Entrepreneurship is Ndigbo DNA, but … says Ik Muo - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

A lecturer in the Department of Business Administration, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Ichie Ezechikwado Ik Muo, has reminded Ndigbo that entrepreneurship ‘di anyi n’obala,’ that is in their DNA, which currently needs retweaking to meet current environmental challenges, reports ITREALMS.

“Entrepreneurship di anyi nóbala, (entrepreneurship is in our blood),” he affirmed at the weekend while speaking as a guest lecturer at the 2019 awards and lecture organized by the Association of Anambra State Development Union (AASDU) in Lagos.

He prompted participants at the Hotel Collonades, Ikoyi-Lagos, mostly Ndigbo that its not debatable if “entrepreneurship di anyi n’obala, but the environment has fundamentally changed.”

Muo, a serial author whose lecture focused on “Entrepreneurship in a Changing Environment: Reconciling the contradictions between Ebe Onye bi ka o na-awachi na aku luo uno…” urged Ndigbo to change their approach to entrepreneurship without forgetting their origin; “maka na egwu kughalia, a gbaghali.”

As far as Ndigbo is concerned, he said, entrepreneurship “si na chi, o di nobala” stressing that changing entrepreneurial environment and imperatives for success have forced the dance beats to also change.

“However, ndi be anyi kwulu si… Igwe bu ike; njikoka; ofu okpa anahu acha mbala; mmadu ka eji aka; anyukoo mamiri onu, o gboo ufufu …,” he said, maintaining that every onyeIgbo, is an entrepreneur because “it is in our DNA; O sin a chi.”

Ichie Muo emphasised that furthermore, “our worldview unequivocally evidences Ndigbo entrepreneurial orientation over the ages.

Yesterday, he noted, was era of pure commerce by illiterate and semi-literate compatriots, communal specialization, while today, Ndigbo have educated and enlightened who are almost everywhere doing businesses in manufacturing, oil & gas, engineering & construction, media, banking/finance, aviation, medical entrepreneurship, hospitality, telecoms, real estate and logistics, to name a few.

Nowadays, Ichie Muo posited, that entrepreneurship environment has changed and demands a change in approach by Ndigbo, asserting that its “all about being entrepreneurially alert; to identify opportunities before they become obvious; risky commitment of resources, and enjoying the rewards, which include freedom.”

As said by him, “An orphan learns when other children are being advised by their parents!” emphasizing that there are funds but there are no takers; decrying that Ndigbo entrepreneurs do not know how to access available funds.

He advised Nigerian entrepreneurs including Ndigbo particularly to seek professional advice, so as to help them understand the environment and avoid tax manipulation but seek capacity before capital.

The new entrepreneurial realities, he said, is that globalization begets an omnipresent factor, advising Ndigbo to leverage Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) tools for their businesses including social media.

Knowledge acquisition and management, Ichie Muo pointed out, propels innovative entrepreneurship, buttressing with Hosea, 4:6 which states “My people perish for lack of knowledge.”

Therefore, he counselled that Ndigbo should always read, associate with successful people, and avoid copycatism.

Chuks Egbuna/DoP
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