Unemployment has been a problem that has thoroughly shaken and continues to shake the country. Nigeria has been battling with it. Everyone is blaming the government for not providing jobs for both educated and uneducated Nigerians. People keep saying I graduated with a First Class, Second Class Upper, Second Class Lower… I studied Psychology, Chemical Engineering etc.
And yet I have stayed unemployed for some years now. But have you thought of something? If Nigeria had up to 5,000 companies like the telecommunications giants e.g. MTN, GLO, Starcomms, Visaphone, banks like (Zenith, Intercontinental, United Bank for Africa, Oceanic Bank …), conglomerates like Dangote Group, and host of others, don’t you think that unemployment will no longer be a topic in the nation? A single telecommunication’s company provides employment to almost half a million Nigerians. Recharge card distributors, sellers, phone booths where people make calls etc. Banks like Zenith and others provide employment to not less than ten thousand people. Conglomerates like Dangote, Obat… provide employment to not less than fifty thousand Nigerians. Nigerian Breweries Plc for instance employs up to 3,000 Nigerians not to talk of transportation companies like ABC Transport that give employment to about 4,000 Nigerians.
Don’t you think that if we had 5,000 of such companies, that people will be employed even while still in school and that companies will be looking for whom to employ?
Don’t you think that it’s time for us to start being part of the solution to this problem of unemployment? Most of these companies that we mentioned are owned by people like you and me who believed in being part of the solution and helping their fellow Nigerians. I desire to let you savvy the fact that you can excel even in Nigeria, because many people have made it here. These company owners have made money, fame, respect and indeed have helped the country in one way or the other. Haven’t you thought that getting employed somewhere throughout your life somehow narrows your chances of helping people, making money and gaining fame in the country? Maybe even become great, or be a legend, contributing to making Nigeria a better country and also leaving this world better than you met it.
Have you thought of why most graduates with wonderful results keep working for people with little satisfaction and benefit throughout their lives? Probably because they get dazzled with the amount they are been paid and pulling out to set up their own company becomes very difficult. A lot of Nigerians have made an impact in the lives of the people in this nation; we have Icons that have imprinted their names in the sands of time. Great Nigerians that have brought Nigeria’s name listed in many field of human endeavors. To be a solution to this problem you need to follow the footsteps of Nigerians that have done much to remedy this problem. You can follow their footsteps by studying their life histories and make it like they made it in Nigeria. Through following their footsteps you will have an idea of what you should be doing now. A person that wants to become the Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria tomorrow will not be doing the same thing now with the person that wants to work in a bank.
To be a solution to this unemployment problem, it doesn’t depend only on what you studied in school but also on what activities you were also involved in, in school. Some Nigerians started their companies while in school and when we hear of their works, we thought that they just started ultimo. These people have struggled, passed through numerous trammels, failed countless times, but later on, they achieved what they were looking for. Today, they don’t depend on the Government but the government depends on them. Is it not time for you to start thinking about how to help the nation and let the Government depend on you.
There is something about the ladder of success, it depends on when you started climbing it and how persistent you are to keep on climbing. It strongly depends on when you started, that’s why it’s always good to start early. Intercontinental Bank is 21 years today, they started in October, 1989, Obat Oil started in 1981, Zenith Bank started in 1990. Frank Nneji, the founder and CEO of ABC Plc started with 3 buses and today ABC Transport has up to 2500 buses. Most of the well-known banks today started with a branch and today span all over West Africa and beyond. Obat Oil started with just a filling station at Okitipupa.
Have you asked yourself why most of the people we admire today are more than 40 years of age? It’s because you must pass certain levels before getting to the top. It’s like climbing a step. There is a time for sowing of seed and there is a time for reaping what you have sown. From 0 - 40 years of age for some of them have been a time to sow seed. When we hear about how long ago most of their companies started without being heard of, we become confounded. Barr. Jimoh Ibrahim wrote a proposal to the Federal Government to organize seminar for all the Permanent Secretaries in the federation during his youth service days and was granted the contract. And you think that it wasn’t a go ahead order to where he wanted to be in the future. Today he is the CEO of Global Fleet Oil and gas, Nicon Insurance and others.
Mr. Frank Nneji, founder and CEO of ABC Transport studied Zoology in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka but then went on to found ABC Plc. This was the first transportation company to go public and now has Lagos-CotonouLome-Accra route. While in school, he ran for the Office of Director of Transport of the Student’s Union Government and won and from there developed a passion for people’s safety on the highway and acquired the needed knowledge before setting up his own. But many people think that ABC Plc just came up abruptly from an unidentified source. These are the reasons why one should read profiles of people that have achieved greatness in one way or the other, because a lot will be exposed to you. I said before that it doesn’t only depend on what you studied in school but also on what you were doing while in school. Some people when in school become only proficient in their field of study and so they are likely to end up getting an average job and it all ends there. Know today that having torrents of specialized knowledge in other things can help you achieve that which you want in life.
A seed that takes 5 years to mature will produce fruit depending on when you planted it. If you plant it at 20, you will reap at 25. If you plant it at 80, you will reap at 85. Starting in pronto, having big dreams, vision, plans, definite Chief Aim even without money, you will still reach the top. Because, according to the ladder of success, you have started climbing. Start planning, start putting things in place on how you want to be great in life and start working towards it even without anything. Start drawing plans from A-Z of what your activities will be like for the next few years; even if you are still a student.
Learn, gather and apply vast knowledge towards the area you want to make a difference in Nigeria and the world altogether. Prof. Chinua Achebe, Prof. Wole Soyinka started planning, gathering stories and building and equipping themselves when they were still in school towards their Definite Chief Aim in life. They have made an impact in the world and have motivated a good number of Nigerians. They have also promoted the name of the country. Won’t you like others to get motivated because of you?
Some people believe that greatness is just destiny i.e. predestination. But know that it’s not only destiny, hard work has a very big percentage together with opportunity etc. Hard work entails a lot. Most of these successful Nigerians worked very hard to get to where they are today. Take for example the Bank CEOs, getting more qualifications, trying to be proficient in the banking field, gathering certificates both internationally and locally and trying to be a Fellow in various International and National bodies helped them to get to where they are today. They kept doing all these in order not to be left out. Some of the very great Nigerians came from very sordid backgrounds. Most of them while trying to acquire a certificate or qualification abroad did a lot of odd jobs in order to at least pay their school fees. Honestly, there is no way of achieving greatness that is easy. A lot of people have been discouraged because of fear of the struggles to achieve what they are going for.
Know also that if you are not ready, you can’t grab an opportunity that is around you.
You can’t be an Inspector General of Police when you are not a police man. You can’t head a bank when you are not a graduate. Know also that connections entail a lot. A lot of people that have made it achieved a lot through connections (who they know). A Governor in office employs not less than 500 people of the State. Think about Secretaries to State Governors and their cabinets, Special advisers, Commissioners and their Secretaries and Special Advisers, Personal Assistants, people in various bodies/board in the state etc. Not to talk of nationally where we have Ambassadors and their crew in not less than 192 countries, Ministers and their cabinets and other National bodies. Even to get awarded a contract depends on who you know. So, instead of still satirizing the government, why can’t you be a part of the solution? Won’t you like the government to depend on you? Won’t you like to be celebrated? Know that if you end up not impacting in the country and in the world, that you have dawdled the time others would have used to help mankind by existing in the world. We are living better today on this planet because of the efforts of people who have existed before. This world would have been a mess if those ones didn’t exist.
It’s time for us to be part of this solution and stop lambasting the Government. The reason being that we have been lambasting them and still there is no result. Let’s forget about them and their selfishness and wickedness. Let’s think and dream of how we can be a solution to this problem. Let us work in other to join the league of Great Men and Women that have provided employment to their fellow Nigerians. Let us try and help other Nigerians that can’t help themselves like a host of Nigerian CEOs have done. When we have done so, the Government will be depending on us, we will make so much money, we will be famous and we will leave our names in the sands of time.
Article by Umezurike Chambers.
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