Self employment and national “self sufficiency” are two sides of a coin in nation building. This can happen through individual efforts cumulatively made on a daily basis in all known economic sectors. All that is required of the government is simply to create the enabling environment (with regards to environmental, social and governance factors) for businesses to thrive. Provision of a level playing ground that supports healthy competition amongst contemporaries in a given market segment, should be a key part of the primary duty and responsibility of the government to promote and direct all activities towards a stable economy. This aspect of the economic functions of the government includes setting out people oriented policies that impact well on business and commerce. In this regard, fiscal and monetary policies are hugely involved and they significantly shape or determine the status of an economy (either as being strong and progressive, or weak and tilting towards a recession). It is, therefore, a mandate and an obligation of the government in a market economy, to ensure the provision of public goods and services (as a function of wealth creation by redistributing income), maintain competition, provide the legal and social framework, while stabilising the economy.
All that a Nigerian youth needs for survival in an entrepreneurial culture is the provision of the basic amenities/facilities like roads, water, electricity (power) by the government, to drive economic prosperity. As I have noted elsewhere, Productivity is a function of Wealth Creation in an economy. Governance protects the economic viability of the state, and strives to achieve sustainable growth and development, where the leadership efficiently provides ”social benefits” for the governed in a social contract at specific periods, through corporate social responsibility as democracy dividends.
A caring governance structure in this context, therefore, focuses more on how to support the economic and commercial activities in the economy. It is on that premise that a self employed youth can become successful, as an entrepreneur who can then progress to being an employer of labour. He continuously acquires knowledge (new skills in capacity building) through training workshops and seminars where he learns from the best. An enabling business environment makes a self employed youth, with youthful energy, to go hungry while ambitiously pursuing his set target in business. This, of course, has to be nurtured through long-term business relationships, as part of his investment. Such action and conduct infectiously motivate and inspire other youths to tow the same line by also trusting in their gut instinct. The government needs to develop and utilise the private sector or industry, by focusing more on young entrepreneurs’ welfare and their development in domestic manufacturing ecosystems.
Entrepreneurial culture, if significantly established and inculcated into Nigerian youth, will not only reduce the growing unemployment rate in the economy, it will equally improve the level of productivity in the real sector, where some of the newly established business entities (within the manufacturing sub-sector, capitalised upon to localise), and contribute towards enhancing the nation’s local content policy in terms of value addition. This will set the stage for “import substitution” because of the aspired locally made products; which in turn can improve the national economic efficiency and GDP and significantly reduce the volumes of goods imported into the country. This mode of manufacturing can also lead to the inculcation of smart manufacturing strategies which allows for the application of technologies that make manufacturing more innovative. This will also bridge the gap between manufacturing and energy sectors. This can be done as a way of advancing sustainable economic and energy security and allowing for the global manufacturing of critical products. These young entrepreneurs who would be involved in investments for new industrial hubs, through redeployment and partnerships, will also be sensitive to reducing environmental impact for the purpose of reaching the net zero goals of the United Nations programmes in the fight against global warming. The Nigerian youth are poised to achieve success in domestic manufacturing (with value creation potential), and in new energy supply chains, which assure a new economic order.
It is important to understand that industrialising an economy prepares that nation towards sustainable daily economic activities, where the terms of trade posts positive balances at the end of the year in its international trade reports. Industrialisation supports wealth creation, and will counter the impact of foreign exchange rate on the nation’s weak local currency exchange rate. It sustains efficient cliental supply services by effective warehouse clearance of products in stock by off takers. Otherwise, helping in the cases of suppliers of agricultural produce, that often leads to economic wastage of perishable agricultural produce harvested by the small holder farmers, but not sold nor utilised.
In the agricultural sector, value addition on such items improves their economic performance, spurring big farmers to take such advantage very seriously, seeing them as low hanging fruits for future uninterrupted economic growth.
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