Hearing the rags-to-riches stories of successful entrepreneurs last Wednesday sent a clear message to students of the Government Technical Colleges (GTC) in Lagos State that there is no excuse for failure in life.
The speakers, Mr Cornell Mcbride Snr, founder, Mcbride Research Laboratory (MRL), United States; Mrs Nike Ogunlesi, founder, Ruff ‘N’ Tumble; Mr Adebola Williams, founder, Future Awards; and Mr Paul Orajiaka, CEO, Auldon Toys all shared stories of the ingenuity that led to the establishment of their businesses early in life at the second Lagos State Enterprise Day organised by the Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board (LASTVEB) held at NECA House, Agidingbi.
For them, a university degree was not the criteria for success but the drive to succeed, determination, creativity, and hard work.
Mr Mcbride said he was spurred by the desire to build his mother a house and lift his family from poverty. He said he had to do so many things before finding out what he could focus on. He advised the students to be ready to scale all odds.
“The joy of completing college, starting business and building my mum a house, I cannot describe the feeling. Whatever you do, you have to be determined. You are going to face a lot of rejection. You have to be a person of your word,” he said.
For many in the audience, it was a surprise to hear that Mrs Ogunlesi was the CEO of a successful children’s fashion label, yet without a university degree.
She told the students that she dropped out of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, two weeks after she was admitted to study Law. But forced by highly-educated parents to think about her future, she decided to turn her creativity into an art.
“I knew I had a gift. I was very creative. I can take a material and interpret it and someone would be willing to pay me for it. I was 19 and on top of the world,” she said.
After 10 years of making clothes for women, Mrs Ogunlesi said she went into children’s clothing but had to face rejection from people who thought Nigerian ready-made clothes are inferior.
“You have to retain your focus. You must be relentless,” she urged the students.
On his part, Mr Williams who started his business at 17, counseled the students to take responsibility for their successes as no one else can make them fail.
“I don’t understand why polytechnic students feel less than themselves. When you look into the mirror, you are the only one that can stop yourself. We need you; you are the implementers. You need to leave here with a new sense of self. You need to package yourself as a professional,” he said.
Had his visa to the United States not being denied years ago, perhaps Paul Orajiaka would not have started his business. But that denial was what he said led him to spend four years in the University of Idumota, where he learnt the intricacies of running a business.
Since then however, Orajiaka said on the advice of a relative, he went on to earn an accountancy degree from the University of Lagos (UNILAG), which gave his business an edge over the Idumota boys.
In her speech, the Lagos State Education Commissioner, Mrs Olayinka Oladunjoye, said the government is reviewing the curriculum in its five technical colleges to encourage students to embrace entrepreneurship.
“In 2010, we mainstreamed entrepreneurship education into the state technical colleges. This effort is evident in the second edition of the Lagos State Enterprise Day that is featuring as its goal the sensitization of students of the Government Technical Colleges on the relevance of their practical and competence-based education as well as facilitating the creation of youth-led businesses in identified sectors within Lagos State,” she said.
In his speech, the Lagos State Governor, Mr Raji Fashola, represented by the Deputy Governor, Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, assured the students of funding and mentoring support to start their businesses.
“The state government will be providing free mentoring to all successful young entrepreneurs from the technical colleges regardless of their position within the business life circle, from those only starting out with one brilliant business idea to past graduates of the colleges with more established business,” said Fashola.
The governor also urged participants to invest in the untapped wealth of the coconut, which has over 200 derivatives. He said as a coastal state, Lagos is endowed with coconut trees, which can become a money spinner.
“We are therefore inviting the private sector and financial institutions to seize this opportunity of the window already created by the Lagos State burgeoning young/aspiring graduates of our technical colleges to grow as entrepreneurs,” he said.
The programme also featured the launch of a publication titled: Celebrating Enterprise Legacies, which detailed the stories of 24 successful entrepreneurs who started small; the inauguration of 10 of the entrepreneurs into LASTVEB hall of fame; and prizes to students who excelled in a business plan competition anchored by Fate Foundation.
The Executive Secretary of LASTVEB, Mr Olawumi Gasper, said efforts of the board to stimulate ingenuity among the students is paying off as students of GTC, Odomola, Epe, have produced a gas production plant.
“We want to ensure the project is developed into a micro platform to supply gas to rural areas,” he said.
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