NURTW president tells Alausa crowd his practical knowledge outweighs degrees, even as he credits schooling for his children’s rise to doctors, lawyers and engineers
Musiliu Akinsanya, better known as MC Oluomo and National President of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, has reignited a conversation Nigerians know too well: can “street knowledge” compete with a university degree? Speaking at the 50th birthday celebration of Islamic singer Hafsat Adegoke and the unveiling of her new album in Alausa, Lagos, the transport union leader said his years on the road gave him an education no classroom could match.
“I Didn’t Go To School, But…”
Addressing guests at the Alausa event, MC Oluomo traced his journey from a teenage bus conductor to the head of one of Nigeria’s most powerful unions.“I didn’t enter the NURTW as a bastard. I learnt the work, mastered it and got to where I am today. I didn’t go to school, but the knowledge and understanding I have in my head are greater than those held by people with degrees,” he said.
He recalled earning his own money from age 13, working as a conductor from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., watching Indian movies at Danjuma Cinema with his own earnings, and still taking money home for his mother to buy food. The remark immediately drew attention online and at the venue, because it came from a man who dropped out after primary school to support his family, yet now leads a union with nationwide influence.
A Father Who Bet on Degrees
The irony in MC Oluomo’s speech was not lost on the audience. While downplaying formal education for himself, he held up his children as proof that schooling matters.“If I am uneducated, glory be to God. Today, my children are a doctor, a lawyer and an engineer, and they are in America,” he said.
Past reports show the depth of that investment. In 2019 he celebrated his daughter Nofisat for bagging a BSN in Nursing from Georgia Southern University in the U.S., noting she had even secured a job before graduation. Another son, Adejonwo Idris Gaji, graduated with a first-class degree in Business Administration from the University of Hertfordshire in London.
For many, that contradiction is the point. MC Oluomo didn’t condemn education. He condemned a system where certificates alone do not guarantee understanding, income, or responsibility.
Why The Comment Struck a Nerve
Nigeria is in the middle of a graduate employment crisis. Thousands of degree-holders are unemployed or underemployed, while many who skipped classrooms have built businesses in transport, trade, and tech. That reality made parts of the Alausa crowd cheer. Social media reactions mirrored the split: some praised “real-world smarts” and the value of apprenticeship, mastery, and survival skills. Others argued his words slighted formal education at a time when Nigeria needs more, not fewer, professionals.
MC Oluomo himself framed it as a matter of responsibility, not pride. “Any man who does not take care of his children is an enemy of God,” he said, lamenting that many women have become primary providers because some husbands abandoned their duties.
From Motor Park to National Union Leader
MC Oluomo’s rise is well documented. He started as a conductor, became a strong figure in the Lagos State Parks and Garages, and later emerged as NURTW National President. He turned 51 in 2026 and has used recent birthdays to reflect on life lessons, including the idea that “not everyone who smiles with you truly wishes you well”.
His influence goes beyond transport. He is a regular at political and celebrity events, and his children’s academic achievements in the U.S. and UK are often shared by him with pride. That duality, street credibility and a global, educated family, is why his latest comments resonate.
The Bigger Conversation: Degrees vs. Skills
What MC Oluomo tapped into is a debate that cuts across Nigeria. Employers complain graduates lack practical skills. Graduates complain jobs don’t exist. Meanwhile, trades, logistics, and informal commerce continue to employ millions.
His message, stripped of controversy, is simple: experience, discipline, and mastery can take you far, but that does not replace education for the next generation. He chose the street for himself out of necessity, then chose the university for his children out of strategy.
As one commenter noted online, “he didn’t come from a rich family, but today his family are making it and won’t be poor for generations to come”.
Mixed Reactions, One Takeaway
At Alausa, the room reacted with applause, laughter, and some murmurs. Outside, the debate raged on radio, X, and WhatsApp groups. For supporters, MC Oluomo represents proof that hustle, mentorship, and on-the-job learning still count. For critics, his platform makes it risky to appear to dismiss schooling when government and parents are pushing for higher enrollment.
What is clear is that the conversation is not going away. In a country where a conductor can become a national union president, and where that same president can send children to become doctors and lawyers abroad, Nigerians are being forced to ask: what exactly counts as education?MC Oluomo’s answer, at least for now, is both. Street knowledge for survival. University degrees for legacy. And as he put it himself, the knowledge “in my head” was earned the hard way, on the road, in the park, and in the business of keeping Lagos moving.
