Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurial Education: harvesting from the Cradle

Keynote Speech Delivered on the Occasion of the Faculty of Education 2019 Conference at Princess Alexander Auditorium, University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Theme: Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurial Education: harvesting from the Cradle

Introduction

Back in the days when we had only informal education, children learned from their parents how to do farm work, boys learned goldsmith, carpentry work, sculptural work, etc from their fathers while girls learned sewing, knitting, etc from their mothers – crafts and skills that kept them busy, and made them creative and productive. What really changed that culture? Could it be our idea and perception of formal education? We embraced formal education the wrong way; our wrong perception of formal education made us run away from what we call dirty and tedious work, so we embraced what we call white-collar job where we sit down in the office to do whatever comes our way, and get paid at month-end.

……..that explains why we have many graduates, including masters and Ph.D. holders who roam the streets looking for a job rather than looking inwards to know what they can offer and earn a living out of it. It explained why we cannot produce common toothpick or even harvest and process the cashew at our backyards.

Unemployment Facts

Nigeria is a country with a population of about 190.9m people. Economically active population is about 111.1m people but according to reports; four out of ten in this workforce population are unemployed or underemployed. What will be the fate of these unemployed people if we don’t talk about entrepreneurship or if we don’t encourage the young ones to be self-employed? Let’s not forget that as we battle as a nation on what to do with the currently unemployed people, we graduate students on yearly basis to join the list, while our children in primary and secondary schools are also coming up to join the queue. What plan do we have for them? Where will they work? Is it in the already crowded Federal government and state parastatals, already crowded oil companies or where?

Idle Mind is the Devil’s Workshop

We complain of insecurity because of kidnappers, armed robbers, yahoo boys, prostitutes, etc; if we continue to take things for granted, the future of this country is at stake. We need to start making amends now and we must start by redefining education because it is all-embracing – it embraces all aspects of learning; it could be skill acquisition, inculcating morals into young ones, going to school to acquire certificates, on the job training, etc. The younger generation needs to be re-orientated so that whatever legitimate business or job they find to do, they will be proud of doing that and grow with it. We need to teach the young ones to start harvesting from the cradle.

What Does the Future Hold?

Days are gone when students focus their mind to read their school books or study just to pass their exams. The result is that they are certified on paper but they cannot reason. That is why in reality, some people can’t even manage their little earnings, yet, they studied opportunity cost and scale of preference in school. Some things we learn or learned in school are not just to pass an exam; they are life lessons that should help us make a good living. This is the time to think – after exams, after school, what will I do with my life? This is the time for students to utilize their free times in school and engage themselves in meaningful activities that will pave their path to a balanced future. It is not the time to waste in cult activities or chase sugar daddies and mummies around for money; it is not the time to fight for girlfriend and boyfriend. Life out of school is so demanding and it requires more skills, wisdom, innovative and creative mindset to succeed. A certificate will only boost your personality because even some cleaners have graduate certificates, but the world will celebrate and value you because of your ability to solve problems.

Harvesting from the Cradle

Some people are very good with blame games. They blame their dead parents, their wicked uncles, and aunties, etc for not helping them get through life. I lost my father when I was 13 years old and from then, I have continued to hustle. I did all kinds of legitimate jobs while growing up, just to take care of myself and my siblings. Serious-minded people seek out better ways to overcome their problems and not sulk around and complain. Some students trained themselves in school by engaging themselves in menial jobs during their spare times, yet they graduated with good grades.

Early entrepreneurial endeavor will help young people to stay focused and build a culture of hard work and job creation that will give them an edge over others as they journey through life. If students cannot learn to create job while they are still in school, it will be difficult when they are out there as a graduate. When you engage in innovative activities as a child or a youth, it makes you creative and helps you build an entrepreneurial culture. That is how entrepreneurship starts – It is better and sweeter when harvested from the cradle. You grow with your business or art or craft, and when you grow rich and start enjoying your money, you will enjoy with peace of mind.

I make my children spend their holidays in the work environment, even those in primary school. They don’t just sit back and enjoy the money I worked hard for. I make sure they move from one department to the other, they work with the mechanics, welders, electricians, equipment/machine operators, ICT, Finance, Audit, Administration, etc – just for them to learn to appreciate how money is made. My children know that they can’t waste my money organizing and throwing parties because they are involved in money-making activities. I teach them to harvest from the cradle.

I heard of a man who sent his son to the site where they are building his house, for him to join the laborers. He made his son go there during holidays until the house was completed. The contractor paid his son the same way he paid other laborers based on the job they were able to do. That’s another example of harvesting from the cradle.

Most of you, students may not have got the required orientation and push to engage in some entrepreneurial activities while in primary and secondary schools, but you can still build that culture and develop yourself now that you are still in the higher institution, it will make you indispensable, responsible and independent after you graduate.

Conclusion

I have two children whom I sent to wash my dresses while I go somewhere. One of them smiled and said yes daddy but the other one frowned and left. When I came back I met the one that frowned washing the dresses while the other one was busy watching movies. Who is the obedient one among the two?

It will do us all much good if after this conference, we will go out there and put to use what we have heard and learned from this conference, even if we have frowned at the way the speakers spoke and how badly organized the conference is.

Thank you.

Written by Olive Chinyere Amajuoyi

For Sam Maduka Onyishi

August 2019

Enterprenuership: The Path To Grace From The Grass

A speech delivered at the Annual Student’s Entrepreneurship Summit for the Center for Entrepreneurship and Development Research, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Topic: Entrepreneurship: The Path To Grace From The Grass

The road to wealth is not paved by gold. Every wealthy entrepreneur labored from scratch before they rose to stardom, except those who are entrepreneurs by inheritance.

I was born into a poor family and my father died when I was 13 years. After his death, the pangs of poverty became unbearable, and being the first child of my parent’s 7 children, the mantle of taking care of the family fell on me. From then, I dedicated my life to doing all sorts of jobs that came my way, to take care of myself and younger ones. Even when a man of God prophesied to my mother that God will send him a helper, I decided to work very hard because I saw myself as that helper.

Hustling started when I was in primary school; I had to climb mango and cashew trees until the trees knew me by name. When I pluck the fruits, I sell them to support the little money my mother gives me.

I was pushed to the wall when after my secondary school; I lost a teaching job I applied for because I didn’t have N2.00 to bribe a messenger for him to allow me to enter the zonal commissioner’s office for my appointment letter. Challenges and humiliations should build us and not destroy us – We ought to see them as a push to prosperity and not an excuse for failure or an excuse to engage in illegal activities.

Afterward, I became a bus conductor and later became an apprentice to an electronics dealer. But after the apprenticeship, I had no money to start my own so I traveled to Kano and joined a construction company as a laborer. Along the line, I had to quit laboring job because they don’t pay me a full salary. Fortunately for me, my mother gave me the N1, 200.00 that the University of Nigeria paid as compensation for our cash crops and I used it to start second-hand clothing business in Kano. With enough savings in my account, I decided to learn motor spare parts trade; afterward, I decided to go back to school.

When I started school in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, I noticed I had plenty of time that shouldn’t go to waste so I went and withdrew the N260, 000.00 in my account and purchased two buses. I gave out one of the buses to someone to drive for me while I drove one myself after classes and on Saturdays. Before my graduation in 1999, I already had 45-second hand buses and I kept nurturing the business until it became a household name. Today, Peace Mass Transit is one of the foremost companies in Nigeria that has given birth to other companies.

I will not fail to share one of my major keys to success which is prayer. My mother taught me and my siblings how to fast and pray when we were little. She helped us to develop faith and trust in the almighty God and I have never left that path, as prayer has been my foundation for success.

Unlike our own time, this generation is blessed with the generosity of information technocrats. Anybody who claims to be in the dark in this age is not saying the truth because even if you don’t have access to information through internet resources, someone around you who have such access must share useful information with you. If I could do it back then, you can do better now but you have to start early.

The solution to unemployment, which is the major problem Nigeria has today, is entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is the act of initiating or financing new commercial enterprise; creating a business idea and nurturing it to reality.

My Entrepreneurial Ladder

I started small – with whatever I can lay my hands on; even in the transport business, I started with just two buses, then it grew into a medium scale enterprise and today it has grown into a large scale business or conglomerate. Start by doing what you can and with what you have. Start small and grow rich.

How I navigated into the World of Entrepreneurship

I started by trying my hands-on different petty businesses before I stumbled on the business that I fit in most. You can start by venturing into petty money-making activities, especially now that you are still in school so that before you graduate, you must have discovered your abilities. The more you engage yourself with petty businesses, the more you also expose yourself to the world of business.

How I managed my Cross Roads

The blame game could not have led me anywhere - When we focus on reasons why we should not do what we are supposed to do, it kills the ability in us. I did not blame my dead father for not living to carter for us, neither did I blame my uncles and aunties for not looking out for us; instead, I made a move and did whatever my hands find to do in order to help my mother with our family financial difficulties.

I saw a need and focused on that - Before I ventured into the transport business, I saw the need to convey people, especially students to their destinations. I also noticed a void in transportation which is the absence of an affordable mini-bus that will save people’s time. For a business to thrive, make sure you are solving a problem.

I chose the right location for my business - My headquarters is located in Enugu and I first established in South East before spreading to other states because I discovered that south easterners travel more than others. The wrong location can cripple your entrepreneurial zeal. Before setting up a business, you need to know those that will benefit most, and then start in the area where your customers are most likely to be found.

I targeted a particular audience and focused to meet their needs - Every business venture is competitive but if you come up with something unique and of value to a certain category of people, and continue to develop technologically, you will never lose their patronage and trust.

I focused on the glory and not the challenges - Economic climate of Nigeria is harsh for start-ups, but remember that some people still worked hard and succeeded. I have always focused on what I stand to gain and not the numerous economic pitfalls, and today I have nothing to regret.

I looked within and started from somewhere - Insufficient capital should not be the reason why you cannot go into the business of your choice. If you have parents, siblings, uncles or aunties who are willing to give you capital, you can approach and discuss with them but if not, start with what you have. If you don’t have at all, there are petty businesses that require no funding to start, like hair making, home laundry services, etc. – you can raise money from them and go into a business of your choice. You can as well opt for borrowing from the bank but I will advise, it is not a good option because I never borrowed to finance any of my businesses.

The Secrets that Kept me Climbing

I don’t joke with budget and I buy the things I need and not all that I want. I didn’t just discipline myself on how to make money; I disciplined myself to manage it.

I don’t waste my time fooling around because I understood that time is money.

I don’t gamble into any business without proper study and consultations.

I didn’t do a big boy by wasting my money in expensive restaurants; Okpa and the likes were my best food when I was starting because those were what I could afford.

I am passion driven when it comes to running my business.

I didn’t answer CEO in the early years of my business; I was then a driver, then a loader, a manager, etc. and my wife was the cashier. I started answering CEO when my business grew.

I learned to save and I made sure I disciplined myself to save.

I made mistakes along the line and I learned from them.

I focused on the businesses that I can do best.

I don’t just stumble into any business; I draw my plans before I make a move. No matter how small the business is, it requires planning. You need to strategize.

I followed God’s guidance and never failed to pray – prayer has been my secret code.

In conclusion, I didn’t waste my mina, I hope you will not waste yours

In Jesus' parable of the ten minas, a master gave his servants some minas and told them to occupy until he comes; then, he left to a faraway land. ‘Occupy Till I Come’ is translated ‘Do business till I come’ in New King James Version.  That means we are here for a very serious business delegated to us by someone higher than us. Occupy means take charge, inhabit, take possession of, take care of, live in, make use of, put something to work. As in Luke chapter 19, two out of the three servants traded their minas or money or talents, etc and raised extra income for their master, while the servant who received one mina hid it and when his master returned, he brought it out as it is and gave him. Jesus is telling us today to occupy until He comes. We shouldn’t waste our mina, gift, talent, etc., like the stingy servant in Jesus parable, because those minas are God’s investments that shouldn’t go to waste – if they are not important to God, he wouldn’t give them to us. God has endowed us to serve Him and man and we need to make Him proud of us.

Don’t be a doubting Thomas. Think Smart, Think Entrepreneurship. If you are bent on getting a job to make a start from there, then train yourself in such a way that employees will find you employable. It doesn’t matter if you are on salary – who says you cannot work for salary and still manage a small business that you can fall back on if in any case, something goes wrong with your paid Job.

Remember! God said He will bless the works of our hands, not our fasting and praying. Prayer controls the spiritual, but the works of our hands control the physical. Pray more but work harder.

Written by Olive Chinyere Amajuoyi

For: Sam Maduka Onyishi

July 25, 2019