The Nation Newspaper

Tag: success

  • The young entrepreneur who is hungry for success

    The young entrepreneur who is hungry for success

    This is a story of a woman, who against all odds, has become a success. She shows the power of grit and determination to succeed in business, despite the many hurdles encountered. She is building  a highly respected foodstuff business, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Lagos-based Wandy Foods Limited, Ms. Gbonju Awojuyigbe,  is  one of Nigeria’s entrepreneurial success stories. However, her entrepreneurial journey was not an easy one, but she remains an inspirational example of triumph over adversity.  The 1992 law graduate from the Nigerian Law School, an alumnus of Fate Foundation and a 2005 Fate Foundation Alumnus Award winner, first worked with First African Trust Bank before fully going into business, leaving the banking industry for food processing business. As a woman, she wanted to show that she could be a successful business person, hence, she  left the bank in 1997. In January 1998, she  started  with plantain flour  business with N5000.

    But before she left banking, she had shown interest in production and the attraction defined what she wanted to do.

    Her late grandmother advised her to try plantain flour production, which was one of the options she had before her.  The reason behind the plantain flour was because of its health benefits. She first started with rice flour and later added plantain flour, bean flour and chili pepper.

    Her first set of customers were  her colleagues, who were buying everything she produced and their patronage encouraged her to supply supermarkets.

    Eventually, she  bought a warehouse in Maryland but when the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC)  came for inspection, they said it was too small. So with some help, she got another place at the Technology Incubation Centre (TIC), Lagos under the National Board for Technology Incubation.

    She is involved in the processing of plantain flour, ground rice, bean flour, chili pepper, whole wheat flour, pounded yam flour and pure natural honey. Her products are all over the place.

    To boost her skills, she underwent  various  training in  food  processing  techniques at  the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi, Success Digest  and London South Bank University.  She is one of the first to package plantain  flour in Lagos.  The experience was pretty interesting. “People wanted to get it, they wanted to test it, wanted to try it and see what it could do,” she said.

    To produce the flour, the plantain is peeled, dried and ground. The flour is almost tasteless because the  green, unripe plantain are being used.

    A sense of achievement with taste of success propelled her to undertake the production of ground rice, bean flour candy on a trial  basis.  The experience gave her  the confidence  to move   ahead   towards   her   goal   of   establishing a   full-fledged value – added  enterprise and since then it has been forward ever. She has taken  up  various types  of  products,  using traditional   recipes   and   innovative   ideas aimed at  getting special  commercial clientele. While quality  processed  products  are  in  high demand  in  market,  her strategy  was to have diversified  quality and  value- added products.  She  has been very busy  with her food processing business, growing  her production capacity and employee base since she started the business.  She recalled that she started with  one employee, but today, she has  10 persons working with her,  processing raw ingredients into finished food products.

    Her value statement concentrates on utilising the local agricultural capacity for finished  products , and creating food sources, which can be preserved long enough to be transported to viable markets, especially given the limited logistics available in the country.

    She learned packaging and production techniques that will benefit her business for years to come in her industry.  In addition, she  is  exploring  partnership  in processing finished products.

    Not only is she providing the  much needed employment, she is creating means to getting fresh  produce to market.  She is accomplishing all of these by applying the skills and knowledge she learnt to create a value chain and market delivery system to Lagos  and other markets, making agribusiness more viable, profitable and sustainable.

    According to her, starting a business is not easy under the nation’s present circumstances. She painted a fairly bleak picture of the current situation, but was optimistic about the future.

    Startups, she said, have to keep even more balls in the air including power outages, funding and the like. Roads from the farms are bad, resulting in long delivery times. Credit, according to her, is a huge problem. Despite this, she is passionate about agriculture and wants to make it big in the sector.

    The Lagos State government offered her and  five  other  entrepreneurs  hectares of land at a reasonable price to grow food crops.  Huge investments are also needed. However, success would make her one of the largest food producers in a few years. Her passion to become a food producer of high scale is her driving force.

    Realising that she may not be able to compete for long in the local market, Awojuyigbe  has  taken the bold step  to  prepare her products for the export market.  The company was looking to diversify and was already operating a small honey   processing unit.

    Her story is an inspiration to many, demonstrating that entrepreneurs are high on imagination even if low on resources. At present, her firm does not have the capabilities to execute large  scale  expansion. But she finds it essential to map the needed capabilities in terms of assets, processes and knowledge.

     

  • ‘Poverty fueled my success,’ says OOU’s best graduand

    ‘Poverty fueled my success,’ says OOU’s best graduand

    Acquiring university education in Nigeria is challenging for students from average income backgrounds, not to talk of those from indigent homes. For Damilola Abigael Ayorinde, the overall best graduating student of the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, it was quite herculean.

    The 27-year-old graduate of Plant Science graduated with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 4.80 at the university’s 23rd and 24th convocation last Saturday.

    Damilola told The Nation that the income of her caterer mother and father was inadequate to support her education.  She would have dropped out, but for Pastor Joseph Josh-Adepitan and the university management, who stepped in to pay her fees and provided other support beginning from her second year.

    After critically examining her humble background, Damilola said she resolved to concentrate on her studies and ignore distractions, including dating, to excel and enhance her chances of liberating her family from poverty.

    Relating her experience as an indigent student, she said: “I can only give God the glory for emerging the overall best graduating student because it did not come easily. I’m not from a wealthy home; I came from a humble background. Payment of tuition fee was quite difficult.

    “And having understood my humble background, my parents are poor, I resolved that I would concentrate on my studies, pass with good grades so that I can have a chance to help my family out of poverty.”

    When her name was announced as the over  all best during the 23rd and 24th combined graduation  Damilola’s joy knew no bounds amidst thunderous applause that erupted from thousands of graduands and parents that attended the ceremony.

    Knowing the pains that indigent students face, in her valedictory speech, Damilola seized the occasion to appeal to Ogun State government to institute a “bursary and special scholarship awards to verifiable indigent” students of the institution.

    She said a survey revealed that over 30 per cent of OOU students apply for deferment of studentship for an average of two sessions on grounds of “financial constraints.”

    Damilola urged the university to absorb her and other best graduands from each of the departments as a parting gift.

    She said considering its products for employment into academic and administrative positions whenever there were openings would showcase the human capacity building abilities of the university.

    Damilola, who is observing her mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Kogi State, said she would undertake postgraduate studies as she desires to make a career in academics.

    “I want to impact on the lives of others, especially the youth, not only in the areas of academics, but also in spiritual way because I’m a spiritual person,” she said.

    In his address, the OOU Vice Chancellor, Prof. Saburi Adesanya, charged the graduands to use the skills and training they learnt as students to find solutions to the nation’s problems and be good ambassadors.

    “The university has imparted you with the relevant skills and techniques you need to succeed in life. You are hereby advised to use the skill proficiently.  Let me remind you once again that the acquisition of degree is the beginning of learning. We have succeeded in making available to you, the techniques of making further enquiries into the nation’s problems and finding solutions to them.

    “It would be injudicious of you to regard yourselves as having arrived and therefore, throw yourselves about oppressing other less privileged citizens,” he said.

    Adesanya said 10,753 students graduated during the convocation, including 9,594 first degree and 1,159 postgraduate graduands.

    The Vice Chancellor added that of the number, 26 made First Class Honours, 1,333 Second Class Upper, and 4,925 (Second Class Lower).  Some 2,239 and 699 made the Third Class Honours and Pass grades.

     

  • Entrepreneur overcomes illness to find success

    Entrepreneur overcomes illness to find success

    Some start-up entrepreneurs overcame obstacles before achieving success. One of them survived an illness and rejection to achieve success, marketing investment and financial information that are changing lives.  DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    One of the strongest reasons why the nation may have a secured economic future is the growing number of  young entrepreneurs applying their creative energy to  solving  business  challenges despite  facing  incredible  personal  odds.

    Chief Executive, Multiple Vineyard Empowerment Club, Josephson Peter,  is one young  Nigerian,  who   defied incredible personal odds — including a serious disease to start his  business. At a very early age in life he has had to come across hurdles in business, struggling with serious health problems for several years before relocating to Lagos. from Enugu, in Enugu State

    He had to cry himself to sleep, begging God to make him well.  He even promised God that if he was cured, he would help those in need. Later, his health improved. But instead of being merely grateful to God, he began thinking of how to create a life he wanted for himself.  He saw the possibility of achieving his dream by moving to Lagos from Enugu.

    The move was not as rosy as expected. When he came to Lagos in 1996, he was rejected by those he thought would accommodate him. Although, he confessed that he didn’t tell them before moving to Lagos, this probably explained the rejection.  But luck smiled on him, he met a young man about his age on  the  bus  to Lagos, whose address he decided to trace. Luckily, he got  him at Ojodu-Berger, Ikeja and lied  that he couldn’t locate his uncle, whom he had come to see. The friend begged  his uncle to accommodate him, but three days later he was also rejected.

    Homeless and dejected, Peter  decided to look for a church to stay. He got to a church and related his experience and reluctantly the church  allowed to stay .  But two weeks later, he was again asked to leave. Initially, he was depressed, terrified and  helpless.   But  he  was determined  to stay on.  He  found an abandoned car on the  same street where the  church was located, moved into the abandoned  vehicle and lived  there for eight months.

    Along the line, he met a young man, who was a member of the church and was working around the place. The fellow helped him to get a job in a company and secured a small  apartment meant for the security man inside the company’s  compound for him. He lived together with his friend for two years and within the period, they became inseparable.

    They then decided to set up a business and rented a house outside the company. However, his  friend opted out, went ahead to set up the business alone and returned the money Peter contributed as share capital.

    For Peter, it was “sink or swim and sinking was not an option for him.

    What kept him going was the determination to prove to others that he could make it selling financial information such as how to make money through equity financing. multi-level marketing and cooperative investments. Yet, there were many obstacles on his way. But he did not allow  them  to  kill his  dream.

    After much prayers and increasing faith in God , he began to  experience  a breakthrough. He was able to rent his own house and his church pastor later welcomed him back.  Few years later, he launched an online financial information media outfit, aimed at helping people grow their finance and investments through ebooks and other online training materials.

    Today, he focuses on the success of others, and helps people make a living doing what they love. His business ventures, which  include real estate, multi-level marketing, equity financing are money spinners for him. He also engages in public  speaking by delivering motivational speeches to adults and youths.

    Peter epitomises the self-made entrepreneur. He openly shares his background with his audience because his personal story reinforces the theme that common people can find uncommon success if they turn their perceived weakness into strength.  For  him, being an entrepreneur is one of the greatest highs, but it comes with a lot of stress and a lot of worries. He attributed his business success to his ability to let go of his internal fears, taking control of his situation.  For him,  going through abandonment was the reason for being self-reliant, self motivated, goal oriented and results driven.

    To him, one  should  start a business with a small amount of money and turn it into a million-naira venture. After all, every business has to start from somewhere. For him, investing in businesses is about picking businesses one  believes have the potential to grow.

    While, there will continue to be many failures, Peter sees bigger  returns coming to investors in early-stage companies. His strategy is  to diversify by investing small amounts in multiple businesses.  Through  his  Multiple Vineyard Empowerment Club, small  investors  are  encouraged to invest in businesses directly through the platform.  He believes in  the  concept of having many people provide finance in small quantities to fund start up and existing companies. Multiple Vineyard Club is designed for business people and intending entrepreneurs .The club teaches its members  the  easiest method of creating a profitable business from the very beginning and expose them to investment opportunity and profitable businesses, which they can start with little or no capital.

  • Toeing the right path to success

    A major problem has reared its head. It is a challenge that resonates among the youth: the craze for fast food, fast success, fast marriage, fast admission, fast money, fast this and fast that. It is a problem rooted in everybody trying to be successful at all costs, damning the consequences.

    It is also heart-rending how people go through life without taking the right steps in the pursuit of their dreams. Rather, they resort to easy means and short-cuts to subvert the system for their selfish interests. A wise man once cautioned: “You can run away from your responsibilities but you can never run away from the consequences.”

    This demonstrates the place of consequences in the face of our routine choices.

    I believe that it is better to achieve your goals through the just procedures – such as hard work, determination and perseverance – rather than manipulating your ways to future destruction.  Consider this scenario. There are scores of students who do not read or study for examination. They rely on examination malpractice, bribery and other illegitimate measures to succeed. Such students have only achieved the certificate but will never have real fulfilment from such certificate because they do not deserve the credentials they brandish. The dearth of integrity, self-trust and discipline coupled with a heart ingrained with laziness only help to further taint the character of the student. For me, real success is predicated on working hard to achieve set goals and objectives which ultimately leads to personal fulfilment and genuine satisfaction.

    Most graduates carry certificates with various honorary awards. The certificates cannot be duly qualified with the adjective “success” due to the fact that they were acquired through dubious methods and scheming.  Such acts and certificates will stand against the bearers in the nearest future because they will have no capability to defend themselves when the occasion demands.

    For anyone who desires real progress, laziness is an act that must be nipped. The victory over the forces of laziness is the most potent weapon to win. To be vanquished by one’s own nature is the worst and ignorable defeat and to conquer one’s self is the best and noblest form of victory. Exploring illegitimate means to succeed is an ignoble act that will continue to hunt people in their everyday life and in the future.

    The big truth is that one can only claim to be successful when there is personal fulfilment and genuine satisfaction which only comes from hard work. Success should be your target for every goal you set and it should be built on the tenets of the “SMART” principle. The principle states that your goal must be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound and it should be pursued with a heart filled with optimism. It is always advisable to follow the right path to achieving enduring success. Not the fleeting success which comes like a tinkling time bomb waiting to unleash its fury on those who brandish it. Such achievements are sure to create stumbling blocks in the future of anyone who craves them. That is the unfortunate flipside of that sort of success.

    Furthermore, our goals, when properly planned, can bring us face to face with significance.

    In conclusion, the road to success is neither straight nor smooth. It is paved with failures; a loop called confusion, speed bumps called enemies and caution light called family and friends. But if you possess a spare called determination, a shield called endurance, an engine called perseverance, the fuel called focus and a driver called God, you will certainly make it to a place called success.

     

     

     

  • Success story of Osun’s micro-credit initiative

    Notwithstanding the challenges the Osun State Government is experiencing in the area of paying workers’ salaries, the success story of the loan scheme evolved by Governor Aregbesola-led administration last year in order to boost the economy of the state is worthy of note. The initiative aimed at moving the state away from being a civil service state to an economically-viable one through the revolving loans.

    This is the view of the General Manager, Osun Micro-Credit Agency, Mr. Dayo Babaranti, who explained to Southwest Report that “the agency has extended credit facilities to 133 small and medium enterprises, 800 co-operative societies; 9,955 individuals across the 30 local government areas and the Area Office in Modakeke.

    He said: “The agency came into being in June, last year and was launched at Freedom Park Osogbo where the people were told of the enormous opportunities accruable to them through the interest-free loan.

    “The government has warned that nobody must be left out in the programme. One good thing is that we still have the opportunity of accessing the N2 billion micro-small and medium enterprises development fund from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    “So, we have accessed N1.675 billion from that money. In fact, the CBN has sent a delegation to inspect what we are doing and they confirmed from all the beneficiaries of the loan that we actually disbursed the money.

    “The belief of the government is that micro-finance banks are closer to the petty traders and that was why they said we should use micro-finance banks because the people who are in need of the money are those people selling pepper, foodstuffs and the likes.

    “Secondly, our own demand is not as cumbersome as orthodox commercial banks. People are very appreciative of the gesture and more so, it is interest-free. When the programme was launched, some people did not believe it. It is unlike the Islamic banking system which shares profit equally with the customer. In this case, the government is saying, use this money for one year, don’t pay any interest; just pay back the principal. You can see that it is rare.

    “The interest element on this money that the beneficiary should have paid is a cost borne by the government. The state government underwrites the interest just to alleviate poverty and take burden off the citizens of Osun State.

    •Block-moulding machine under construction at Alaral Tech Company, Ofatedo, Osun State
    •Block-moulding machine under construction at Alaral Tech Company, Ofatedo, Osun State

    “The zero-interest of the facility has forced all micro-finance banks in the state to review downward the hitherto high interest rates to borrowers. The participating micro-finance banks have also employed more staff to manage the funds under the scheme.

    “We have placed priority on the co-operative groups for the disbursement of the loans under this programme because they know themselves. We have one year, three years and five years tenures, among others. There is nowhere in the word that they will give you N100, 000 and ask you to pay N100, 000 back after one year. That is why this scheme is far better than the so-called interest-free Islamic banking system. In this scheme, nobody is sharing profit. Your profit is gross to you, just pay back the principal.

    “The state government is responsible for our salaries. It is an agency of government. We have a full room that contains the form of applicants.”

    Speaking on the impacts of the programme, Babaranti said it has improved employment. The SMEs we give are those that are manufacturing and or producing different type of things. As a result of increment in their capital, they have employed extra hands.

    “People who have benefited from this programme are paying tax which improved the state’s internally-generated revenue (IGR). Most of those motorcyclists have learnt one trade or the other. It was during the documentation that we discovered this. It was because of lack of capital to buy instrument and start their own businesses that turned them to street boys, okada riders and people who foment trouble. This has also led to the reduction in crime rate as we have given money to those classes of people to start their own businesses.

    •Chalk-moulding machine and others under construction at Alaral Tech Company
    •Chalk-moulding machine and others under construction at Alaral Tech Company

    Babaranti, however, commended the beneficiaries for being committed to the repayment guidelines and procedures.

    One of the beneficiaries, who are also the General Manager, Lawod Metal Limited, Mr. Funso Olawoye, said: “We benefited from Osun Micro-Credit Agency. It has enabled us to improve on our productions as more workers were also employed.

    “There was a moratorium of six months during which we will begin paying the loan; which is from this month. It is interest-free and a three-year term. I have procured more equipment with the money.”

    He explained that during the time of Bola Ige, “the government bought equipment for us and we paid back. The difference is that only Aregbesola has given us interest-free loan in the history of this state.

    “We must praise Governor Aregbesola and at the same time we want to urge the government to expand the scope on this free-interest loan. We want them to patronise local manufacturers and pay us on time,” he said.

    On the number of employees in his company, Olawoye said: “We have over 50 personnel that are permanent in this company and we hope to increase it to 100 if there is fund to increase production.”

    Recounting his experience, Director Alaral Technical, who is the state chairman of Nigeria Association of Small and Medium Produce Spare Parts Mr Ali Alabi said: “Personally, I have benefited from the micro-credit loan and I know many of our members also benefited, particularly in the N220 billion Federal Government SME’s funds.

    “Incidentally, N2 billion of that belonged to Osun State which the state government, through the Micro-Credit Finance have disbursed.

    •Chalk-moulding machine and others under construction at Alaral Tech Company
    •Chalk-moulding machine and others under construction at Alaral Tech Company

    “We used to have what we call Small-Scale Industrial Credit Scheme, which was inherited from the old Oyo State. The state government also partners with Bank of Industry (BOI) for SME funding which some of our members also benefited from.

    “The most recent is the intervention fund by the CBN released for SME which is particularly of interest to me because it is interest-free. It is not interest-free at the national level but the Osun State Government decided to pay the interest. It was disbursed with no interest to all those that applied through the SME.

    “I can authoritatively say that the interest is written off by the state government and that is a very big plus. Before now, we have been clamouring for fund for development with generous interest rate but this one is a good one. We have been asking the Federal Government and the BoI to reduce the rate of SME development fund to 2% or 2.5% that is obtainable in the Southeast Asia, India and China. The maximum interest rate for SME is between 2% and 2.5%.

    “The tenure given to us is a good one; it ranges between five years and 15 years. There is nothing you want to do with that money that you will not make it on the long run.

    “One, the interest rate is very low. Two, the moratorium is there. Then the tenure is also long. That is what we have been clamouring for in Nigeria. If we have to compete with the developed countries such as China and India, our funding must be competitive.

    “Though the money has helped us a lot, the major problem we experience currently is that the economy is so dull. We pray that the change in government will change the tide of things because the situation is very terrible.

    According to Alabi, Osun State remains a civil service state. We supply spare parts to Nigeria Breweries, Cocoa Products Industry (CPI) in Ede and many other places.

    Commenting on whether the state could be moved to an industrialised one away from civil service state, he said: “It is possible. Look at CPI Ede, when it was functioning, not less than 1,000 people were benefiting indirectly from it. The area was like market every day. In fact, people used to come from Ghana to buy ashes there. They employed not less than 500 workers. They have some contractors which I am one of them. We supply spare parts and also carry out repairs for them.”

  • Enyimba’s Thomas wants more success on the road

    Enyimba’s Thomas wants more success on the road

    Goalkeeper Femi Thomas wants more success on the road after helping Enyimba earn a share of the spoils in Oghara against Bayelsa United on Saturday.

    The game may have ended 1-1 and Enyimba will believe they deserved more from the tie but Femi Thomas is the reason the six-time champions did not leave empty handed.

    His left-handed save in the 84th that kept out Eric Frimpong’s header was one of the many crucial saves the 26-year-old had made in the Matchday 23 fixture and it underscored his brilliance on the day.

    After the game, Thomas told EnyimbaFC.net he wants his club to continue picking points on the road.

    “This our match with Bayelsa United shows the league is getting tougher and away victories will be hard to get, but I just want the team to continue getting points anytime we play away,” he said.

    “If we keep picking up away points, whether from draws or victories, it will help us a lot by the end of the season, so I’m okay with our result against Bayelsa.

    “You can’t win every away match and no team is a small team, so we must accept this one point but be ready to get more from other matches. As long as we can win our home games, away points will ultimately help us win the league.

    “As a goalkeeper, I will continue to do my best to make sure we don’t concede many goals. I have very good defenders in front of me and it makes my job easier. It’s just for us as a team to keep our heads up and make sure we win as many games as possible,” Thomas said.

    Enyimba will host Kano

    Pillars on Wednesday in Aba.

  • Secret of our success, by Yeni Kuti

    The Kuti family is known for success in their various endeavours, especially in music. In the last three generations, the family has blazed a trail in music, academia, and civil rights activism. This might be baffling to most people, but in a recent interview, Yeni Kuti, the Afro beat creator’s eldest child and daughter credits their success to hard work and a forthright nature.

    The dancer/choreographer turned TV presenter says, “We are a forthright and proud Nigerian family, and would not want to be caught doing bad things. Also, our forbearers were high achievers, so we can only try to carry on the torch, which is why Dede (my grandmother) is my role model”

    As anyone who visited the shrine during Fela’s lifetime can testify, he was an avid rehearser who practiced playing his instrument daily, and could be heard blowing his sax late in the night, into the wee hours. She said, “Years ago, my grandmother teased Femi for not consistently practicing his Saxophone, Femi felt embarrassed, and never gave up playing his instrument every day ever since.” “Femi is a self taught trumpet player; he continues to practice his art day in day out.”

    The Kuti family is the popular western Nigerian family that gifted Nigeria with popular and illustrious individuals who have made names that resonated far beyond the borders of Nigeria. The list spans three different generations over the years. Fela Anikulapo-Kuti; iconic afro-beat maestro, Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, and Beko Ransome-Kuti, all of blessed memory wrote their names in the sands of time in their chosen fields, Fela in music, Olikoye in medicine, and Beko in Law, all three activists were off-springs of the late Reverend Josiah Jesse Ransome-Kuti and Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, both pacesetters in their own right, He as a cleric, educationist, and talented singer which earned him the nickname “the singing minister”, while his wife was a feminist advocate, and politician.

    The third generation is also holding their own, as Femi Anikulapo-Kuti has been nominated twice for the Grammy awards, while his brother Seun is a successful afro-beat musician.

  • Multiple routes to success

    I am a firm believer in the Yoruba proverb that states that multiple routes lead to the market (Ona kan o wo ja).  I am also very concerned about the huge number of school leavers we churn out each year who are unable to gain admission into the tertiary institution immediately.  The few among them who are born to rich families have no problem.  They are sent abroad without delay.  The majority, who belong to the middle and lower socio-economic classes, do not have it so easy.  For those from middle class homes, they may need to stay at home (for one + years) until they gain admission into a public university.  For those from poorer backgrounds, the task is even more daunting.  Even if they get admission, there may be no money to pay.

    However, I strongly believe these two groups can apply the Yoruba proverb to their lives.  My belief is drawn from the fact that the environment is replete with resources we can use to learn, grow, develop, and excel.  Yes, it is true that those in possession of material resources can easily access them with their wealth.  However, these resources also answer to those who do not have so much financial clout.  For instance, I have noticed that the basic materials young babies need to learn (colours, sand, music, and human contact, etc.) do not need to be bought with money.  As a result, the child born to a downtrodden family, who sits in the sand to play while his mother smokes fish or sells vegetables, would not lag behind the child whose parents can afford expensive sand box toys to develop their fine motor skills.

    So, for young people who find that they are out of school and there seems to be no road ahead, it is time to explore alternative routes.  One of my friends did.  Born and bred in one of the least educationally-developed states in eastern Nigeria, she had to go that route; and she has an amazing story.

    She did not make her O Level results the first time she wrote as an SS3 pupil, which angered her father who vowed not to spend money on another examination.  She had to find the means by herself.  She started out learning to type, and then moved to using the computer when it was still a new phenomenon, and then desktop publishing.  In gaining these skills, she did not enroll in any formal training institution, so did not have to spend any money on training.  She was able to exploit her social capital (friends, family, colleagues and customers) to learn all she needed to learn.  I believe she also succeeded because she was focused on what she wanted to achieve.  She was not distracted from achieving her goal.  By the time she gained all these skills, it opened up greater job opportunities for her and she soon began to earn more money.  After sometime, she decided to continue her formal education.  She wrote the relevant examinations and was admitted into the university.  She graduated with honours and today is a professional who falls back on those early skills she learnt when the journey was far from smooth.

    Despite the difficult terrain in Nigeria, so many opportunities still exist for young people to develop skills, get educated, and start out on a career path before tertiary  education works out.  For instance, a teenager interested in studying Accounting in the university, does not need to wait donkey years to get admission to start it.  With O Level results, he/she can enroll for the Accounting Technical Scheme (ATS) of ICAN, which can be used for Direct Entry.  Taking professional examinations of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) can also serve as an alternative route to tertiary education.

    There are similar qualifications in other fields as well.  In the field of Technical and Vocational Education, there are so many programmes that lead to internationally-recognised certifications in maritime, welding, etc. The same is true for the hospitality, baking, aviation, name it.

    With the advent of technology, self development has even gotten easier.  Many experts have canvassed for the development of Open and Distance Learning (ODL) mode of education in Nigeria to enable many more people access education than physical facilities can allow.  I had reported it for years.  I knew about the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC), which allows learners from all over the world to take free courses offered by various institutions. Some of these courses come with certificates of completion, some of which could add up college credits for the beneficiary.  But it was but it was only last month that I tried participating in one and I found that there is so much one can do in terms of self development online.   The programme was a journalism course on Mathematics anchored by the Knight Center for Journalism at the University of Texas, Austin.  I had to watch videos, read articles, participate in the discussion forums, and take quizzes.  It was not easy, but I enjoyed it and plan to do it again.

    Young people should learn to take advantage of the positive aspects of technology to learn about useful things that can enhance their lives.  Rather than spend hours chatting on social media platforms, they should invest time in gaining new skills that would boost their employability.  These are some of the many routes to the ‘market’ that I know.  Readers are welcome to share more routes with us.

  • Hard work is secret of success, freshers told

    Hard work is secret of success, freshers told

    The Adekunle Ajasin University in Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), Ondo State chapter of National Association of Mass Communication Students (NAMACOS) has welcomed freshers to the department.

    The department’s Relaxation Centre was filled to the brim last Wednesday for the orientation. The three-day event was organised to expose and make the freshers adapt to the academic culture of the department.

    Head of Department (HOD), Dr Babatunde Oyinade, led other members of staff to the event, which had ex-CAMPUSLIFE man, Shola Ilesanmi, as guest speaker.

    Ilesanmi, who is now a reporter, shared his experience in campus journalism with the students, telling them how he worked hard and rose to become one of most celebrated journalists in Ondo State.

    He advised the students to pursue their potentials with passion for them to succeed in the profession. He said: “Journalism has changed from the conventional news gathering and writing. The profession now requires interpretative and analytical skills of reporter to inform the people in the best way.”

    He urged the freshers to read extensively and pay attention to details to keep themselves abreast of happenings around them. This, he said, is the secret to become successful journalist.

    Dr Oyinade advised the students to work hard and be committed to their studies, saying the department frowns at laziness.

    NAMACOS president, Idowu Owoseni, urged them to obey the school rules to avoid expulsion. She promised that the association would always attend to issues bordering on their welfare.

    The students were taught how to calculate their Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA).

    On the second day, there was a friendly match between the freshers and their senior colleagues. The match ended in tie, leading to a penalty shootout. On the third day, there was beauty pageant, where Mr and Miss NAMACOS were picked.

    Some of the freshers, who spoke with CAMPUSLIFE, described the events as memorable. Paul Olatunji said the orientation was an inspiration for him to achieve his dreams. He said:  “From the first day to the last, I found the event as inspiration. I enjoyed the seminar and a session where we were taught how to calculate our CGPA. I have learnt how to be a good student and how to achieve my aims.”

    For Damilare Faseun, the event was spectacular because he learnt life-changing tips on from the guest speaker.

    Another fresher, Oluwadamilola Adeniji, said she was captivated by Ilesanmi’s story. “My takeaway from the event is that, the end of hard work is success. I also want to have a good story to share at the end of my programme,” she said.

     

  • World Cup ‘ll fetch me deal —Success

    World Cup ‘ll fetch me deal —Success

    Spain-based Flying Eagles striker Isaac Success has said he expects the U20 World Cup in New Zealand to earn him a new offer.

    Success is on loan to CF Granada from Udinese of Italy and has already made his debut for the La Liga outfit this past season.

    He said his performance in New Zealand with the Flying Eagles could well determine his immediate future.

    “I am just a player and the decision is left for Udinese whether to recall me. If they do not need me, I will continue to play in Granada,” he said.

    “I believe if I have a good World Cup, I will definitely get a good offer.

    “This is the World Cup and even kids who know nothing about football will be watching. Players at U20 level are capable of playing in the top leagues across the world, so I am ready to do what I can do.”

    He said he is delighted that Granada will play again in the Spanish top flight after yet another successful battle against relegation.

    “I did not have enough playing time at Granada. But at least I am happy that we are staying up in La Liga and this will give me a second chance to prove myself if I am so opportuned,” he said.