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Entrepreneurship and university education

By Michael Obafemi
12 February 2017   |   2:05 am
Parents and guardians are investing so much on their children’s/wards education, knowing that it is the key to survival. As many work to get university education, there are still this few that believe university certificates guarantee.....

Parents and guardians are investing so much on their children’s/wards education, knowing that it is the key to survival. As many work to get university education, there are still this few that believe university certificates guarantee the future, making beholders to actualize their dreams of ‘becoming somebody.’

The era, where jobs await a university graduate in the country is gone and now one has to think of being a job creator and employer of labour, rather than employee. However, the fact still remains that education is key to survival because learning entrepreneurial skill, no matter the medium impacting it, would enable the student to survive in future.

The increase in youth unemployment has made government to develop ‘rescue strategy’ that has stirred private organisations, including universities, to harp on entrepreneurial courses and vocational skills for students. For example, tailoring, barbing, soap making and other skills are now taken seriously because learners would end up practicing them and thus employing themselves and others. Having a large group of entrepreneurs in the economy would definitely bring growth and development and as well increase our GDP.

Not everybody will be privileged to work with Chevron, Shell, NNPC or a bank. Being an entrepreneur starts with me, ‘for as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he,’ Prov.23:7a. There is the need for everyone to be a problem solver, especially in the current state of our economy.

Taking a cue from one of the world’s richest men, the inventor of Microsoft, Bill Gate, who decided to be a positive thinker, though a dropout, as at today, has employed over 500 professors. And it is noteworthy that anything that does not start with me equals to zero.

Entrepreneurship leads to invention and innovation. It would enable one turn invention into industrial goods through innovation. Also, the greatest and commonest challenge in Nigeria is the issue of electricity. A student can develop a solar power gadget, which will lead to wealth creation for many and improve standard of living. ‘A man’s gift makes room for him.’ Funny enough, one can turn his/her talent into moneymaking ventures.

And if the person concerned puts in extra effort to be creative about this ‘ordinary’ skill it would make him/her to be ‘extraordinary.’ The ‘extra efforts’ may be in form of self-discipline, trustworthiness, integrity and diligence with a mark of excellence. This will make an enterprise stand the test of time and attain great heights.

Furthermore, the practice of entrepreneurship should be rooted in an individual. It is not sufficient to be a businessman, just managing an enterprise, he has to be an originator of profitable business ideas and must possess the ability to gain command and combine resources in a new way that will impact on the society and yield some profit.

In conclusion, entrepreneurship is not only the central engine that propels invention and innovation; it is also the driver of big corporations or enterprises.
• Michael Obafemi is a student of Wesley University, Ondo.
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