Proceedings of Annual Tokyo Business Research Conference
15 - 16 December 2014, Waseda University, Tokyo, japan, ISBN: 978-1-922069-67-2
Developing Entrepreneurial Skills as Panacea for Youth
Unemployment & “Boko Haram” Insurgence in Nigeria
Charles Odu Ogbaekirigwe
This paper aims to provide a compass for the young entrepreneurial mind to follow in launching into
profitable entrepreneurial venture. Over the years, the Nigerian economy had been over dependent
on oil revenue, thus the call for this paradigm-shift by the author. Although there have been
significant recoveries in the area of rebuilding the roads, houses, some industries etc destroyed
during that 30 months old civil war, the rate of youth unemployment is so staggering that urgent
acquisition of entrepreneurial skills is required as a way out. Also, in Northern Nigeria, the
emergence of the “Boko Haram” sect among the Hausa, which has claimed millions of lives, is only
indicative of the increasing poverty levels and lack of gainful employment especially for the youths.
The paper adopts a conceptual approach that brings to the fore, the staggering youth
unemployment and the attendant social vices which are only but a time bomb waiting to explode. It
combines this with literature review that introduces the youths and readers alike to the skills and the
“know-how” needed to start a very successful business that will create unimaginable wealth for
them, and be able to manage it. It provides a pro-active dimension to the quest for entrepreneurship
development in Nigeria. Much as the IBOs of Nigeria are known for their diligence and one- manentrepreneurial ventures, it reveals that it is not everyone that opens a shop or office to sale or deal
on one product or service that is an entrepreneur. Neither can the Fulani Hausa youth whose early
life is spent rearing cows be said to have acquired entrepreneurial skills. The paper contributes to
the literature by providing proactive dimensions to understanding who an entrepreneur is, and
exposes the skills needed to become a successful entrepreneur even in a resource poor
environment of Sub – Saharan Africa. The misconception that the predominantly traders of Ibo
extraction and the Fulani cattle bearers in Nigeria are already entrepreneurs cannot be overstated.
There is the need for scholars in Entrepreneurship studies to study the effect of the predominantly
sole proprietorship disposition of all the etnic groups, and its implications for entrepreneurship
development in Nigeria. The paper is original and has not been presented or printed in any paper or
program other than this.
Keywords: Entrepreneurship, Africa, Nigeria, Ibo, Hausa, Yoruba, Boko Haram, Skills,
Youth Unemployment
1.0. Introduction
All over the world, there is growing evidence of the impact of entrepreneurship education
on individuals as well as on society and the economies. Accordingly, countries or nations
with a consolidated strategy for entrepreneurship education are already harnessing the
impact of such efforts. Page (2003:1-2) had stated that “We live in entrepreneurial times, it
is both a way of thinking and a way of acting. He further stressed that attitudinally, it is an
opportunity – driven mindset, a willingness to take calculated risks, a sense of passion and
committment for one’s concept or idea, and a sense of confidence in one’s ability to
________________________________________________________________________
Dr. Charles O. Ogbaekirigwe, Entrepreneurship course cordinator/Lecturer, Department of
Accountancy/Business Administration and Entrepreneurial studies, Federal University Ndufu-Alike IkwoFUNAI, Ebonyi State, Nigeria.charlie4ogba@gmail.com, charles.ogbaekirigwe@funai.edu.ng
Proceedings of Annual Tokyo Business Research Conference
15 - 16 December 2014, Waseda University, Tokyo, japan, ISBN: 978-1-922069-67-2
achieve results.‖ The above assertion butresses the objective of this paper to provide a compass for
the youths and the general population at large a compassfor launching into profitable entrepreneurial
venture through the acquisition of relevant entrepreneurial skills.Truely as Thomas Page had aserted,
the Global community is thriving on entrepreneurial times, and Nigeria as a sovereign nation should
not be an exception. Unfortunately, as Njoku and Ihugba observes, Nigeria, since the attainment of
political independence in 1960 has undergone various fundamental structural changes, which have
not resulted in any significant and sustainable economic growth and development. The World Bank
(2013) Nigeria Economic Report states that while the official statistics place Nigeria among the
fastest growing economies in the world, with growth concentrated in the pro-poor areas of small
scale agriculture and trade, more direct indicators of social welfare of the population would appear to
tell another story. The report went further to state that estimated poverty rates declined only
marginally between 2003 – 2004 and 2009 – 2010, implying that, given growth in population, the
number of Nigerians living in poverty is increasing significantly. Progress toward a number of the
Millennium Development Goals in Nigeria has also been disappointing and Nigeria was ranked 153
out of 186 countries in the 2013 United Nations Human Development Index. This scenario calls for
a consolidated strategies for entrepreneurship education and development of entrepreneurial skills to
effect the needed change that will improve the situation.
2.
Literature Review
2.1.
Youth Unemployment, Poverty, insurgences and Threat of “Boko Haram”
in Nigeria.
Nigeria, with a population of well above 70 million people, more than sixty percent of this
population is made up of young people who are below the age of 35, with about eighty percent
(80%) of these youths either unemployed or under – employed. For this reason, many observers have
predicted that the Nigerian youthful population is like a time bomb waiting to explode. The World
Bank (2013) report also states that Job creation in Nigeria has been inadequate to keep pace with the
expanding working age population, to the extent that Nigeria has the largest army of unemployed
and under – employed youths in Africa. As illustrated in the World Bank report below, the official
unemployment rate has steadily increased from 12% of the working age population in 2006 to 24%
in 2011.
Proceedings of Annual Tokyo Business Research Conference
15 - 16 December 2014, Waseda University, Tokyo, japan, ISBN: 978-1-922069-67-2
Source: World Bank’s 2013 Nigeria Economic Report-page 10.
As shown in this figure 1, 44.6% of the working age population in Nigeria was categorized as being
either unemployed or out of the labor force. As better summarized, one out of every three Nigerian is
either unemployed or under – employed, with millions of youths, mostly graduates who do not
posses even single entrepreneurial skills with which to fend for themselves. The Bank also stated in
their report that ―Wage jobs in Nigeria are scarce and provided mostly by Government, with the
hearth rending consequence that it is mostly those who are connected to the men in authority that get
the few government jobs that fall due. As consequences of the above scenario, it has been truly
observed that youth unemployment is the biggest problem confronting Nigeria, only next in line to
problems of Electricity and infrastructure. Unemployment in Nigeria is the root cause of poverty,
youth restiveness, gangsterism, bank robberies, kidnapping, assassination, lawlessness and all kinds
of deviant behaviors which has seriously retarded and discouraged foreign investors from coming to
invest in the country. In particular, the level of kidnapping in the South –South and South East States
of the country by jobless youths poses the greatest danger to the Oil exploration activities of the
foreign prospecting companies whose business is the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy. Most
worrisome is that among these unemployed youths are more than four million youths- boys and girls
who had graduated from the Universities, obtained their NYSC discharge certificates but mostly
without definite entrepreneurial skills with which to fend for themselves. Although current efforts by
Nigeria’s National Universities Commission (NUC) on mainstreaming entrepreneurship education
across board in all Universities must be appreciated, the International Labour Organization (ILO)
had estimated that in the early 1990s more than 70% of the University graduates in Nigeria were
unemployed, while unofficial sources estimate that the unemployment figure here is as high as 90%.
Put in another way, tertiary institutions in Nigeria, dump over 300,000 graduates who are mostly
without specific entrepreneurial skills into the job market every year, thereby worsening the
situation. They roam about the nooks and crannies of the country searching for jobsthat do not
Proceedings of Annual Tokyo Business Research Conference
15 - 16 December 2014, Waseda University, Tokyo, japan, ISBN: 978-1-922069-67-2
exist.Thus, unemployment, especially among the youths has over debased Nigeria’s educational
system and maligned the populace.
Female graduates turn into prostitution to survive, while many of the youths engage in crimes of
various dimensions. The gravest implication of this youth unemployment is that the younger
generation of Nigerians are now being discouraged from being serious with their studies – especially
the Ibo dominated South East states of the country.It is a common scene to find foreign embassies in
Nigeria jammed with young Nigerians seeking visas to ―Check Out‖ of the country in search of jobs
and ―greener pastures‖ with their consequent incarceration in jails at Europe, Asia, and almost all the
continents of this world. In all these, developing entrepreneurial skills will be the solution to this
unemployment challenges as Nigeria is excessively blessed with natural resources that they can tap
into.
2.2.
Poverty – a very heavy burden in Nigeria.
World Bank (2013) reports that while official statistics place Nigeria among the fastest growing
economies in the World, with growth concentrated in the pro-poor areas of small scale agriculture
and trade, more direct indicators of social welfare of the population would appear to tell another
story. It continues that estimated poverty rates declined only marginally between 2003 – 2004 and
2009 – 2010, implying that given growth in the population, the number of Nigerians living in
poverty is increasing significantly.
Proceedings of Annual Tokyo Business Research Conference
15 - 16 December 2014, Waseda University, Tokyo, japan, ISBN: 978-1-922069-67-2
Figure 2. Source: National bureau of Statistics, in 2013 Nigeria Economic Report(World Bank) page 9.
The pattern of spread in the country is that as at the statistics of 2010, four Northern states and one
South Eastern State have the highest poverty rates, while Lagos and the South West states have the
lowest estimated poverty rates. The burden of poverty is more in the rural areas than the urban areas
of Nigeria (as can be seen in figure 2 above).
Table 1: Nigerian Urban vs Rural poverty Rates (% of Population)2009 – 14.
2013 – 2014
2009 - 2010
Per capita
Poverty rate
64.2
62.6
Urban Poverty
52.2
51.2
Rural Poverty
73.4
69
Adult equivalent
Poverty rate
48.3
46.1
Urban Poverty
36.8
34.3
Rural Poverty
57.4
52.9
Source: World Bank Calculations on NBS figures (2013 NER) page 9.
2.3.
Efforts made by successive Governments to reduce Poverty and
Unemployment in Nigeria.
The federal government of Nigeria, especially since democratization of the country has set a number
of programs in motion, with a view to curbing the twin perenial problems of poverty and
unemployment in the country. Some of those programs are:
1. Poverty Reduction Program
A number of poverty alleviation programmes has been initiated by past governments in Nigeria.
According to Ivbijaro (2012:21), the establishment of the National Poverty Alleviation programme
(NAPEP) was a major effort by government to alleviate poverty. He states further that in 1999, a
World Bank report indicated that Nigeria’s Human Development Index (HDI) was only 0.416 and
that about 70 percent of the population was vegetating below the bread line, which alarming
indicators had prompted the review existing poverty alleviation schemes. Three presidential panels
set up as a result were:
a. Presidential panel on the rationalization and harmonization of poverty alleviation and
agencies;
b. Presidential technical committee on the review of all poverty alleviation programmes;
c. Committee on youth policy, the concept of youth empowerment scheme and the blueprint
for poverty eradication program.
Proceedings of Annual Tokyo Business Research Conference
15 - 16 December 2014, Waseda University, Tokyo, japan, ISBN: 978-1-922069-67-2
It was the findings and recommendations of these presidential committees that led to the formation
of the National Poverty Alleviation Programme.
However, it is noteworthy that although NAPEP had pursued its objectives and has seriously
intervened using multi-various schemes, the situation still continues that estimated poverty rates
declined only marginally between 2003 -2004 and 2009-2010 as earlier quoted. This is clearly
indicative of the fact that skills acquisition and rapid development of other entrepreneurial skills is
what is needed to curtail the increasing level of poverty, joblessness and youth restiveness in
Nigeria.
2. National Directorate of Employment
The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) was established in November 22, 1986 with the
main objective of fighting unemployment through the design and implementation of innovative and
guided management support services to graduate farmers and small scale entrepreneurs who would
afterwards engage in meaningful and self-actualizing programs. Specific objectives of the program
were; youth employment and vocational skills development programs; special public works; Small
scale industries and graduate employment program and Agricultural development program.
3. National Economic Employment Development Strategy (NEEDS)
Under the fully democratized government of Nigeria in 2004, came into existence the National
Economic Employment and Development Strategy (NEEDS). The objective was to confront the
various macroeconomic imbalances, social challenges and structural problems in the economy.
However, the impact of these and other programs very numerous to mention in combating poverty
and unemployment in Nigeria are yet to be felt, hence the call by this paper for the need to develop
not only entrepreneurial skills on one-on-one bases, but the introduction of a consolidated strategy
on entrepreneurship for the country.
2.4.
Boko Haram and other insurgencies in Nigeria
According to Abidde(2012), Boko Haram made its presence known in 2004, in Yobe State of
Nigeria, and by 2011, it made its presence known to the global community by bombing the United
Nations Headquarters’ in Abuja. It is further reported that in the last two years, it has willfully
attacked hundreds of buildings and killed many innocent Nigerians. Abide continues that until
recently, very few – including the Nigerian security and intelligence agencies – knew very little
about the group’s origin and philosophy, it’s raison d’être, and its goals and endgame.It is about ten
years now after it came into existence, and in spite of the calamity the group has caused, the
government seems not to know how to clip the group’s wings even as we speak.Over two hundred
school girls were abducted by this group at a small town called Chibok, a surbub near Maiduguri,
Proceedings of Annual Tokyo Business Research Conference
15 - 16 December 2014, Waseda University, Tokyo, japan, ISBN: 978-1-922069-67-2
Borno State Nigeria. For over two months, efforts at freeing these innocent school children proved
abortive.
However, on the philosophical doctrine and ideology of ―Maitatsine‖ and ―Boko Haram‖ sects,
Danjibo (2009) wrote that it was obvious that Mohammed Marwa exploited the dwindling economic
situation and the Almajari system and was able to attract large followers amongst the commoners
(unskilled youths), who, unable to afford the basic necessities of life, became die – hard patriots of
the sect and Marwa himself.
The historical account of Boko Haram, according to Danjibo is that: ―The leader of the Boko Haram
movement, Yusuf was a secondary school drop-out who went to Chad and Niger Republic to study
the Quoran. While in the two countries, he developed radical views that were abhorrent to
Westernization and modernization. Like the late Maitatsine, Yusuf got back to Nigeria and settled in
Maiduguri and established a sectarian group in 2001 known as Yusufiyya, named after him. The sect
was able to attract more than 280,000 members (unskilled youths) across Northern Nigeria as well as
in Chad and Niger Republic. Yusuf began his radical and provocative preaching against other
Islamic scholars such as Jafar Adam, Abba Aji and Yahaya Jingir and against established political
institutions.‖
He (Danjibo) further stressed that the ideology and philosophy of the movement can best be
understood by explicating the words – ―Boko‖ and ―Haram‖. In Hausa language, the word ―boko‖ is
an equivocal term which means either ―Western‖ or foreign; while the word ―Haram‖ is an Arabic
derivative meaning ―forbidden‖. Putting the two words together, ―boko haram‖ means to forbid
everything Western and Western education.Their intent is to replace modern state formation with the
traditional Islamic State because according to them, Western values run contrary to Islamic values.
They also believe that evil in the society is as a result of the embrace of Western Civilization and in
order to curb such evil, an Islamic society must be entrenched by destroying modern state
institutions.Their major intent is to replace modern state formation with the traditional Islamic State.
However, Danjibo stated that Alhaji Ali Dandume, minority leader in the House of
Representatives said that “Boko Haram” was an assemblage of youths who were school
drop – outs and University graduates who were not gainfully employed and who believed
that their state of hopelessness was caused by the government that impossed western
education and failed to manage the resources of the country to the benefit of all.
Ideologically, any member who fought and died for the cause of an Islamic / Sharia State by
destroying modern state formation and government establishment would automatically gain
“Aljanna” (paradise or heaven).
Contributing to this, (Tell Magazine of August 10, 2009, p.34) reported that:
“The mission of the sect was to establish an Islamic state where orthodox Islam is Practised.
Orthodox Islam according to him (Mohammed Yusuf, leader of the sect) frowns at Western
Proceedings of Annual Tokyo Business Research Conference
15 - 16 December 2014, Waseda University, Tokyo, japan, ISBN: 978-1-922069-67-2
education and working in the civil service because it is sinful. Therefore, for their aim to be
achieved, all institutions represented by government including security agencies like police,
millitary and other uniformed personnel should be crushed”
The insurgence became so intense and had been hatched as early as 2004. The nation of Nigeria
began to see an upcoming ―weapon of mass destruction‖ when Tell magazine, in her August 10,
2009, p 34 reported that:
―students, especially in tertiary institutions in Borno and Yobe States like the University of
Maiduguri, Ramat Polytechnic Maiduguri, Federal Polytechnic Damaturu and others who
constitute their members withdrew from school, tore their certificates and joined the group
for Qur’anic lessons and preaching‖.
2.5.
Other Insurgencies in Nigeria.
The spate of restiveness and insurgencies, which have long persisted in Nigeria points to the fact that
the youths of this great country, and indeed the people of Nigeria need to become agressively
empowered with requisit entrepreneurship skills. It is on record that in November 1999, the then
government of Olusegun Obasanjo reacted to the restivenes and insurgencies, especially by the
unskilled youths of Odi ( a community in Niger Delta-South South Nigeria) by clamping down a
state of emergency, followed by a very intensive massacre of the members of the community, with
the attendant rape, arson and wanton destruction of properties, all in the bid to contain the
insurgencies. Even in the North central of Ngeria, inOctober 2000, the indegenes of Zaki-Biam,
mostly youths were massacred by soldiers as a reprisal for the death of policemen who went on
peace operation.
Both the Eastern part of Nigeria and the West is not spared of insurgencies as angry youths have
resorted to kidnapping and many other social vices due manly to the fact that there are no jobs to
have them gainfully engaged. Besides, a greater percentage do not posses the requisit skills for self
employment.
3. Developing Entrepreneurial Skills- the way forward for Nigeria.
The continent of Africa, and by extension Nigeria has been described by Tshikuku (2001) as ― a
broken – down continent, economically and socially‖. This scenarion created of the country is much
more aggravated by the absence of a Nigerian economic ideology that takes into consideration the
unique configurations of the traditional Nigerian society. Since the colonial era till date, there seem
to be overdependence on economic policies that are being innitiated and imported from outside the
country. A very clear evidence of this assertion is that one wonders how the economy of Nigeria,
which was largely agrarian during the early post colonial era has been turned away from that
―niche‖.
Proceedings of Annual Tokyo Business Research Conference
15 - 16 December 2014, Waseda University, Tokyo, japan, ISBN: 978-1-922069-67-2
So, a major way forward for Nigeria is ―Agropreneur‖. Agrressive entrepreneurship in agriculture
will generate employment, food supply and the raw materials needed to facilitate the production of
goods and services. Cheru (2002) had posited that the implication of the decline in agricultural
production for Nigeria is massive unemployment, food insufficiency and the attendant poverty. He
further concluded by stating that without a modernization of the sector, no attempt at poverty
poverty modulation or eradication can be realistically contemplated to bring about improved welfare
to the vast majority of the rural people, who hitherto derive their income and general wellbeing from
agriculture.
Ahiazu (2003:3) states that entrepreneurship, which is embodied in the entrepreneurial process that
flows from the entrepreneurial mind, is what the entrepreneur does. He further asserts that
entrepreneurs are innovators and developers, who are capable of identifying specific and viable
opportunities, taking advantage of them and turning such into vital and marketable ideas.
Although we agree that there are no one correct set of characteristics for being a successful
entrepreneur, there are certain general traits and practical skills that the teeming Nigerian youths
who roam the streets will acquire and they will become meaningfully engaged and achieve success.
Becoming an entrepreneur is a career like one may decide to go into other careers like teaching,
nursing, etc. Nkechi et al (2012) asserts that the dexterity with which hunger and poverty have
devastated lives and future ambition of youths especially graduates in Nigeria, have led scholars
prescribing entrepreneurship development as the permanent cure for extreme hunger and poverty
necessitated by unemployment, hence economic displacement is one of the external forces that
influence the development of entrepreneurship.
4. Federal Government of Nigerias’ effort at Entrepreneurship education.
In Nigeria today, the national council on education (NCE) during its 53rd meeting directed that all
higher education institutions should introduce entrepreneurship education as a compulsory course for
all students (irrespective of their course of studies) from the 2007/2008 academic session. Much as
this relatively new development is welcome, we assertthat it is in itself as the journey of a thousand
miles that begins with a step. The purport of this paper is a call for a paradym shift from the status
quo of many noble programs and projects at alleviating poverty and unemployment in Nigeria, but
which impact on the youths and the society at large are yet to be fully felt. It is the view of the author
that Nigeria, as a third World economy must urgently adopt a consolidated strategy for
entrepreneurship education if the high level unemployment must be checked. Such strategy would
ensure that upon graduation, every youth who had passed through such training had acquired many
skills for self-employment, rather than waiting for white collar jobs that are non-existent.
5. Initial steps to becoming an entrepreneur.
We opine that one of the first steps is that one must look at his or her needs and desires, and decide
whether the part of an entrepreneur is for him or her, in addition to examining one’s strengths,
Proceedings of Annual Tokyo Business Research Conference
15 - 16 December 2014, Waseda University, Tokyo, japan, ISBN: 978-1-922069-67-2
weaknesses, opportunities and the challenges (PERSONAL SWOT ANALYSIS) and comparing
them with those of a typical entrepreneur as listed in this paper. Probing further on the
entrepreneurial mind’s personal reflection, the following questions must not be ignored:Questions to ponder
Yes
o Do I have a spirit of adventure?
o Do I have a strong need to achieve and seek
personal accomplishment?
o Am I confident in myself and self reliant person?
o Am I a goal oriented person?
o Am I innovative and versatile?
o Am I willing to adapt and respond to change?
o Am I a persistent personality?
o Am I energetic and hard working?
o Do I have a positive attitude?
o Do I posses a strong sense of commitment?
No
Adapted from: (1999) The new youth Entrepreneur by Bocage et. Al., and sourced at http://www.edtecinc.com on May
3rd 2013.
NOTE: If your answer to many of these questions is “yes „‟then you have what it takes to be an
entrepreneur.
Although many scholars have carried out studies on these aforementioned questions and other areas
of the subject, there are no definite answers to them. Many scholars agree that successful
entrepreneurs seem to have certain traits in common.
According to iStock/leventic (2013), the traits of successful entrepreneurs are grouped into four
categories viz;




Personal characteristics
Interpersonal skills
Conceptual skills
Technical skills
Whether you are a student, farmer, or whatever, you will need to examine yourself along these traits
of successful entrepreneurs if you must succeed.- Also, Manktelow (2010) of Mind Tools Inc. agree
with the above as being the major skill areas needed to succeed in entrepreneurship. These skills
are hereby discussed in the context of Nigeria.
(a.) Personal characteristics
As earlier stated in this paper, the first point of examination that the youth or anyone desiring to
develop his or her skills, especially in entrepreneurship is his or her personal characteristics, values
and belief. In Nigeria, there are many youths and other individuals who never believe that they can
Proceedings of Annual Tokyo Business Research Conference
15 - 16 December 2014, Waseda University, Tokyo, japan, ISBN: 978-1-922069-67-2
amount to anything. Many there are who have lost hope, disappointed in the government of the day
and the politicians whose many policies have not yielded any positive results (in their own views).
Optimism and patriotism has been jettisoned by millions of youths in Nigeria. However, in the midst
of these challenges, the youths and Nigerians at large should rather see the numerous opportunities
these challenges have brought about by seeking to proffer and provide solutions as entrepreneurs. If
you do not have the mindset that is typical of successful entrepreneurs, then you have no place in
this entrepreneurship.It is commonly observed that a greater number of the people of Nigeria are
very good at pointing out the‖ woos‖ of the nation, without proffering a single solution. The youths
can beat these challenges through proactively engaging in entrepreneurial ventures initiated through
acquired skills.
(b.)Interpersonal skills (Inter cultural / inter religious/ inter ethnic )
From our views, the lack of interpersonal skills in Nigeria, right from the pre- independence era
(1914 to date) seriously culminated into lack of inter cultural, inter religious and inter- ethnic
synergism needed to build one strong united nation where each part sees herself as part of the
federated entity called Nigeria. The three major tribe-Hausa, Ibo and Yoruba’s seem not to have
fully accepted each other for over hundred years of nationhood. Entrepreneurs constantly interact
with people, including customers and clients, employees, financial lenders, investors, lawyers and
accountants, to name a few. The ability to establish and maintain positive relationships is crucial to
the success of the entrepreneur’s business venture. It is a major challenge to the youths of Nigeria.
Who through acquiring entrepreneurial interpersonal skills will use that to build one strong and
united nation. It is obvious that if one must succeed as an entrepreneur, such must develop strong
interpersonal skills that have to do with building great relationships with those customers, suppliers
and indeed all those that relate with the enterprise. That is what is often referred to as ―good public
relations. The youths can use such skills to heal ethnic bigothery that is destroying the nation.
(c ) Critical and creative thinking skills(conceptual)
A good entrepreneur is one that is always able to conceive new ideas and be able to take good
decisions in the environment where the business operates. It is strongly believed that any youth who
develops himself to the level of creative and creative thinking skills will never be part of the BOKO
HARAM in Nothern Nigeria, the Kidnappings in Eastern Nigeria, the Militancy in the Niger delta,
Oduduwa Peoples Congress (OPC) restiveness in the West, and other insurgencies across the
country. Nigeria is one country that is over blessed with natural and human resources and
opportunities are everywhere for the creative entrepreneur who thinks wisely. Part of the genesis of
the BOKO HARAM insurgence in Nigeria is that most of those youths lack critical and creative
thinking skills, otherwise, how can a youth who has not fulfilled his dreams in life believe that if he
dies killing others in the name of Boko haram, he will have twenty two virgins to himself over there.
Moreso, we recall that their Leader was a secondary school drop out who had no single skill for self
sustainance.The successful entrepreneur always scans the environment and never seizes to take
advantage of any potential step that will lead to success. He or she recognizes the opportunities that
abound and takes action to exploit it for good.
Proceedings of Annual Tokyo Business Research Conference
15 - 16 December 2014, Waseda University, Tokyo, japan, ISBN: 978-1-922069-67-2
(d.)Technical or practical skills
The core of this paper is a call for a paradigm shift from the colonial status quo in the education
system of Nigeria where the purpose of University education was to develop manpower for white
collar jobs, to a skills oriented education system that will enable youths and all alike to be gainfully
self-employed, when there are no paid-job. To be an entrepreneur, especially such that wishes to
produce goods or services; you must have the practical knowledge and skills needed to produce
those goods and services. It is here that all the functions of management come into play as it is the
entrepreneur’s duty to set goals, plans and organizes the business and takes the overriding decisions
to ensure success.
When these major skill areas are further reviewed, we observe that having the right attitudes and
characteristics are not enough on their own. We therefore identify the specific skills need which the
entrepreneur can acquire if willing to learn as follows:(e) Communication Skills: Entrepreneurs should be able to explain, discuss, sell and market their
good or service. It is important to be able to interact effectively with other parts of the system. The
call for dialogue in Nigeria has led to the sovereign national conference (2014) which is ongoing at
Abuja. Additionally, entrepreneurs need to be able to express themselves clearly both verbally and in
writing. They also should have strong reading comprehension skills to understand contracts and
other forms of written business communication.
Marketing Skills: Many of the young boys and girls who are jobless in Nigeria can develop their
marketing skills, and become gainfully engaged in marketing products and services that are
produced in country. There are many industrial clusters in Nigeria eg. Industrial layouts in Lagos,
Kano, Kaduna, Aba, Onitsha etc, each producing very many different lines of product. A business’s
success or failure is very dependent on whether the business reaches the market (its potential
customers), interests the market and results in those in the market deciding to buy. Youths in Nigeria
can fill this gap, as there are Nigerian entrepreneurs who failed started with innovative goodsand
services that would have been successful with proper marketing. Good marketing skills—that results
in people wanting to buy your good or service—are critical for entrepreneurial success.
Basic Management Skills: it had been observed by many researchers that corruption is the bane of
the Nigerian economy. In many past regimes in the country, there were many people who occupied
positions of great responsibility without having basic managerial skills, such that a chief executive of
a State in Nigeria was unable to understand the difference between the Mineral resources in his state,
and gave ―coca-cola‖ as an example of minerals. A good leader (entrepreneur) must be able to
manage every component of a business (the economy). Leaders in Nigeria should imbibe
entrepreneurial skills to be able to manage the economy well. Even if entrepreneurs hire managers
to attend to daily details, they must understand if their business has the right resources and if those
resources are being used effectively. They must ensure that all the positions in their business are
occupied by effective people. That is a major challenge to the chief executive of the sovereign state
of Nigeria.
Proceedings of Annual Tokyo Business Research Conference
15 - 16 December 2014, Waseda University, Tokyo, japan, ISBN: 978-1-922069-67-2
Team Building Skills: Lack of team spirit had often destroyed the efforts of a few individuals who
attempted to stand out of the crowd. Because entrepreneurs usually assemble a team of skilled
people who help them achieve business success, they must be able to effectively develop and
manage the team. The challenge posed by lack of team spirit among youths and adults alike in
Nigeria cannot be fully expressed in this work. Each person wants to be on his or her own. There is
so much suspicion among the populace, especially cross-geographic endeavors.
Leadership Skills: Trainings on acquisition of leadership skills should be made compulsory in
Nigeria. One of the most important leadership skills an entrepreneur must have is the ability to
develop a vision for the company and to inspire the company employees to pursue that vision as a
team. From the Mr. President, Ministers, State Governors to the least Local Government, there is
need for leaders and not managers. That is a major way forward for the country. Youths in Nigeria
should posses every skill needed to ensure business success. For example, the few that are in the
field of entrepreneurship often look to outside experts for help in areas such as strategic planning,
accounting and finances, contracts and legal issues, and specialized marketing. That is why the paper
calls for a consolidated strategy in the education system, whereby youths who undertake
entrepreneurship are equipped with skills in all business areas.
Furthermore, according to Bocage et.al,(1990), the characteristics of the entrepreneurial person
includes among others:
 Has the BRAIN for generating creative and innovative ideas.
 Has eyes for establishing a vision and setting goals, and SHARP EYES for seeking
out opportunity
 Has ear for listening to the advice of those with knowledge and experience. Ears are
also for keeping to the ground and sensing change and opportunity.
 Has nose for smelling signs of trouble and possible problems
 Has heart for the passion of commitment and perseverance to stick with it and burst
with pride when goals are reached and accomplishments achieved.
 Arms for hugging members of the team that will determine your success.
 Has hand for shifting gears when necessary.
 Has knee for staying flexed to adapt to change.
 Has strong legs for leaping over the many barriers and obstacles you will encounter.
 Fingers for counting the positive learning opportunities.
 Has the backbone for the confidence and determination to believe in one’s self and
to move ahead.
 Has the neck for sticking out and taking calculated risks.
 Mouth for effective communication and being able to sell an idea, and
 Wrinkles for smiling during the fun times.
Generally, an entrepreneur can be described as one who sees what others have overlooked in a given
environment or place, office, road etc, etc and takes action where others are reluctant or even do not
see at all. If youths in Nigeria can understand this entrepreneurial principle, the cry of joblessness
will be greatly minimized because opportunities are excessive in the country. Very often also the
typical entrepreneur is a risk-taker who is loaded with so many business ideas. The youths should
Proceedings of Annual Tokyo Business Research Conference
15 - 16 December 2014, Waseda University, Tokyo, japan, ISBN: 978-1-922069-67-2
engage in positive risky ventures, rather than being involved in such negative risky ventures like
kidnapping, armed robbery and other social vices.
6.
Can anyone be an entrepreneur (skills & characteristics)
One of the best ways to become an entrepreneur is by knowing and understanding what
entrepreneurs do.As common as the word has become today, it is not enough to run to a nearby shop
or street, set up or start selling some product or service and you call yourself an entrepreneur. A
greater number of the IBO youths of Nigeria are in the streets and shops selling and hawking goods
and services that are grossly misunderstood as entrepreneurship. The difference between them and
Entrepreneurs is that the later are people who are always looking for an opportunity, and their minds
are ever active, searching the environment for possible intervention and change. That is very far
from the quick gain mentality of trading on the streets and making quick but small money. Real
entrepreneurs have eyes for establishing a vision and setting goals, SHARP EYES for seeking out
opportunities. They keep their eyes and ears open and think out possibilities where in most cases,
nothing was there before. The stereo type of buy today, sale tomorrow in a continued circle is not
entrepreneurship.
Another distinguishing characteristic of entrepreneurs is that whenever they hear about a problem or
that people complain about wanting something, the entrepreneur will immediately think of what
could be done. All over the country, people complain of hardship, infrastructure, no food, etc. For
such, the entrepreneur as an agent of change, would usually want to provide solution to that
complain and in the process becomes rich.
Many times, along streets and in the villages, you see youths and even the elderly wasting precious
time and busying about nothing. They forget that the opportunity to change their lives and fortunes
abound mostly in those complaints that are freely shared in the society. We must not forget that
entrepreneurs are people who look for opportunities, and also that complaints are opportunities. Any
one who wants to become an entrepreneur must always have these questions in his or her mind:




When have I heard people complaining?
What were they complaining about?
Are there many people who complain about the same thing?
Is there anything that I can do to respond to their complaints?
The key thing for anyone to be an entrepreneur is to look for an opportunity, and the most beautiful
thing about Nigeria is that opportunity abounds everywhere with all the abundant human, natural
resources all around. Nigeria is one of the largest oil producing states in Africa.
The Gsm Experience In Nigeria: A want is a desire or something that people would like to have.
For instance, there was a time in Nigeria when the NITEL (Nigerian telecommunication service) was
in a mess. Many people got disillusioned and it was almost impossible to communicate. Telephone
Proceedings of Annual Tokyo Business Research Conference
15 - 16 December 2014, Waseda University, Tokyo, japan, ISBN: 978-1-922069-67-2
lines were disrupted at the slightest excuse. When people wanted a quick and easy way to
communicate and they were willing to pay for them, the mobile cellular phones were introduced and
such companies as MTN, GLO, and AIRTEL etc began to prosper. The entrepreneurs saw that desire
and they rose to it. Today they are smiling to the banks.
So, entrepreneurs look for wants. When entrepreneurs discover a want in the environment, they
initiate and commence the right steps to finding possible demand for the product or service. If people
are willing to back their words with the purchasing power, there will be a demand for the product.
This is very important to the entrepreneur since demand can be seen as a want backed by the ability
to pay. Nigeria is also one of the most populous nations in the world. When there is enough demand
and the entrepreneur is able to produce the product or service that the people will actually buy, it will
be possible to set up and run a successful business from which he or she would earn a living. That is
what the youths of Nigeria should be doing. The time to embrace entrepreneurship in Nigeria is now.
In many communities, cities and villages, the youths and adults alike should chose to be
entrepreneurs by setting up businesses to produce products and services that are wanted by people in
the communities. These businesses can be of different sizes, some being very large and their
products marketed all over the country while others just be relatively small and serve the people in
their small markets, local governments and in some cases at a state level or geopolitical zones as the
case may be. Japan, India and even the emerging economy of China got their own transformation
through such entrepreneurship endeavors. Most people in Nigeria are waiting for government to
create all the jobs that will end youth unemployment- it never happens that way. Youths of Nigeria
have limitless opportunities because problems abound in all fabrics of the society. They should
identify opportunities and come up with ideas on how to actualize them. This also involves
mobilizing resources such as human, physical, machineries etc, that will enable them run the venture
so as to provide the goods or services to the society.
There are many people who can come up with good ideas but are not able to take the right steps
towards actualizing their dream. They resort to crime, kidnapping, religious intolerances and other
insurgencies that has not yielded any positive result. The difference between such people and the
entrepreneur is that the later takes positive ACTION for the good of the nation, while the others
engage in destructive Hvices.
11. Summary – Lessons for the Nigerian Youth
Based on the discuss so far, it is pertinent that we state the lessons for the Nigerian youths in an easy
to understand way.
Lesson 1: Globally, it has become very obvious that entrepreneurship is recognized as the answer to
the ever increasing rate of unemployment and youth restiveness. This scenario has come to stay for a
long time in Nigeria, unless pro-active measures are taken to address it. The breakthrough which
advanced technology of this time has brought limitless opportunities for the entrepreneur – minded
Proceedings of Annual Tokyo Business Research Conference
15 - 16 December 2014, Waseda University, Tokyo, japan, ISBN: 978-1-922069-67-2
youth to tap into for entrepreneurship. The advent of e-commerce, e-marketing etc are still virgin
areas to be explored.
Lesson 2: While the chances of grabbing white collar or decent corporate job opportunities in
Nigeria has continued to diminish, coupled with the over dependence on the oil money, the
agricultural sector, which should have been the mainstay of the economy remains largely neglected.
The youth can channel their youthful energy in this sector and tap the unfartomable gains that
agropreneur provides with the vast arable and fertile land mass that the country boasts of.
Lesson 3: In Nigeria, the lack of basic infrastructure and other numerous social problems which has
continued to pose charlenges provide opportunities which the youths can turn to their advantage. All
the numerous gaps in the provision of basic ammenities, which the Nigerian youths do not seem to
notice, provide the opportunities for entrepreneurship. Such opportunities had provided itself in the
form of global economic recession, civil war, austerity, structural adjustment, deregulation, bad
governance, high rate of unemployment, militancy, etc., but has remained utilized for many decades
in the country..
Lesson 4: In China, India, and other emerging economies, most of the youths and a greater number
of their people are less inclined to government jobs. Preference for independence and starting their
own business are the most popular options. If the teeming jobless Nigerias can imbibe this culture,
the spate of high level unemployment with the present attendant vices like kidnapping, Boko Haram
and other insurgent activities which are capable of ruining the sovereinty of the country will be
curbed. Regardless of the multidunal challenges of power outages, lack of basic infrastructure and
other social vices, the Nigerian youth should follow the examples of those emerging nations and
venture into entrepreneurship.
Lesson 5: The fact that Nigeria has the Largest army of youthful population should be a formidable
advantage to the economy by constituting themselves into a dynamic workforce and the
entreprenerial class to produce goods and services for the nation that will drive the economy. People
like Mark Zuckerberg of ―Facebook‖ fame, ―Google‖ founders – Sergey Brin and Larry Page
became billionaires within the ages of 26 and 36. The youths of Nigeria can perform such feats if the
right environment is provided for them.
Lesson for Nigerian Government.
The Nigerian government, in the light of the above discuss, should should formulate strategies and
build institutions that will create opportunities for entrepreneurial activities that will engage the
youths in meaningful enterprises. This will discourage them from criminal activities and all these
insurgencies. The billions of dollar equivalents spent in fighting these joblesness- induced crimes
can be used to provide enabling environment for them to be engaged in meaningful entrepreneurial
Proceedings of Annual Tokyo Business Research Conference
15 - 16 December 2014, Waseda University, Tokyo, japan, ISBN: 978-1-922069-67-2
ventures. Youths are actually painful assets to waste as is being observed in the number of human
lives lost to insurgencies in the last decade in Nigeria.
Secondly, since different countries who were in the same situation as Nigeria have tackled their
unemployment problems and succeded, the country should not be an exception. It is obviously on
record that a country like China had addopted a strategy of massive manufacturing and export
approach to come out of her own situation, yet the population of China is far more than that of
Nigeria. Also, the country of India has used service industry to meaningfully engage her teeming
youths population in creating unimaginable economic transformation that has seen that formerlly
poor country emerging as a strong economy. Although the government of the day is doing so much
to alleviate the sufferings of the masses, corruption appears to be the greatest obstacle to the
transformation agenda of the federal government under President Goodluck Jonathan.
12. Conclusion
Having gone through this paper, you may wish to assess your skills in each of the areas discussed
because the harder you work on building your skills in those areas, the better and more successful
you will be. Sometimes too, serious minded entrepreneurs who have that overriding desire to achieve
something have hired the talents they needed and in the end became very successful. Therefore, it
must not necessarily be the entrepreneur only that must possess the skills, but you can succeed
without some of them by getting assistance from older entrepreneurs. Whichever endeavor you
choose to go into, be confident and choose the right one. Again, think about these skills which are
necessary for successful entrepreneurship, Fleming (1996:1) states that education is a vital ingredient
in the process of entrepreneurship and the development of a critical mass of entrepreneurs within an
economy. Therefore, the ready pool of future entrepreneurs in Nigeria can be drawn from students,
lecturers and policy makers since entrepreneurial education is aimed at promoting an awareness of
self employment and equipping the future entrepreneur with the skills, knowledge and attitudes they
require in starting and running a successful business venture. Therefore, we see that entrepreneurship
is not just an all comers affair but by additional education and training, the traits needed to become
successful can be acquired by the interested mind.
13.0. Recommendations.
The paper recommends a study to distinguish between entrepreneurship and just opening a shop or
service for business as a form of providing a guide to students, scholars, policy makers and
curriculum developers to ensure that the proper perspectives of entrepreneurship are mainstreamed
in into the education sector of Nigeria at large.
It also recommends that the effort of the National Universities Commission at mainstreaming
entrepreneurship education in Nigeria universities must be reinforced with a consolidated strategy on
entrepreneurship education.
Proceedings of Annual Tokyo Business Research Conference
15 - 16 December 2014, Waseda University, Tokyo, japan, ISBN: 978-1-922069-67-2
The youths of Nigeria should endeavour to carve a niche for themselves and become the
entrepreneurs of great repute in their generation. The likes of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs of blessed
memory, Dantata, Alico Dangote, name them, should inspire the youths to engage in
entrepreneurship ventures such that the yawning gap existing between unemployment and job
availability will be filled. Also, they should stand on the shoulders of the technological
breakthroughs of this 21st century, the internet aided e-commerce, and trade, e-entrepreneur etc to
start runing their businesses at the speed of thought.. you can be inspired to come on board today.
Yes you can!
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