I had car trouble yesterday, and had to hitch a ride with a friend home. We were stuck on 3rd Mainland for almost an hour, and he asked me 'Don't you think there is something we can do, some kind of business opportunity, seeing as more than 3 million or so cars are stuck in traffic in Lagos everyday? You've a creative guy, that's what you do, think!' And I burst out laughing.

You see, for many years, I used to think like this my friend. And basically, that's how the average Nigerian living in Nigeria thinks. When we were in primary school, there was this Yoruba poem we learnt, titled 'Ire ti o wa ninu ibi', meaning, the Good in Evil. The poem basically said look at doctors, grave diggers, casket makers, lawyers, executioners, etc. They make money from someone else's misfortune. So therefore, there must be a good thing to be derived from someone else's misfortune?

But let's look at this critically. Is it really a good thing to profit from someone else's misfortune? Find opportunity in importunity? I've thought about it of late, and made a personal conclusion, which is what influenced the answer I gave my friend.

I told him 'Look, there is no solution. Government should just do what they should do, build more roads, repair bad ones, create new routes. After all we pay them taxes, and we have oil money. What else should we do?'

I guess what he was expecting was for me to propose some kind of telecoms solution that enables commuters to maybe get MMSs of gridlock spots, or some kind of traffic alerts. For what? So they can sit in Sue bar for hours waiting for traffic to subside? It's not like the information will change anything. Today is Thursday, and everyday since Monday I have spent 2 hours between Ikoyi, where I work, and Ikeja, where I live.

I think we all need to stop deceiving our selves that we have found any solutions. Those solutions are not individual solutions. Government should solve the major problems with the nation: food, clothing, shelter, infrastructure, public transportation, etc. Once they do that, they can watch and see how things will fall in place.

Your thoughts?

Threadstarter, there are so many holes I could pick in your post but rather than pick everything you've written, i'll try to deal with the first and the other gobbledygook. . .

Threadstarter, so you think traffic is not a real problem??. . . .I dunno but I'm trying to understand the sense you are trying to make in the first paragraph. Anything and i mean to reduce or better still eradicate traffic would be a welcome idea. I'm sure I speak for most people when I say traffic is the bane of our lives. So, you laughing at your friends idea/thought smacks of erm. . . . i'll reserve my comment.

Are you now dispensing the service's and importance of Doctors, lawyers, undertakers et al?
I hope you know doctors do not only perform abortions, they also save lives. Infact they save more lives than they do away with them.
There are lawyers who defend honest, straight forward people.
The list goes on and on. . . . .

I'm not quite sure of the aim of this thread. Maybe i'm missing something if not it reeks of sheer ignorance

OMO IBO:

Are you now dispensing the service's and importance of Doctors, lawyers, undertakers et al?
I hope you know doctors do not only perform abortions, they also save lives. Infact they save more lives than they do away with them.
There are lawyers who defend honest, straight forward people.
The list goes on and on. . . . .
I'm not quite sure of the aim of this thread. Maybe i'm missing something if not it reeks of sheer ignorance

Okay, you did miss something. Maybe I didn't communicate too clearly.
Of course traffic is a real problem. Also, doctors, lawyers, etc, are honest workers. I am referring to the penchant of Nigerians to look for profit in a problem, rather than solve the problem.
E.g NEPA is not working and you say you're selling generators. You haven't solved any power problem, you're actually profiting from a problem.
Elsewhere in the world, people are doing research to cure cancer or AIDS. That's more like finding a solution to a problem. A Nigerian might just decide to import cheap cancer or AIDS drugs from Aisa and say he has solved the problem of cancer or AIDS in Nigeria.
You get?

What is the point of making/creating things if you do not stand the chance of making a decent livelihood off it?
Nigerians are not the only ones who look to make profits from a business venture.

The FG do not import generators rather, individuals and companies do. If we had constant power supply there'll be no need for generators.

If driver's, pedestrians and cyclists made use of their brains there'll be no need for traffic lights.

If people had their conscience in check there'll be no need to question their moral standing - this will rule out any need for lawyers. It goes on and on.

We live in the real world. People will need the services of doctors and lawyers and undertakers et all.

I'm unsure if you thought this through before posting it.

OMO IBO:

I'm unsure if you thought this through before posting it.

And I am unsure exactly what you're saying that is different from what I said. You seem to be repeating the very same thing I said.
The point is not why doctors, lawyers or any other businessmen exist, or if they are relevant, or are supposed to profit. However, just like my example of doing research to cure cancer, and importing cheap drugs to ameliorate cancer . . . in which of both cases are we making profit, or solving a problem?
What I am asking is, should we be looking to profit from social problems, or looking for solutions to them? Look at my example of Lagos traffic. My friend was looking at an opportunity to make money from Lagos traffic. I'm sure you know we have street hawkers, making money from Lagos traffic. What would be their prayer, that traffic should persist? Should I become a goods hawker in traffic, and hope the traffic problem is never solved, so I can make money? I mean, look at UNICEF. Why don't they just sell cheap food to the starving in Ethiopia? Why distribute it for free?
Do you (hopefully) see where I'm coming from now?

Oh, and by the way.
As per the lawyers, doctors, etc. I was referring to an old Yoruba poem that cited doctors, undertakers, and lawyers as examples of people who benefitted from other peoples' misfortune.

Of course you need doctors to stay healthy (they save lives!), and it's not only criminals that need lawyers. I am talking about a pervasive Nigerian mindset that says 'you can make profit from social problems'. There are no good roads, so people sell stuff in traffic. There is no decent transportation system, so people ferry people around via okada, and make profit. There is no credible healthcare system, so quacks pushing cheap Asian drugs are making a killing. Government schools are total crap, so there are many mushroom schools all over the place, making money.

What I am saying is, why aren't we as a people pushing to solve the social problems, rather than trying to profit from them? In other parts of the world, these issues are social issues, and are approached and resolved as such. If we are not producing refined fuel in Nigeria, the government should either start doing it, or put the regulatory framework in place for people who want to do business, not condone the indiscriminate importation of all grades of fuel into the system. Same as for street hawking. Put a framework in place to address the issue, or ban it outright, not just stand by while the highways are taken over by street hawkers. Now robbers masquerade as hawkers and okada riders, and mug people while in transit.

Is that a bit more explanatory?

What I am asking is, should we be looking to profit from social problems, or looking for solutions to them?

The term/phrase you are looking for is 'social enterprise'.

Social enterprises are social mission driven organizations which apply market-based strategies to achieve a social purpose. The movement includes both non-profits that use business models to pursue their mission and for-profits whose primary purposes are social. Their aim – to accomplish targets that are social and or environmental as well as financial – is often referred to as the triple bottom line. Many commercial businesses would consider themselves to have social objectives, but social enterprises are distinctive because their social or environmental purpose remains central to their operation. _wikipidia

In a nut shell, local problem, National solution.

Now if that's what you are referring to then i totally agree with you.

I must say, your initial post was quite confusing hence, the back and forth posts.

OMO IBO:

The term/phrase you are looking for is 'social enterprise'.
In a nut shell, local problem, National solution.
Now if that's what you are referring to then i totally agree with you.
I must say, your initial post was quite confusing hence, the back and forth posts.

Ah, okay. No worries. Sorry about that.
What I am asking is, the social problems we have in Nigeria, people seem to see them as an opportunity for business, rather than problems that we need to solve nationally. I have even seen posts here that say the many socio-economic problems we have here in Nigeria are good business opportunities for the discerning. My question is, is that really true?

For example, we all know we have no healthcare system to speak of. But does that signify just a business opportunity to set up hospitals? What about a social structure that would support healthcare for everyone, irrespective of their income, given that a huge chunk of the population probably can't pay hospital bills? A structure that would also support funding for health institutions, for research, and personnel?

Now, we understand each other.

I totally agree with you but here's an angle you are prolly not looking at.
If individuals/private bodies take it upon them selves to tackle these problems there will be a business angle to it and like all businesses they will be on the look out for profit while solving the problems.

If the Govt take it upon themselves to sort these problems out then there's little or no emphasis on profit generation.
As long as it generates enough money to keep it self afloat then all well and good.

You made mention of healthcare, The NHS is a very good example of social enterprise. why? because it tackles local problems which deal with national problem.

British Airways is a good example of a business model set out to make profit.

AjanleKoko:

I told him 'Look, there is no solution. Government should just do what they should do, build more roads, repair bad ones, create new routes. After all we pay them taxes, and we have oil money. What else should we do?'

I can write an essay on this but I will try to be as brief as possible.  I appreciate your honesty but you have revealed the problem of Nigeria - multiply yourself by tens of millions and gbam! we have millions of people wating for the government to solve ALL the problems!  Well, let me tell you something - they don't have one and you know it!  Your friend was thinking correctly, he wants to be self sufficient by looking to solve the problems around him. 

AjanleKoko:

But let's look at this critically. Is it really a good thing to profit from someone else's misfortune? Find opportunity in importunity?

Why should one not make money from all these problems? Everyone has to earn a living - its called capitalism; if the society dose not like it they can pay their taxes and fight for a government to establish laws to ban it.  A good example is all of the Imams, Pastors, prophets, Angels, UFOs and God knows what that are making millions from gullible Nigerian citizens in the name of GOD. Another example is in Europe, if people don't pay their tax bills they will freeze to death! thousands freeze to death in Europe every year because they cannot afford their tax bills. Are the PRIVATE Gas companies profiting from suffering? NO, its costs money to heat homes.

AjanleKoko:

I think we all need to stop deceiving our selves that we have found any solutions. Those solutions are not individual solutions. Government should solve the major problems with the nation: food, clothing, shelter, infrastructure, public transportation, etc. Once they do that, they can watch and see how things will fall in place.

Your thoughts?

I believe that individuals can solve the problems and governments can enable, hinder or regulate such people; in the case of Nigeria the government is unique in that it simply works hard to maintain the status quo - ensuring that all the oil revenue goes to a select few plus ensuring that key industries are controlled by a select few.  For example a barrel of oil is about $70 at present and at its peak was about $147, well that is a natural resource pumped straight from the ground.  On the other hand a typical smart phone is $700 created by Individual companies - its a man made good! Have the hands of Nigerian been tied behind their back by the government?  Have the brains of Nigerians been switched off by the Nigerian government? When Nigerians step up and produce the goods they can collectively solve societies problems - ethics.  This is better than waiting for the government to fix all the problems, the government is weak because they get revenue from one resource and have a very low tax base. 

The lack of development persists because the Nigerians living inside and ouside are simply trying to survive rather than solve. If this trend continues all that will happen is, when the Europeans and Asians run out of investment opportunities they will turn their attention to developing Africa - Slavery phase 2.

OMO IBO:

Now, we understand each other.

I totally agree with you but here's an angle you are prolly not looking at.
If individuals/private bodies take it upon them selves to tackle these problems there will be a business angle to it and like all businesses they will be on the look out for profit while solving the problems.

= Efficiency

OMO IBO:


If the Govt take it upon themselves to sort these problems out then there's little or no emphasis on profit generation.
As long as it generates enough money to keep it self afloat then all well and good.

= inefficiency

OMO IBO:


You made mention of healthcare, The NHS is a very good example of social enterprise. why? because it tackles local problems which deal with national problem.

NHS is struggling and politicians lie every year because its a 'political hot potatoe', however its common knowledge that the conservatives will force the middle class to pay in the long run - the NHS is not sustainable! Oh I thought that I would also mention that a huge number of the NHS staff (Doctors and Nurses) are from Nigeria and Ghana while their healthcare system in Africa rots.  In England the government pays nurses to work for the NHS because the salary is so low, even then most British nurses will still say no! 

OMO IBO:


British Airways is a good example of a business model set out to make profit.

The purpose of ANY busines ran by one man or a corporation is always Profit Maximization - otherwise its not a business.

@OMO IBO and nolongTing,

I quite agree with you both.
While we can either do it the NHS way, or the BA way (profit or nonprofit), the fact remains that we need to have a holistic solution in place.
There is obviously an opportunity in making profit from misfortune. I say the emphasis must be on addressing the social infraction, and that will lead to opportunities for profit.

That is why, in other parts of the world, providing cures, prevention, a hospitality framework, and the engine to finance the whole value chain, is the approach in structuring the healthcare industry. But at the end of the day, the problem is solved, regardless of whether profit is made or not. Besides, even in the NHS system, doctors still get paid for their services, so someone still makes profit.

In telecoms, the government provided the playing field and rules (regulatory environment), and the players came in, introduced profit, choice, and competition. The results: People don't have to queue up in Oluwole for four hours to receive a phone call from abroad. Call tariffs are a whole lot cheaper, and total cost of ownership of the service is affordable to a sizeable part of the population. A far cry from Senator Mark (or was it General Ayuba) who said in the 80s telecom was not for the poor.

People just need to see the bigger picture.