Dare Akogun
It was a highly educative and informative event as young entrepreneurs gathered at the 2nd edition of Trek Africa Entrepreneurship lecture held recently in Lagos. The event tagged ‘Unlocking the Youth’s Entrepreneurial Potential for National Economic Recovery’ had in attendance captains of industry, political leaders, young entrepreneurs and business people in the micro, small, and medium-scale enterprise sector.
The event is set against the backdrop of the alarming report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) which indicates that rate of unemployment in the country rose from 13.3% in second quarter to 13.9% in third quarter of 2016.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Ahmed A. Ojikutu, the President of CAPDAN said that the computer village in Nigeria is unarguably the largest Information and Communication Technology hub in Africa.
He said that the new money spinners in the economy is agriculture, food and confectioneries, logistics and mining, power projects, recycling and waste management but the central point for all the businesses in the 21st century is information technology. He advised all businesspeople to ‘automate your processes’ as all businesses now revolve round information and communication technology.
Special Guest Speaker, Hon. (Sir) Jude Emeka Idimogu, member of Lagos State House of Assembly who delivered his paper titled ‘Positioning the Youths for Business Leadership’ through a representative; Mr. Debo Adejumo stated that youths need to acquire the right skills and attitude to be successful in business.
He remarked: ‘leadership gap is one of the major reasons why most businesses don’t survive.’ He gave a classic example of Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computer who was said to routinely yell at employees, co-workers and partners early in his career but however grew to become a better business leader later on as he began to moderate some of his negative traits with empathy for others realizing that people had limits.
“It, then, goes beyond doubt that Nigeria is in a desperate situation which requires drastic action. She can no longer depend on the government or blue-chip companies to provide jobs for her teeming population of youths, she has to embrace entrepreneurship and innovation and inculcate same into the youths of the nation, so that the she can bounce back out of recession and attain her deserved height in the comity of nations,” he added.