ENTREPRENEURSHIP SHOULD BE YOUR SECOND ALTERNATIVE TO ACHIEVE YOUR DREAMS.

By Prof Muhammad Abu Abdullah

Keep your Degree in a safe custody for future opportunity, and engage in entrepreneur skills, otherwise you will die poor.

Most of the educated people in Nigeria are poor. Majority of the educated earn less than N55,000 for a salary before tax and other deductions. When the deductions are put into consideration, the net salary comes to around N50,000. The net salary then suffers from loan deductions of up to N15,000 leaving the salary at around N35,000. The landlord then demands for his N15,000 and monthly shopping takes away N10,000 leaving one with a N10,000. The bus will demand for N300 going to and from work and relatives get another N2,500. The whole salary is gone and borrowed money starts operating. The borrowed money includes short loans and salary advances.

The difference between poverty and prosperity is property. A prosperous person has property to his name while a poverty stricken person has no property to show. Using this understanding, therefore, most of the degree holders are poverty stricken, borrowing money to buy chicken and chips, pizza, and a car.

The biggest excuse for getting paid such low amounts of money and having to sit and work for another person for 30 days is THE DEGREE that one possesses and that’s all. This has made most of the degree holders very poor to poverty stricken and will die that way most likely. A degree holder does not know how to generate money unless that money is generated for the employer. A degree holder is so dependent on the salary that he can do anything to get a job but will not think of starting a business of his own to employ others.

Interesting Facts!

1. A degree holder is not prepared to sell chips but is very happy to work for hungry lion (companies).

2. A degree holder is not prepared to sell popcorn in the street but is very happy to work for Dangote outlet in the city and mum river-sides.

3. A degree holder is not prepared to sell second hand clothes but is very happy to be employed by Zenith Bank which the business of selling stocks and looking for customers in a scorching Sun.

4. A degree holder is not prepared to make N150,000 monthly doing his own business but is very happy to work at the till in a bank getting paid N25,000.

5. A degree holder is not prepared to start a company and grow it in two to three years but will spend three years searching for a job.

6. A degree holder is not prepared to sell food to students but will be happy to be reporting to a boss with no qualifications as Office Assistant as long as he is paid N30,000 for a salary.

7. A degree holder is so eager to get out of this country and work in another country than spend time to develop his own country.

8. A degree holder staying in a foreign land (Nigerian) is very keen to condemn Nigeria but never contributing to the development of this country.

9. A Nigerian degree holder would rather sweep the streets of London or USA than start a business to make money in her father land – others work in people’s homes doing some work (cleaners).

10. A degree holder in Nigeria will watch porn on his laptop but never sit to write a book using the same laptop to sell and make money.

11. A degree holder will blame the government for lack of jobs even after he was on government bursary for him to have his degree.

12. Nigeria is blessed with young people who have master’s degree and others are doctors in different technical fields such as IT and Engineering but all of them have failed to create a cartoon character or develop a movie from the same instead very happy to buy Tom and Jerry for their children thereby promoting American and UK.

A school I visit, there is a man that is of very humble background. He does not speak English but sells Coke, Fanta and Sprite at N80 each making a profit of N10 on each drink. He also sells chips at N50 making a profit of N17 on each portion. Not less than 80 students buy chips and a drink every single day. This means he makes a profit of N27 for a drink and chips and a total profit of N2,160 per day....every single day. In ten days he makes a profit of N21,600 in twenty days N43,200 and in thirty days N64,800.

The degree holder working in a bank gets a salary of N45,000 every month.

Why are the degree holders poor?

Because they have decided to pride themselves in a degree and failed to think better than a man who does not have even a certificate to his name.

Degree holders spend their time liking articles on linkedln and Facebook but never have any care in the world to implement what they like. Poverty starts from the mind, a mind that just likes things but never to implement those things.


If you want progress, keep that degree and start thinking better than someone without a degree. There's no white collar job anywhere.


Be prepared to get your hands dirty and work like ox for your business. Your hard work will pay off.


Think success!!!
Think Entrepreneurship!!!

That is exactly true

After destroying the country and wrecking the economy. They are now overhyping entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is good but not the rubbish being listed up there.

makes sense

I wanted to over look this thread but for posterity sake, let me drop this.

Gerrard59:
Preach sir!

When I see Nlders praise entrepreneurship so much, I laugh. This is not because being an entrepreneur is bad (providing value is good and rewarding) but OP is saying that young Nigerians who do not have something to fall on should focus on solving their immediate needs first before attempting to solving societal needs. You cannot give what you do not have. How can someone with no strong support base (parental support, an existing business waiting for you to take over or some rich relatives willing to help) attempt to provide value? You would most likely eat the earnings of the business instead of re-investing because you are at the survival stage. Maslow Hierarchy of Needs tells us so. It is until you have solved your basic needs that you can then think of solving people's needs. It is another reason I get amused when folks complain that banks refuse to lend them money when they had awesome business plans (to me, plans are useless. Things change quickly). Banks are profit oriented entities and would most preferable/likely fund someone with a track record (existing business or strong support base to act as collateral), not a recent grad. This post reminds me of lad who dumped his digital marketing agency he co-founded to look for a job in an investment bank. When inquired further why he is leaving his firm (I coached him for the interview), he complained of how business was not moving well and he had difficulties solving his daily needs. As a result, he needs a job. Interestingly, this dude studied in the UK for his two degrees (Bsc Eng and MSc Engr) and I reasoned that he has a strong base and was relying on that but cannot continue to do so going forward. Yet another, this time an ex-classmate, he left his digital marketing agency to get a job as an account executive. Apparently, because he had same problems - solving his daily needs and a new business cannot solve one's needs unless the business is not expected to grow.

So OP is right. No one is saying don't become an entrepreneur but do not so on an empty stomach. You would most likely eat your revenue not even profits as the latter take time to come. Someone would ask what about in the US. What people tend to forget that is the kind of profiles these straight-out-of-school entrepreneurs have. They most likely went to Ivy Leagues, got funded based on the idea not the bottomline of the business, have a strong base to fall on, live in country where interest rates are miserably low and the VC/angel investors' market is strong (literally got founded). So you see? Getting a reasonable job does not make you a slave like some cretins say or keeps your dream away like some mor0ns opine. What it does is: it provides you a support (financially and mentally) on living your life while you plan towards starting your business. What people rarely say about entrepreneurship without investors/parental support/existing history of credit lending is that you would be eating your revenue as they come because your personal problems (rent, feeding, clothing etc) need to be solved.