ARE YOU GOING TO SIT THERE AND LOOK ON? EMPOWER YOURSELF NOW!!!

It is no news that the Nigerian economy is battered in a way that inspires a lot of question as to the sanity of the people at the helm. An average Nigerian is finding it very difficult to enjoy the basic necessities of life. How this nation got to this point is what baffles everyone.

What is also worrisome is that the bigger fractions of the population that is energetic and is supposed to be active in production has been lying idle and without any focus and hope. This is dangerous as it breeds crime and menace in the society.

When the youth that is supposed to be the fulcrum that pivots the economy becomes inactive, the nation is bound to contend with so many vices that are likely to abound. It is the function of the government to enact policies that will see to the engagement of the teeming youths (educated and uneducated), but when government fails, as it is the case in Nigeria today, the youth should provide for themselves with what is available, as waiting for the government is tantamount to wasting time and not putting to use the finest quality of manhood.

There are many businesses today to engage in with minimal capital the youth can consider helping themselves make a living. Nigeria is a huge market for a whole lot of products and services. The problem with the average Nigerian youth is lack of drive and the inordinate desire to make money fast. They don’t want to be patient and persevere.

In my previous article I highlighted so many errors in the Nigerian school curriculum. A child would continue to be in school until he is 24 without any skill; and at the end there will be no job. Most of them who are smart would still go back to acquire a skill which was possible to acquire while he attended the overhyped school.

That is the mess we are in today and it is not going to change soon until we understand that a child should start as early as possible to start being equipped before he is 20. This wouldn’t keep him away from school; it will help him find his feet in time; be financially stable on time and have a family on time.

This book outlines intensively about 30 businesses one can start in Nigeria with minimal capital to help cushion the effect of the recession we are in today as nobody knows when it is going to end. I implore the Nigerian youth to do away with shame and frivolities. Learn a trade, handiwork and see how your future is going to be bright. Things have changed and a certificate can no longer guarantee a better life. Handiwork and skill will.

I recommend this book for every family as there is something for the children and adults in it. It is relatively cheap so everyone can afford it, read it and put it to action. 

THE NIGERIAN YOUTH AND HIS FUTURE

My spirit goes with this little article of mine. Go waken the slumbered, go strengthen the weak, encourage the disheartened, to the lone dreamer. Speak! Yes, kindle within him a mighty desire, with dauntless ambition. Set his spirit on fire!

The socio-economic imperatives of the Nigerian economy of today are systematically drifting in favor to the growth of small and medium scale business. Among the reasons for this trend is the sudden nose-diving of the economy. For a long time, government had taken centre stage hoping to carefully and centrally plan the economy. At the core of this approach is the presumption that it is better to centrally manage the scarce resources than to manage it in fragments. In so doing government hopes to redistribute income, reduce unemployment, provide infrastructure and facilitate the growth of Gross National Product (GNP). Unfortunately, after a period of four decades, they are several miles behind the initial expectations. At the last count, our public corporations have turned out to be a conduit pipe to entrench mediocrity, inefficiency and enrichment of few at the expense of the struggling masses. Riding on the strength of monopoly coupled with its legal immunity, they have given and continue to give sub-optimal and epileptic services at high rate. In some cases of petroleum products, the products are not even readily available. It is against this backdrop that successive governments have taken a major rethink to this public sector domination of the economy.

The key challenges facing potential entrepreneurs are the promotion of awareness of various career options and possibilities for business set-up. There are many idle people in Nigeria. People in this category largely require awareness and understanding of what enterprise is and what it takes to own and manage a business so that they can consider self-employment realistically as a career option.

If you look around properly you would observe that people have been forced to engage in vocations they wouldn’t have opted for normally. The condition in the country is a blessing for some people and a source of turmoil for others. Keke is a very lucrative business right now. Most people who saved money to get keke and have seen how good the business is cannot leave the business for a white collar job that can’t pay up to N100,000 monthly.

The Nigerian youth have always been told that going to school will definitely bring wealth and good life subsequently. That’s okay, but the trend has changed long ago. If you studied and don’t have a skill to back it up, you might end up searching for job the rest of your life.

Now let’s break it down. At six years old, the Nigerian child is already gearing to be in Primary School and at 12 he is in Secondary School to study, make good grade and have the dream of going to the University. The parents have no intention of introducing the child to skill acquisition. The societal trend has always  been school, school, school. This child would round up with Secondary School at 18 years without a skill that he can fall back on. Remember at this age, he has got energy and this is the best time to harness his abilities and make him useful to the society. But, instead, most youths in this age in Nigeria are idle, depending on the parents for food, clothing and other needs. This is wrong. Assuming this child had learned a skill from the age 12 while going to school too, he would have been making money at least to cater for his own personal needs, and then aspiring for more.

If he is lucky to be in the University at age 19, he continues to depend on the parents until he is done with studies probably at age 24, still never got a skill. He continues to be a liability until he gets a job. It’s only a small fraction of Nigerians that get jobs after education. Majority roam the streets without skills and that is the reason vices are in the increase.

To parents, make sure your children acquire skills as they grow, so when they are adults they can convert those skills to money. They can go to school while getting a skill. That is the way to go this time if you want your child to be useful in time in the future. School alone is silently failing us and nobody is talking about it. Entrepreneur is the bedrock of every successful economy. Provide job for yourself and others. It’s painstaking, it’s worth it, it’s sexy, it’s the way forward.