Nigeria, my country of destiny, by Bolatito Ajibode
by The Eagle Online · The Eagle OnlineNigeria is my country of destiny.
It is not a coincidence that I was born here.
God had me in mind when He blessed the land
It is not a coincidence that the verse, prosperous land is populated by different cultures, hence our tongues and tribes differ. We call it PRODIVA- Prosperity in our Diversity.
The Lord finished the job of creation and should be praised for loading us with the benefits of arable soil, mineralized land, rich in solid minerals, oil and gas, and market of over 200 million population. Many are yearning for these endowments and have come to our land to explore and exploit.
Our endowments are beckoning on us for exploration. The few like Dangote who have taken up the challenge are smiling to the bank by converting our huge deposit of limestone to cement and refined our crude to petroleum. He has taken Nigeria to global stage amd we are all proud of him as our brother. We however need more Dangote.
Last year, we had our maiden edition at Muri Okunola Park where we CHALLENGED ourselves to do more by building a side hustle in addition to our 9-5 work.
We urged ourselves to:
1. start small from where we are and grow.
2. explore the verse resources of this country to create wealth.
Happy to say that we have positive testimonies from those who have started their side hustle, making extra income and contributing to the total income of Nigeria.
Having laid a solid foundation last year, our goal this year is to cement it and contribute individually and collectively to the per capita income of Nigeria.
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The desired growth of Nigeria can only come as we add value to the wealth of the nation in our own little corner.
That is the only variable we can control because the other variable, population, is outside our control.
We are typically excited with our young population and proudly rejoice that Nigeria would be one the 5th most populous countries in the world by 2050.
The question to ask is, how do we house them, feed and clothe the growing population?
Certainly, young population is good to have but it is the easiest path to poverty and insecurity if we are not deliberate about growing the national wealth and baking a bigger national cake.
Yes! Our business environment is tough and unstructured. It raises the entry barrier, because many are not ready to weather the storm. Those who are able to stay on the tough business environment have overcome the challenges: some of them are here with us.
A deep appreciation to our Keynote speaker, Mrs Chinwe Ezenwa, the MD of Lee Look bags who has been in the business of ankara and aso oke fabric bags for four decades. We look forward to drinking from her fountain of knowledge this morning.
Also in our midst is our brother, Mr Ola Awakan, the Director General, Nigerian Tourism Development Authority, who has used literature and poetry to deliver compelling indigenous stories from the heart. He has come with his team all the way from Abuja to honour us.
During the panel session today, we will hear the success stories of our panelists and also interact with them during networking session.
In line with the theme of the year, we would like us to consider
✔️low hanging fruits in our business environment.
✔️low technology business ideas.
✔️businesses that are authentic and unique to us.
✔️We are talking about commercializing our indigenous values and ideas in food, clothing, arts and drama.
We need to own and dominate this space ‼️
Today, we have in the room great men and women who have taken these indigenous values and ideas to global stage.
They will share their PRODIVA story and inspire us.
I believe their insightful story will also challenge the invited students from Yaba College of Technology, University of Lagos and Lagos State University.
The idea is to catch them young😍
Please note 😍 The Independence Day fiesta is not about storytelling alone, we are going to have fun. We have about four performances including spoken words, drama, drumming, music performances and Naija music with good lyrics.
We will also break out for lunch to enjoy various Naija cuisines.
It is my prayer that at the end of the session, we will all have our take home and begin to water the seed of prosperity in our diversity.
Once again, thank for coming, please relax and have fun.
(Being a speech delivered by Bolatito Ajibode, Convener Independence Day Fiesta at Landmark Events centre to mark the 66th year independence of Nigeria)
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