Thousands of fresh graduates, being turned out to the labour market by public and private tertiary institutions across Nigeria, have been told to hone their entrepreneurial skills and study the lives of those who are genuinely successful, legitimately wealthy, and whose wealth are trackable.
Former Predident, Ibadan College of Medicine Alumni Association (ICOMAA) Worldwide, Dr. Abib Olamitoye, gave the advice on Tuesday when he delivered the commencement lecture for the 75th anniversary and first day of the 2023 convocation ceremonies of the University of Ibadan, held at the International Conference Centre of the institution.
The Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof Kayode Adebowale, said a total of 223 students graduated with First-Class Honours from various faculties of the university, while another 17 students graduated with First-Class Honours from from the Distance Learning Centre (DLC) of the institution, and another 74 students also made First-Class Honours from affiliated institutions, among a total of 6,826 candidates.
Olamitoye, is the Chairman of Abib Olamitoye Group, with interests in hospitals, hospitality, philanthropy, and motivational book writing, noted that lack of entrepreneurship training in each course has been the bane of unemployment in the country, saying every fresh graduate must cultivate saving culture for money because ‘If you cannot save, you are not safe.”
He enjoined the fresh graduates to always set goals and work towards achieving them. He charged them that with determination and divine favour, there is nothing hard to achieve in life.
According to him, every fresh graduate, who is determined to succeed in life should cultivate the habit of reading, especially in the areas of new fields they want to venture, adding: “Even as a trained medical doctor, I have read books about people from other disciplines. When I wanted to venture into hotel and hospitality sector, I took one year leave to read at least 10 books written by those that have excelled in the sector. The outcome is the remarkable success achieved that you are reading about today.
“Being successful in life is anchored on a tripod stand including: Vision, Ambition and Building a great life. You should set a legitimate goal, write it down and let it be comprehensive and work towards it. Don’t be distracted by what is happening in the society and you must guide against setting a small ambition because it is as bad as no ambition. In order to achieve the set goals, you must be strategical, methodical and progressive in your approach.
“Also, entrepreneurship training is key to a successful life. There is no longer white collar jobs for everybody. You should learn to become employers of labour. So, the youth should study the lives of those who are genuinely successful, who are legitimately wealthy, whose wealth are trackable – that you can track and see that the life they have lived is stainless. These are the kind of things that can inspire our youth to the position of eminence. Therefore, if you are going to be rich, then the path to follow must be stainless. It must be with integrity. It may be slow, but it is possible.
“You have to think big and start small. Anywhere you are in the world, the principle of success is the same. Prosperity is knowing what you want to achieve. If it is money, how much? Then, find books on how to have money. Many people are not successful because they don’t know that if they can think about it, they can get it.
“This means what the mind of man can conceive and believe, the man can achieve. This is the key. Most of the people in the world of Nigeria today, as we have it, will become billionaires of tomorrow. But anything the youth want to do, they should start early. Succeeding in business is a matter of consistence and resilience. When you fall down seven times, stand up eight times.”
Olamitoye was later presented with an award as commencement speaker by the University management.
