Paper presented by Ralphs Okey Nwosu National Chairman African Democratic Congress, and President St. Flairs Legacy Centre, Awka; at the 6th Edition of “From Rags to Riches Seminar” of the Chike Okoli Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, 30th October, 2014.
Every great and deep difficulty bears in itself its own solution. It forces us to change our thinking in order to find it. – Niels Bohr.
I am humbled that the organizers chose me to present a paper on this topic; I cannot but say thank you to you all and to the distinguished audience you have assembled. I pray I am able to do justice to the topic and contribute to the vision of the Chike Okoli Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies. I hope too, I am able to represent the purpose and intention of the Okoli family in setting up the foundation that drives the institute. I understand the young man Chike lived a life of inspiration, creativity, and openness, and that he shared his wisdom and talents freely to impact all around him. We celebrate the immortal and generous spirit of Chike in this yearly ritual as we mark the 6th edition of the From Rags to Riches Seminar. I hope that the Chike Okoli Foundation and the School are able to use this empowering platform as Chike would have wished to dispassionately impact all persons, and help a state and nation in dire need of model entrepreneurs and leaders.
Who is an Entrepreneur? An entrepreneur is a person with the ability to create a business or an enterprise of any sort and nurture it to become a successful organization. The entrepreneur can foresee, create, and transform opportunities into viable ventures. The entrepreneur may be seen as a risk taker, a courageous and aggressive businessman, and an astute investor. Entrepreneurial activities may vary depending on the environment and time period, however, the modern entrepreneur possesses elements of an inventor, an architect, a driver, an innovator, a builder and a thinker. The modern entrepreneur may not necessarily be a business investor out for financial gains but will always be a revolutionary thinker with uncommon and deep insight, whose involvement seems to inspire creativity and add value to any organization or project, be it in business and development, science and technology, engineering, agriculture, the arts etc.
Knowledge is the key that drives the entrepreneur. Therefore, having access to what I will like to refer to as the ‘knowledge bank’ is vital to awakening the entrepreneurial spirit. People become knowledgeable to certain degrees when they have access to knowledge, which they can find in guardians, teachers, facilitators, mentors, and/or benefactors, all of whom possess a wellspring of entrepreneurial wisdom. It is worthy to note that Anambra state is a home to many entrepreneurs; which suggests that the state may have a vibrant entrepreneurial knowledge system. However quite a number of our successful entrepreneurs in the state did not make it through any known academic/formal school system; as a matter of fact, some of them were from poor background and could not afford to finish primary school. Some were considered unintelligent and so unfit to be in school. Their subsequent successes prove that performance in school does not necessarily correlate with entrepreneurial ability. The rote learning and teacher-centered methods in school could be a factor. Modern learning techniques emphasize ‘showing’ and ‘doing’, rather than just telling. It is expected that the faculty of the Chike Okoli Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies will brace up to the concept of ‘scholapractice’. Blending entrepreneurial scholarship with bold and effective entrepreneurial practice will pave the path for the much needed redesign of our educational system to focus on transformational learning. This should be the definitive mission for Nigeria academics and universities at this time.
The politicization of entrepreneurship may be taken broadly to mean manipulation of entrepreneurship initiatives for political or other gains. This occurs when government, organizational leaders, or politicians and advocacy groups use legal, economic, administrative, or legislative bottlenecks and/or partisanship to drive their personal or group agenda in such a manner that stalls or frustrates the smooth implementation of entrepreneurial activities. Quite often, entrenched interests, national character innuendoes, leadership ineptitude and corruption lead to a circus of too much politics and no action, what we refer to as “Nigerian factor”. At all levels in Nigeria, entrepreneurial efforts suffer because of such bizarre partisanship.
Evidence of major efforts towards entrepreneurship and industrial development in Nigeria are many. Our nation’s archives are heavy with blue prints, white papers, motions, hansards, reports of meetings, committees, seminars, name it; abundance of paper work which may never see the light of day. We conceptualize white elephant projects and make big figure budgets that never get implemented beyond lip service. The 2nd National Development Plan put together after the civil war contained policies that were intended to spur and unite the battered nation by inspiring the ingenuity and inventive skills of the various people. In practice however, the 3Rs of Reconciliation, Reconstruction, and Rehabilitation transmuted to abandoned property and currency devaluation. Likewise, a lot of the measures government introduced to advance small and medium scale enterprises and industrial development at different times since our independence have faltered. We can ask questions about what befell the Nigerian Bank for Commerce and Industry, Nigerian Industrial Development Bank, NERFUND, People’s Bank, Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), and various initiatives of the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria both fiscal and monetary which were instituted to jumpstart and promote entrepreneurship and industrial development. In the same line, we have had various technical, research and skills development initiatives such as the Raw Material Research and Development Council, Projects Development Agency PRODA, Centre for Management Development, Centre for Industrial Research, the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development CED, NDE, NOAS, SMEDAN and many more, all with full complements of staff, management and Board, and annual budgets.
While I may not want to get into the usual ‘gallery dance’, I will like to draw our attention to two recent initiatives aimed at boosting entrepreneurship by the current government of President Goodluck Jonathan. The first is the basket fund created for the film and performing arts industry, into which the Federal Government put an initial N3.0 billion naira four years ago. Up till today no other stakeholder, neither the Actors Guild, the various affiliate associations, banks, industries, cinema house owners, nor government at state or local council levels have contributed to the fund. The banks are interested in having the money lodged into their systems and used as loans for their own projects. Some of the powerful Actors Guild members have conspired with the fund managers and their government cronies to use the funds to service their entrenched interests. This misapplication may continue until the fund is depleted without advancing its purpose in any substantive manner.
The second is the YouWin initiative which stands for Youth Enterprise With Innovation in Nigeria. It is a competitive program to encourage and support entrepreneurial youth who are able to develop innovative business plans by giving them the sum of N10million to execute their plans, create jobs, and generate wealth. So far about 4000 young persons have benefitted. While this effort has been commended, one wonders if the institutional framework for the essential monitoring and evaluation has been put in place. Again, there is the worry that the infrastructural challenges in the country like irregular electricity, poor transportation networks and low level of bank support for future expansion could stunt the program and leave the beneficiaries vulnerable to the temptation of diverting the money to China to import cheap goods for quick turnover rather than invest locally.
Our nation seems to be dancing with unsure steps. The vision, mission, and purpose are unclear. The political leaders are still struggling to lay effective strategies to position the country as an effective state. It is illusionary to think that a mere application of finance and monetary theories and nuanced micro and macro economic principles can drive an economy of a nation with 175million persons. Nigeria cannot chart a worthy path without ensuring that her people are effectively empowered and engaged. Demographers estimate that if current growth rates continue, in less than twenty years Nigeria’s population will hit 320 million people, ranking us 4th after India, China, and the US in that order. Human resource or ‘human capital’ in Nigeria is the basis of our strategic strength in a world that has become one globalized marketplace. It is only through the development and engagement of the entrepreneurial and leadership capacity of our people that the country can define a path to greatness. Founding the Chike Okoli Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies is therefore a step towards pointing our leaders in the right direction.
The world is in constant transition, front line nations are leveraging their positions by constantly working to come up with new ideas, discoveries, and products. While the world awaits the “Supersonic aircraft” that can get from New York to Los Angeles or from any part of the world to another within minutes, what is the ‘Big Thing to Come’ for Nigeria? Here lies the challenge for the faculty of the Chike Okoli Centre of Entrepreneurial Studies, and all the people present here today. It will be most disappointing for us to have so many universities and polytechnics and institutes and numerous fine scholars engaged therein and not be able to find our bearing. The recent introduction of entrepreneurial studies into our tertiary education curricular is a positive development, however our learning methodologies need to be rejigged for better and transformative learning. To make progress in this regards, it is my belief that the solution lies in the appropriate marriage of scholarship and practice, as this will enable scholars to appreciate how what is taught in the class rooms and laboratories translates into action in real life situations. Many of the local universities are members of national and international networks and have strong linkages through which they continually add to their stockpile of knowledge. Yet, the localities where they operate are often barren, with no sign that the knowledge within their vicinity is rubbing off on them. What would happen if the tertiary institutions were to start collaborating with their local communities; with the chambers of commerce, the small businesses, community organizations and leaders, and local councils? What if the entrepreneurial knowledge being shared within the campuses starts to show up in government policies, local businesses, and town/community hall meetings? The synergy would enable easy transmission of knowledge such that it rubs off and light up the environment where the learning citadel is domiciled. The results will be apparent when local businesses can grow to compete nationally and start to employ some of the graduates of these same universities. This can help our universities to actually feel the impact their graduates create in the real life world and be encouraged to continue to turn out excellent professionals and entrepreneurs. It is possible that within the next ten to twenty years, the majority of the political and business elites will be products of our universities, persons with appropriate and relevant skills. This certainly will be a step towards repositioning our country.
The ordinary Nigerians are hard-working people. Our businessmen/women are importers, retailers and wholesalers. We have a handful of small and medium scale industrialists, but the majority do not employ more than one or two persons. We are individual importers, spare parts dealers, building contractors, road side akara fryers, chemists or patent medicine shops operators, vulcanizers, carpenters, and tailors. Our people are individualistic in their businesses. While sole proprietorships do require hard work and zeal to succeed, in our context these businesses do not have the fiscal discipline and group etiquette that modern businesses require. In this era of global acquisition and open national and international trade corridors, it is only a matter of time before such “Emeka and Co. Ltd and Ikenna Spare Parts Shop” enterprises are put out of business. Globalization is here and the country is turning a new phase. You can see what the arrival of Shoprite has done to provision store owners in our big cities. Once the present security challenges are solved, big time investors and venture capitalists will move in and chain supermarkets, conglomerates, and global brands will take over the markets and business in our country. Our small shops and one-man businesses may not find relevance for too long. As we teach entrepreneurial studies, we must inculcate the modern business practices of teamwork, partnerships, cooperatives and joint ventures, disciplines, and corporate governance; so that our home grown entrepreneurs can acquire the knowledge and skills they need to take charge of the available opportunities locally, and be part of the next big things in the world.
We may not be able to compete on all fronts but we have strategic advantage in many areas. We are still developing and we have oil. Therefore the construction and oil and gas industries will remain vibrant for many years to come. We also have a large population. As such, studies in innovative road construction methods, novel and model electricity generation systems, waste to wealth projects, agribusiness, mass transit systems, arts and culture, petro-gas technologies, and healthcare are areas that could give us headway. With appropriate studies, we can make major breakthroughs in developing better processes and materials that offer attractive and cheaper alternatives. We can start to produce locally, many of the goods and services we usually import, which will enrich our local businesses, limit our import dependency, create jobs, accelerate the rate of development locally, and afford us something to market to the rest of the world.
I know you may be wondering “What is the Big thing to Come?” The essence of entrepreneurial education is to develop critical and deep thinkers who can align school teachings with the real life world. The goal should be to develop questioning minds; minds who can wonder: “Why does Nnamdi Azikiwe University have a chemistry department with an equipped laboratory in Awka?”; “How will the titration the students conduct in the lab impact on humanity?”; “Apart from the purpose that titration serves in industry at the moment, are there any other uses of that titration?” Developing the inquiring mind is a starting point for a journey of discovery. Putting resourced knowledge, indigenous and otherwise, to action is the key to kick starting homegrown development. Developing people skills and team/collaboration understanding are also essential steps in the journey. When we have our students implement relevant local projects within the community, supervised by able professors, we empower them with practical experience in bringing knowledge to life.
When we start to see students of business and commerce bringing small shop owners together to form partnerships and pool their finances to gain economy of scale in order to expand their operations; when we see student agricultural entrepreneurs working with farmers to devise new and better ways to process, package and market local foodstuff; when we have young environmentalists piloting innovative waste recycling systems in the local community; then we will know that we are seeing the practicalization of knowledge that is the Big Thing to Come. That is the path I think our education should follow. With hundreds of professors and research fellows, Nnamdi Azikiwe University can start to champion a renaissance in education. I will propose a multi-stakeholder arrangement involving governments at all levels, our tertiary institutions, businesses, and community leaders, to promote this concept of ‘ScholaPratice’. The resultant paradigmic shift will lead to the generation of robust business incubation processes, science and IT parks, and a cultural revolution towards a new kind of business discipline.
Education enlightens and enlivens. If appropriate entrepreneurial education takes hold in our state and country, I do not have any doubt that as the nation starts to benefit from the creative thinking and the richness that will follow, parochial and retrogressive politicking, corruption and greed and ineffective governance, will begin to melt away, and replaced by purposeful and progressive leadership. The foundation has started a great thing, I hope the centre and school would magnify the vision, build the needed collaboration and networks to make this place the Centre of Big Things in scholarship and practice in the country. America and some of its institutions are leading examples; Japan, South Korea and China are interesting cases for our academics to study.
Thank you for listening to me.
God bless you all.
Ralphs Okey Nwosu. Ikolo Dike Orabueze Awka -Our task is not to foresee the future, but to enable it. Antoine de Saint-Exupery. St Flairs Legacy Centre and Institute, Awka. 08037755885. ralphsnwosu@yahoo.com
