VOICE FROM THE WILDERNESS: THE CALL TO ANSWER: LET’S CRY THEIR CRY

In my entrepreneurship development efforts as a Nigerian, plying my skills in Nigeria, I have interfaced with people of different age categories, cultural backgrounds, religious beliefs, education attainments, economic strata and others, who obviously are genuinely engaged in one economic activity or the other.

The interesting thing about most of them is their commitment and genuine efforts to tap the numerous richly endowed natural resources deposited in various forms and at different locations, in the country.

As ignoramuses (people who do not know much, stupid people), as the body language of the various tiers of governments communicate at regular intervals; these hardworking, creative and very innovative minds, worthy of celebration by the governments are nothing but nincompoops, who stand against the collective will of leadership to dispose the natural endowments of their various communities as primary products. Their sin is the constant refusal to live the economy battered, raped and rejected, while the citizens suffer in penury, hardship and other forms of human degradation.

On daily basis, citizens are bombarded with news from various quarters about government programmes initiated to bring about enabling environment for entrepreneurship and business activities to thrive. One wonders the intension of such programmes, when they are not implemented to favour the MSMEs.

I took time recently, to visit some selected government offices: federal, state and local governments. This is coming on the hills of heartwarming information about government initiatives to improve entrepreneurship and in effect develop the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, nicknamed MSMEs.

In most of the places visited, what confronted me were imported furniture and fittings. The clothes and shoes worn by the government officials and those you would readily identify as their friends were not different, even in the offices, supposedly, saddled with driving the MSMEs development initiatives.

My reason for picking furniture and clothing is not farfetched. I am very much aware that most citizens are in the know that Nigerians who are very good at making these two items are not in short supply.

Are you surprised that in one of the states, a governor whose citizen is celebrated for producing tractors for agricultural purposes was in the news for importing 400 tractors and the President was on hand to commission them. The young producer was not patronized. Meanwhile, the same governor through the state government prides himself as advancing entrepreneurship and youth development. The same is true of the President.

Would you now pause, a little to consider the effect to the local economy if the young producer was patronized by the government? Would the impact be the same, in the case of the furniture makers and the local tailoring outfits, if visited with government patronage?

While you ponder over that, I remain glued to the News media hoping to hear that some products have been carved out, specifically classified as reserved for production by MSMEs, as against the ugly practice were the MSMEs compete with the conglomerates in the production of bottled water and the likes.

Till I come again…Chizoba Nnabugwu