INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH VOLUME 3, ISSUE 9, SEPTEMBER 2014 ISSN 2277-8616 An Exploratory Study Of Igbo Entrepreneurial Activity And Business Success In Nigeria As The Panacea For Economic Growth And Development Orugun, Juwon Johnson, Nafiu, Akeem Tunde Abstract: It is no doubt that Igbo entrepreneurs play vital roles in the growth of the Nigerian economy. Igbo Entrepreneurial activities have been observed to be a backbone for the economy of Nigeria and have facilitated improved standard of living of the people at both rural and urban settings. This study aims at investigating whether the Igbo entrepreneurial activities are the panacea for the Nigerian economic growth and development, and whether the Igbo Trade Apprenticeship System is a rationale behind their business success. The study used both primary and secondary source for gathering reliable and adequate data and information. The primary sources of data include the personal interview and questionnaire administered to the sampled metropolises (Sango-Ota, Ifo, Oshodi and Apapa); and the secondary sources include textbooks, journal and internet. Taro Yamane sampling method was adopted to determine the sample size, and Bowler’s proportional allocation method to distribute questionnaires in these selected metropolises. To analyze the data gathered for this study, descriptive statistical tool, tables and Likert Scale method were used. The study revealed that the Igbo entrepreneurial activities are the panacea for the Nigerian economic growth and development, and that ITAS is a business success factor. It was concluded that the Igbo entrepreneurial activities are the panacea for the Nigerian economic growth and development. The study therefore recommended that Nigerians and the people of other developing countries of the world should emulate the Igbo entrepreneurship culture for economic development purpose.

INTRODUCTION In recent time, the increasing numbers of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) and large business enterprises have translated into correlative growth of the Nigerian economy. In Nigeria, Small and Medium Industries and Equality Investment Scheme (SMIEIS) defines SMEs as any enterprises with a maximum assets based on N200m excluding land and working capital and with number of staff employed not less than 10 or more than 300 [9]. It is no doubt that SMEs constitute immensely the growth of most economy in developing countries. The Small and Medium Scale (SME) business remain the most dynamic force and agent of economic growth and development of a nation, [16]. If the impact of SMEs in Nigeria had been outrightly ignored, the economy may have experienced high mortality rate in most of its sectors. Onu and Onu [14] in their article opined that small business firms form the bedrock of the economic growth in every nation, and no country achieves a viable economic growth and development without the establishment of small business firm.

In accordance with this, Onuoha [15] concluded that SMEs constitute a vital engine to economic growth and development of any nations. Entrepreneurs are said to be the brain behind the existing and consistent operations of successful small scale businesses. The concept of entrepreneurship has been associated with several activities concerned with the establishment and operating of business enterprise, [10]. Igbo Entrepreneurial activities have been observed to be a sine qua non for the economy of Nigeria and the quality of life of the people at both rural and urban settings. Entrepreneurial activity is the enterprising human action in pursuit of the generation of value, through the creation or expansion of economic activity, by identifying and exploiting new products, processes or markets, [3]. According to Maliga [11], research result by an Independent body show that 74% of investment in Lagos are own by Igbos, 5% by Hausa/Fulani, 15% by Foreigners (Non-Nigerians), 5% by other Nigerians (Non-Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba), 1% by Yorubas which include Mike Adenuga. Udegbe [17] added that statistics shows in Lagos that Igbos investment is not less than N300 trillion; it is double of that in Abuja at about N600 trillion; In Kano and Kaduna, Igbo investment run up to N10 trillion respectively, while in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States, Igbo investment run into N5 trillion respectively; In Plateau State, Igbo investment is hovering over N15 trillion. One of the major arguments being used to explain why African countries, including Nigeria, have not been able to develop, or more appropriately, have been acquiring development hiccups, is that this set of people have not been given enough chance to participate in the development process, [13]. According to Agazie [2], remove the Igbos from the country, and Nigeria will collapse like 1-2-3, like a flimsy deck of cards. In similar tenet, Governor Gabriel Suswan of Benue State opined that any State government that ignores the Igbos does so at the risk of its economy, [17]. Of the three main ethnic groups in Nigeria, LeVine argues that the Igbos are the most energetic parvenus who have successfully challenged the established order of supremacy which the Yoruba occupied in the elitist professional civil service establishments , [13].

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH VOLUME 3, ISSUE 9, SEPTEMBER 2014 ISSN 2277-8616 CHALLENGES OF ENTREPRENEURS IN NIGERIAN BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT Due to Nigerian political and economic voodoo, most entrepreneurs or would-be entrepreneurs, including the Igbo entrepreneurs face some challenges. These challenges are highlighted and briefly discussed below. I Financial Challenge Fund accessibility obviously constitutes a confronting problem for translating business idea and plans in Nigeria business environment. Financial institutions in Nigeria either make funds unavailable for would-be entrepreneurs or scare them away by way of hiking the cost of capital. This cold attitude may be attributed to uncertainty concerning the future of businesses and its resultant bad debt from mortality. Some entrepreneurs have no property to mortgage, and therefore source for fund through:  contributions from friends and family  personal savings through paid jobs and/or gift  loans from non-financial institutions (group local savings, cooperative society, etc.)  deferred payment (debt owed to be paid later in the future) ii Power Supply Challenge If an entrepreneur must operate a business in Nigeria without bottleneck, then he/she must devise means of generating a power supply. Most multi-national firms in Nigeria have mini power plants as an alternative to avoid the embarrassment of power failure that can hinder production process or service delivery. Small business firms with limited financial strength face dooms due to persistent failure of this power supply. Iii Transportation Challenge The major means of transportation in Nigeria are by road, sea, rail and air. Most firms restrict their business activities (of supplying raw materials and finished goods to their target market) to transportation by road within the locality due to its cheap nature. One militating factor against this choice of transportation is usually the condition of Nigerian roads. This poor road network has been problematic for the application of Just-In-Time delivery. This makes the intelligent entrepreneurs today to locate their business:  near raw materials  near producers and consumers market  near labour market  in the urban and not the rural settlement. iv. Security Challenge In Nigeria today, insecurity is a critical bone of contention, and this creates tensions concerning the lives of businesses and business owners. But ample experiences of some entrepreneurs relocating their businesses have shown that not all the parts of the country are terrorized or violent-filled. Doing business in the northern Nigeria may be lucrative, but highly risky. Security challenges in Nigeria may span beyond terrorist activities and include:  Financial insecurity (fraud perpetuated by hackers called yahoo-yahoo and by fraudsters called 419)  Robbery attacks  Employee crime (arson, destruction of properties, etc.) IJSTR©2014 www.ijstr.org  Threat to life of entrepreneur  The dark aspect of justice (in Nigeria, Justice is fair, but justice is as dark as charcoal) v. Government Ill-Support Observably, the contributory negligence of the government concerning the growth of SMEs and the economy is on the high side. Little attention is often rapture with artificial lips, and there are almost daily commitment by the sweet words of the mouth concerning business well being in Nigeria. Funny enough, Nigeria most known footballers will always want to retire to politics and not to entrepreneurship. It is observed also that being a successful entrepreneur nationwide will premise on your ability to incorporate business with politics. SMEs face:  High taxation  Frivolous levies and duties  Disturbance from government agencies (Corporate Affair Commission, Standard Organization of Nigeria, National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration Control, etc.) About The Igbo Entrepreneurs Nigeria comprises of three major ethnic groups; Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba. Igbos are regionalized in the East, Hausas in the North and Yorubas in the West. Of all these ethnic groups, Igbos are distinguished with a unique trait which can holistically serve as a solution tool for the dynamic economic situation of developing nations of the world. This set of people is cultured particularly in the area of business. There was a prior conception that most Igbo business veterans acquired their business skills from their past colonial masters. It was also argued that the post civil war placed an agony of survival before them, which forced the rich and prominent ones among them to conceive investment of their little money for returns. The Igbo culture taught the Igbos that no condition is permanent, [1]. No wonder the Igbos are self-contented and self-reliant. The Igbos of Nigeria are Africa’s most energetic and most entrepreneurial people, [5]. In line with this, Olutayo [13] acknowledged that the Igbos, empirically, are very industrious and entrepreneurial, and this is obvious to other ethnic groups. Nevertheless, the Igbos are risk-takers and intelligent entrepreneurs, who are committed in totality to economic activities as their lineage hobby. The Igbo entrepreneurs play inevitable roles that are capable of proliferating healthy state for the Nigerian economy for a distant time. In a nutshell, their entrepreneurial activities have indisputably dominated and are still dominating all sectors of the economy of Nigeria, and even across the border. METHODOLOGY This research was a field survey base, and it included the use of both primary and secondary method of collecting reliable data and adequate information. The primary sources of data include the personal interview and questionnaire administered to the sampled area, and the secondary sources include textbooks, journals, newspapers and internet. The researchers systematically selected four metropolises (Sango-Ota, Ifo, Oshodi and Apapa) outside the Eastern part of the country in order to divorce the research from bias opinion. The population from which the sample size was designed is 2,210,305 (Oshodi-621,509; Apapa-522,384; Sango-Ota- 527,242; Ifo- 539,170). For this study, the model developed by INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH VOLUME 3, ISSUE 9, SEPTEMBER 2014 ISSN 2277-8616 162 IJSTR©2014 www.ijstr.org Taro Yamane for determining sample size was also adopted, and Bowler’s proportional allocation formula was adopted to determine the portions of questionnaires that are fair enough to be distributed to the selected metropolises in Lagos State- Oshodi and Apapa; and Ogun State- Sango-Ota and Ifo, Nigeria. To analyze the data gathered for this study, descriptive statistical tool, Likert Scale, percentages and table were used. Likert Scale Formula = NFX

Curlieweed:


Where and how did they get all this data? I have a lot of respect for numbers and I'm usually very wary of people flying all sorts of unsupported data. I don't live in Lagos but 70% of businesses there being Igbo owned is not very plausible.


in any case, my people say "Aku rue ulo.....

kettykin:

the article is a research article from the international journal of scientific and technology research http://www.ijstr.org/ the research was not done by igbos

madridfc:
Reminds me of my final year project topic, I don suffer for unibuja hand sha.
They method of data analysis is what I will like to know, cos their figures aint possible.