Without the past, the present is unknown and the future is uncertain, former Ilaje LG Chairman, Otito Atikase charges Ilaje Youths
_..see his full address on the topic – ‘the past, the present and the future Of Ilaje Youths in the entreprenurial world’_
Being The Keynote Address Presented By Hon. Atikase Otito In Ilaje Youths Symposium Held At SIGC Divine Connection Cathedral, 149, Omonira Street, Igbokoda On The 27Th May, 2023 At 9 Am, Titled: “The Past, The Present And The Future Of Ilaje Youths In The Entreprenurial World”
Permit me to adopt the already established code of procedure in this symposium. Let me welcome you all to this conference of convivial discussion. I also want to use this opportunity to thank and appreciate the organizers of this timely intellectual engagement, particularly, Akingbade Jolomi, the architect of this laudable initiative. The timing is in order and the topic is topically analogous or apt as it is in tune with the present economic situation of our youths.
This topic pointedly brings this question to mind, who is a youth? According to many authorities, “youth” has been defined in many perspectives. Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood, but it can also refer to one’s peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. Going by the definition, it means it is the time when you are agile and able to carry out onerous, arduous or Herculean tasks in order to achieve your purpose in life. Any youth who wastes his youthful age has caused retrogression for himself and may not recover from it throughout his life time. He has also constituted himself into a burden to the society. The Bible is also very explicit about it in the book of Ecclesiastes 11:9-10: young people, enjoy your youth. Be happy while you are still young. Do what you want to do, and follow your heart’s desire. But remember that God is going to judge you for whatever you do. This biblical injunction encourages you to do what is in line with God’s commandments. It means you have to avoid sinful exploits and get yourself engaged in positive things that can positively impact you and the society. Your moral uprightness in the society will encourage people to take you seriously and pride you as a responsible individual, therefore, ready to have deals with you in your endeavours. Since you know that you will be judged at the end of this world, you need to situate your spiritual life so that you can be on the same page with God.
Before we dwell into the past to justify the present and project into the future, we must understand the concept of entrepreneurship. In economics, entrepreneurship connected with land, labour, natural resources and capital can generate a profit. The entrepreneurial vision is defined by discovery and risk-taking and is an indispensable part of a nation’s capacity to succeed in an ever-changing and more competitive global marketplace. It can also be defined as the ability and readiness to develop, organize and run a business enterprise, along with any of its uncertainties in order to make a profit. The most prominent example of entrepreneurship is the starting of new businesses. In other words, it is called one man business where goods and services are provided.
Who is an Entrepreneur?
An Entrepreneur is defined as someone who has the ability and desire to establish, administer and succeed in a startup venture along with risk entitled to it, to make profits. The best example of entrepreneurship is the starting of a new business venture. The entrepreneurs are often known as a source of new ideas or innovators, and bring new ideas in the market by replacing old with a new invention. It can be classified into small or home business to multinational companies. In economics, the profits that an entrepreneur makes is with a combination of land, natural resources, labour and capital. In a nutshell, anyone who has the will and determination to start a new company and deals with all the risks that go with it can become an Entrepreneur. In summary, an Entrepreneur is a service provider and a risk taker.
What are the types of entrepreneurship?
It is classified into the following types:
Small Business Entrepreneurship- These businesses are a hairdresser, grocery store, travel agent, consultant, carpenter, plumber, electrician, etc. These people run or own their own business and hire family members or local employee. For them, the profit would be able to feed their family and not making 100 million business or taking over an industry. They fund their business by taking small business loans or loans from friends and family.
Scalable Startup Entrepreneurship- This start-up entrepreneur starts a business knowing that their vision can change the world. They attract investors who think and encourage people who think out of the box. The research focuses on a scalable business and experimental models, so, they hire the best and the brightest employees. They require more venture capital to fuel and back their project or business.
Large Company Entrepreneurship- These huge companies have defined life-cycle. Most of these companies grow and sustain by offering new and innovative products that revolve around their main products. The change in technology, customer preferences, new competition, etc., build pressure for large companies to create an innovative product and sell it to the new set of customers in the new market. To cope with the rapid technological changes, the existing organisations either buy innovation enterprises or attempt to construct the product internally.
Social Entrepreneurship- This type of entrepreneurship focuses on producing product and services that resolve social needs and problems. Their only motto and goal is to work for society and not make any profits.
Characteristics of Entrepreneurship:
Not all entrepreneurs are successful; there are definite characteristics that make entrepreneurship successful. A few of them are mentioned below:
Ability to take a risk- Starting any new venture involves a considerable amount of failure risk. Therefore, an entrepreneur needs to be courageous and able to evaluate and take risks, which is an essential part of being an entrepreneur.
Innovation- It should be highly innovative to generate new ideas, start a company and earn profits out of it. Change can be the launching of a new product that is new to the market or a process that does the same thing but in a more efficient and economical way.
Visionary and Leadership quality- To be successful, the entrepreneur should have a clear vision of his new venture. However, to turn the idea into reality, a lot of resources and employees are required. Here, leadership quality is paramount because leaders impart and guide their employees towards the right path of success.
Open-Minded- In a business, every circumstance can be an opportunity and used for the benefit of a company.
Flexibility- An entrepreneur should be flexible and open to change according to the situation. To be on the top, a businessperson should be equipped to embrace change in a product and service, as and when needed.
Know your Product-A company owner should know the product offerings and also be aware of the latest trend in the market. It is essential to know if the available product or service meets the demands of the current market, or whether it is time to tweak it a little. Being able to be accountable and then alter as needed is a vital part of entrepreneurship.
Importance of Entrepreneurship:
Creation of Employment- Entrepreneurship generates employment. It provides an entry-level job, required for gaining experience and training for unskilled workers.
Innovation- It is the hub of innovation that provides new product ventures, market, technology and quality of goods, etc., and increase the standard of living of people.
Impact on Society and Community Development- A society becomes greater if the employment base is large and diversified. It brings about changes in society and promotes facilities like higher expenditure on education, better sanitation, fewer slums, a higher level of homeownership. Therefore, entrepreneurship assists the organisation towards a more stable and high quality of community life.
Increase Standard of Living- Entrepreneurship helps to improve the standard of living of a person by increasing the income. The standard of living means, increase in the consumption of various goods and services by a household for a particular period.
Supports research and development- New products and services need to be researched and tested before launching in the market. Therefore, an entrepreneur also dispenses finance for research and development with research institutions and universities. This promotes research, general construction, and development in the economy.
Without the past, the present is unknown and the future is uncertain. Consequently, we must diagnose the past, review the present and project a productive pathway into the future. No doubt, our past was horrible, terrible and unbearable. It was almost a wasted past because ideas of this nature were not mentally configured to position our youths in a steady relationship with entrepreneurial skills. Entrepreneurship was abandoned for donkey’s years. There was no conscious effort to calibrate the socio-economic risks of non involvement of our youths in entrepreneurship. The inability of our youths to manipulate the environment to their own advantage or take advantage of the economic potentials of their immediate environment is the very essence of poverty of today-poverty in all respects.
In the days of yore, I remember vividly that the Akures used to come around to sell clothing materials to our people in Ilaje. That was a window of economic engagement that was left in the hands of strangers.
The multinationals operating in our communities have shortchanged our people beyond question. There have never been a commensurate local contents in their dealings with their host communities by way of entrepreneurial engagements.
Another area of economic activity that was left in the hands of strangers-the Igbos, is buying and selling of crayfish and other sea foods. Over time, these none Ilaje people have dominated this important area of our economic venture. Up till now, they still control this aspect of our economic life by providing capital to our people to buy boats and outboard engines. This is calamitous and unacceptable for our economic survival as a people.
We have not been able to explore and exploit all the windows of entrepreneurship in our ecosystem. There was no conscious effort by government to provide enabling environment in terms of loan facilities in this regard. The leadership of Ilaje has not encouraged entrepreneurship in all respects. Therefore, all the opportunities embedded in our ambience have been left untapped, thereby creating poverty and squalor.
However, according to Winston Churchill at Zurich University, Zurich, Switzerland, September 19, 1946, he said and quote “We must all turn our backs upon the horrors of the past. We must look to the future. We cannot afford to drag forward across the years that are to come the hatreds and revenges which have sprung from the injuries of the past”. In essence, we must not allow the failure of the past create a shadow of despondency in our minds. We must be audacious in our ways of doing things.
According to Frantz Fanon, “Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it.” The present has provided enabling opportunities with a view to repositioning yourselves as youths in order to take advantage of the present and the future. It is no longer news that the Federal Government of Nigeria has approved Ondo seaport in Ilaje Local Government and granted operating licence. In addition, Dangote Refinery has just been commissioned in Lekki, along the same corridor with the seaport.
In view of this development, our youths are expected to take the bull by the horn in developing themselves in areas of leadership and intellectualism by reading books and attending seminars, engage themselves in entrepreneurial skills and have registered companies in order to take advantage of the moment. Think of what to do. Be a service provider. Shine your eyes, cudgel your brain and make good use of the moment for your corporate and individual good. Our youths, the time is now for you to begin the act of writing good proposals to government and corporate bodies in order to secure loan facilities in executing your business activities.
In no distant future, I can assure you, we would have produced national and international business men and women amongst the youths of today. They would have become employers of labour and contributed in no small measure to the economy. They would have become wealth creators. Our youths would have become great assets going by their contributions in poverty reduction. Those who own conglomerates today, started from scratch yesterday. The likes of Aliko Dangote, Femi Otedola, Michael Adeniyi Agbolade Ishola Adenuga and host of others are products of humble beginnings.
Thank you for listening.
