to face, or is it an excuse to overlook the brilliance right here at home? I’d love to hear your perspective on whether we should be building more bridges or simply building our own tables. Drop a comment below and let’s keep this conversation going.
