Nnabugwu Chizoba (Charismatic
Chizzy)
“The abnormality in which members
of the Public and the three tiers of government invite, deploy and promote people
engaged in Public speaking as entrepreneurship and business development
practitioners is not good enough. It is not only inimical but also a colossal
waste of scarce resources. Public Speaking though very good, is not what is needed
to develop the structures that will drive OLOP,
MSMEs and of course a sustainable Entrepreneurship eco-system in Nigeria”…
Nnabugwu Chizoba.
Sustainable economic development in
any economy occurs when a large chunk of the population are actively engaged in
meaningful economic activities. In Nigerian, the story cannot be different. For
this reason, I make bold to point out what I consider germane, instructive, apt
and forward moving agenda for the attainment of sustainable economic
development in the country; the land of my birth and that of millions of other citizens;
the land that is rich and blessed with numerous natural resources, cultural
heritage, beautiful landscapes, scenic and serene environments, different types
of food and remarkably very good, highly talented and skillful people.
Nigeria is blessed with large
uncultivated expanse of land, different types of fruits, vegetables, crops and
seedlings. She has universities, polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of
education numbering hundreds, with highly qualified lecturers, professionals and
management staff. In addition to these there are specialized schools, various
research centers and their Researchers as well. Surprisingly, this same land is
confronted and ravaged by massive unemployment, hunger, starvation and youth
restiveness. It is highly rated as a dumping ground for all manners of foreign
imported products.
Bearing in mind that it is not
yet a hopeless situation, let me point out clearly that the era, if there was, when
an economy relies wholly on the government to create jobs, has gone and may
never come back, pretty soon, I belief. Another issue of note is the fact that
it has become archaic, antiquated, outdated, out fashioned, indeed a thing of
the past for any economy to rely on the activities of gigantic companies and
heavy equipments alone to create the required number of jobs that the economy
needs to liberate the masses from unemployment, hunger, starvation and the
attendant destructive tendencies.
I contend that a sustainable
economy is build when active private sector participation is encouraged,
promoted and ably supported with infrastructure and policies that are
favourable to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The attainment of this
position will entail raising the right infrastructure to give MSMEs the needed boost.
Such is required for the
entrepreneurs to invest their materials, energy and time to tap into and
develop the local resource endowments. For lasting result in the case of
Nigeria, the infrastructure development agenda must recognize the existence of
the economic blueprint tagged “One-Local
government-one-Product (OLOP)”, a survey conducted by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development
Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN). This recognition is advocated, because integrating
and using the OLOP blueprint as a
working tool will ensure that the efforts are locally driven, community
oriented and people focused.
In addition to the above, I
recommend working with the OLOP blueprint
because of my belief that doing so will encourage the involvement of local groups,
the Business Membership Organizations (BMOs) like the Fabricators Association
and others, expected to design and fabricate tools and equipment required to drive
Nigeria’s local economic development. I have no iota of doubt that if local
equipment designers, fabricators, manufacturers and other groups whose
contributions are key in this regard are engaged and supported, that Nigerian
economy will not be the better for it.
A national orientation on the
need for the relevant groups to do a thorough study of the OLOP, focus and direct efforts at designing, developing and
producing appropriate tools and machineries needed to release into the world market
the products of OLOP is a step that
must be taking while close monitoring and evaluation of the efforts can never
be over emphasized.
For maximum result and desirable
impact, the implementation must include access to finance by the MSMEs, taking
cognizance of innovative, demand driven and productivity oriented financial
services and products. Efforts in this regard must be devoid of rhetoric, party
affiliation and tribal sentiments. The same is true of religious inclinations and
old school mates.
Even in a hurry, it is very
important, absolutely essential to devote time, energy and other resources in
planning and implementation phases to ensure equitable representation, proportionate
spread across sex, age, and along various strata of the economy.
It worth’s emphasizing also that
the sustained abnormality in which the three tiers of government invite, deploy
and promote Men and Women engaged in Public speaking as entrepreneurship and
business development practitioners is not good enough. It is not only inimical but
also a colossal waste of scarce resources. Public Speaking though very good, is
not what is required to develop the structures that will drive OLOP, MSMEs and of course a sustainable
Entrepreneurship eco-system in Nigeria.
Sustainable Economic development efforts
in Nigeria will thrive when the structures that support the creation of economic
inclusion packages; diversification and emergence of new products as the
process drivers, and the will power to challenge the status quo, becomes the
watchword.
Without the above, efforts at
achieving a sustainable economic regime in Nigeria will particulate and end up
as a mere oxymoron. The same holds true and the mirage extended if appropriate,
very solid and homemade grass root oriented entrepreneurship development
structures are not raised and efficiently maintained. Collective participation,
a formidable MSME framework and culture, and an OLOP blueprint serving as a focal tool for Nigeria’s economic development,
in addition to a supportive government and a willing society are ingredients for lasting results. The benefits
are huge!
Till I come again….
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