The Experience Lagos and the challenge of job creation

In the basic teachings of economics, four cardinal factors are responsible for production. They are land, labour, capital and entrepreneurship skills.

In a broader sense, land and capital (finances, machinery etc) are classified under material capital while labour and entrepreneurship skills are classified under human capital. Human capital or human resource has become such a pivotal subject due to the role of people in business and national growth and development.

The immediate past governor of Lagos State and current minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) once described The Experience Lagos as a “Logistical Phenomenon”.

This weighty acknowledgement from such a person under whose leadership Lagos State witnessed significant improvement in infrastructure, power, governance et al is something worthy of note.

Once described by the Intelligence Unit of international tabloid, The Economist, as the “2nd worse city to live in”, Lagos State has in its nascent history come under fire for being “unruly”. Therefore, for an event such as The Experience Lagos to hold for eleven years running without incidence or breakdown of law and order is a marvel in itself.

For House On The Rock as an organization, being a faith-based entity is not a license to use the spiritual beliefs to anesthetize its community from principles governing the terrestrial space or use it as a surrogate for work.

The training of people to develop various capacities and competencies is an intentional and integral part of what House On The Rock does and exposing them to the best practices in whatever field of endeavour they find themselves is a key catalyst to the success of The Experience Lagos.

One of the fundamental tenets in the ministry is leadership – which is typified in every expression of the organization. Leadership in simple terms is the ability to expertly harness resources – especially humans to achieve a set objective.

Over the years, the Metropolitan Senior Pastor of House On The Rock and Convener of The Experience Lagos, Paul Adefarasin has been able to bring together a team that is over 95% indigenous to facilitate what is without doubt the largest music concert in Africa.

It takes a discerning mind to appreciate the work that goes into making The Experience Lagos a stellar event that it is.

The Experience Lagos does not happen by chance or happenstance! Certainly, months of pre-event planning usually herald it. The logistics of the publicity and media exposure, indigenous and international artistes (arrivals, accommodation, feeding, local transportation etc) is quite herculean.

The facility management of the Tafawa Balewa Square is even more of a tough ask.

Having over 700,000 people in a cluster require crowd control ability, security, medicare and so much more. Not forgetting the fact that very huge and expensive music equipment and media gadgets must be set and tested days before the event. All these may look easy on the surface but a more cursory investigation will reveal the tireless work that goes in behind the scenes.

The Experience Lagos is a testament to what Nigerians are capable of achieving – excellence! This event stands shoulder to shoulder with others around the world and yet the hands that put it together are green! It is not just that the manpower is overwhelmingly local but also in the fact that the standards set for The Experience Lagos can favourably compete with those of international repute.

So fantastic is the quality of execution at The Experience Lagos that many organizations partner with House On The Rock by sending their personnel to partake in production process to glean from the stellar workforce that is on ground for The Experience Lagos. It is not commonplace to see such a meticulous approach to organizing an event of which there are no direct commercial benefits or economic incentives.

Many people, especially those who are actively involved in the process have drawn inspiration from their experiences and businesses have sprung up in the marketplace to replicate the same service to those who know the value. Rental services, event planning/planners, project managers, transport and haulage businesses, hospitality services, travel agencies, culinary ventures are some of the enterprises that have attributed the nudge to start to The Experience Lagos.

This systematic development of human resource has been happening every year for the past eleven years. Where people have moved into higher echelons of the economic strata and increased social welfare because of the skills they can now offer in the marketplace. We can then begin to conjecture the multiplier effect for the individuals and the national economy at large.

The Experience Lagos has defied the unflattering notion that assumes that local means inferior. This notion has influenced the desire for goods, services and personnel from other climes even though they can be locally sourced. The penchant and flair for across-the-border and over-the-seas supplies is something that has been on the front burner for a long time.

This is not to discredit the fact that most countries have a competitive advantage over Nigeria in the production of certain goods and services. However, The Experience Lagos through its operations is proudly hoisting the Made-In-Nigeria flag. Blowing the trumpet and leading the vanguard of the endless possibilities that exist in the land.

Another point that is paramount to note is the ability of House On The Rock and The Experience Lagos to institutionalize knowledge – which is one of the things that is lacking in Nigeria. With different administrations come different visions, templates and policy directions, which greatly hampers our growth momentum and developmental strides.

By consistently planning and executing The Experience Lagos year after year, there have been learnings and insights that have been amassed and documented for future uses thereby making the new entrants find their footing more easily.

Every business or nation that has prospects of being a global player knows that human resource is the life-wire of such entities. The Experience Lagos has all the trappings of proper resource management acumen and project management on a level that is unprecedented.

So can any good thing come out of Nigeria? The answer is a resounding yes!