Goodmorning Nigerian youths. Today, I want to dare your minds, your creativity, your inner passion, your dying zeal, your zeal for success, your potentials and what have you. Firstly, I am going to share a story of a close friend as a way of inspiring you all. See, enough is enough! There are definitely not enough jobs to employ all the able-bodied youths out there. The government cant do much...and your certificate cant do much for you too unless you put your talent, passion and creativity to use. I know some graduates are tired of sending CVs to various companies only to be invited for an aptitude with thousands of other smart, highly connected graduates...and at the end you do not hear from these employers again, please cry no more and blame them not because they cant employ all the applicants, thats if you dont want them to wind up soon as a result of over staffing and long payroll. Now my story. I have this foreign friend, he is from Fiji...his dad is from Fiji while his mom is from Australia. You know Fiji, they are just like Nigeria...but a small island near Australia. Their economy is not smiling...just tourism and stuff like that. His dad left Fiji to sojourn in Australia with his wife. He had no university education, so he managed to start up a small tourism business. What was his business all about? Using boat to carry tourists to tourism destinations in exchange for little cash. Gradually, this man built an empire of business in the tourism industry between Fiji and Australia...also extended to New Zealand...but unfortunately, he died at the age of 42...by that time, my good friend was only 12...so his mom remarried another Australian man who now raised him as a step-son. My friend went to the university (technical), studied electrical engineering...and when he graduated, it wasnt easy for him to secure a job...so my fellow Nigerian youths, unemployment isnt just in Nigeria...it spreads across the atlantic and in fact the red sea too. He said he wanted to be a successful guy at all cost, that there was no room for him to fail in life, so he stopped applying for jobs and focused on creating his own job from nothing aside his technical skills (electrical). He said he first brought out some time to visit some places in Fiji to survey and explore business opportunities...in the process, he discovered a need in the area: they needed trustworthy and efficient electricians. He travelled back to Australia to get himself ready by bringing a team of his friends; the talented and serious-minded ones. He went back to Fiji with his friends...they got a small apartment...and started up their own electrical and construction company. Gradually, they gained ground...became a sought after technicians. They were in charge of wiring local Fiji residents houses...they put in their best, charged small compared to existing big names...focused on customer expansion...credibility and soon, they began to win bigger contracts to the extent he needed a private plane (aeroplane) to be flying his technicians to some far areas that were not easily accessible by road. I am not going to go into details...but as I type, he is only 26...not rich yet according to him...but I can tell you guys that this guys small company is gradually positioning itself to become the next Schneider Electric of the world and in 20 to 50 years from today, maybe our sons and daughters will be clamouring to work in this company whereas their fathers and mothers (you and I) had the opportunity of starting a company ourselves, but were so afraid to start due to our quest to start earning big salary and maybe buying Japanese cars to show off to our mates and what have you. See fellow youths, the time is now! It is time for Nigerian youths to embrace partnership...to embrace entrepreneurship, not just the buying and selling entrepreneurship, not just the trading of goods entrepreneurship, not just the open a shop and start selling recharge card business, but real time manufacturing, production, technology-based and construction businesses. We Nigerians ought to be supplying other African nations with most of their technology and manufacturing needs. Power is no longer an excuse...lets stop seeing problems and see opportunities. Electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, chemical engineers, civil engineers, architects, bio-chemists, micro-biologists, welding engineers, computer scientists, polymer engineers and what have you, it is time for you guys to form a partnership for good. Stop wishing to start: Abiola Afolabi and Sons investment company Ltd, Amadi and Sons Ltd, and start thinking of partnership cos it gives room for fast expansion...but we need honesty, transparency...we cant continue to reason like our fathers...we cant continue to follow the footsteps of our corrupt fathers...lets start a new Nigeria based on sincerity, honesty and integrity. I dream of seeing more small companies spring up in Nigeria. Companies co-owned by young Nigerian youths...graduate and non-graduates. I dream of seeing Nigerian young graduates start manufacturing companies, construction, agro-allied companies, engineering firms...aimed at becoming multinational companies in years to come. Please fellow Nigerian youths...meditate on this article. This mentality of: I must work in a big company must stop if Nigeria must take its place in the global economy and industrialisation. Source: NAIRALAND
Posted on: Sat, 01 Feb 2014 08:28:11 +0000