TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT "DON'T BET ON IT"

Until recently, I have always held this catchphrase “business flourishes when friends and family pay”. Still holding onto that slogan, I have also added “business flourishes when friends and family patronize”. So putting both slogans together, it is now “business flourishes when friends and family patronize you by paying for your services rendered to them”. *funny, yet true*.

I have always told people that if you run a business as an entrepreneur and you think you will succeed in that business just because of the mere fact that you have a ‘VERY’ large family, then you are bound to fail or *at the least* operate at the most insignificant level.

The hard truth is, not every family member will patronize you and even when they do, you are either paid very poorly or not even paid at all given “too much familiarity” or the silent fear of you becoming bugger than he/she, that is, their status in life. Did I hear somebody say that’s not true? I kid you not!

Ok. If you think otherwise, then ask Chief Innocent Chukwuma, the Chairman of Innoson  Vehicle Manufacturing Company! Why are Nigerians not buying the Innoson vehicles like they buy other cars from around the world, everyday? Huge question, isn’t it?

As huge as that question may sound, it has a simple answer which is “a prophet is never recognized in his own home”.

When the Innoson company, sometime in December 2014 unveiled its locally assembled  Hyundai and Nissan  brand of ‘IVM’ vehicles many Nigerians shouted ‘hurray’ as it was reported that about 70 percent of the parts used in the manufacture where locally sourced. But then, as expected, after that, not much was heard about it apart from a few people who patronized, until only recently when the ‘let’s patronize our locally made goods’ did some people decide to look the way of Innoson again. What a pain!

Many Nigerians have the propensity for foreign goods, even in situations when some of us know that most of these things brought into the country come from the lowest of shops abroad, the Nigerian markets still get flooded with such sub-standard goods and are continually sold over the Nigerian made products.

I can bet that some of you would be saying “a lot of locally made stuffs are substandard”. Yes, I agree with you to a large extent and so do they exist in other parts of the world. But then in those ‘parts of the world’ because the agencies in charge of ‘quality control’ are on the alert, the substandard goods are not allowed in their markets or allowed into their countries if produced outside.

A couple of weeks ago, a radio commentator said that Nigerians are beginning to buy back some made-in-Aba shoes which were exported outside the country. The commentator added that what saddens him the most is the huge price being paid for the same kind of shoes which were rejected within the country even for a small asking price.

      

Take for instance. A young man graduates from the University and two years down the line no job in sight. In the two years spent hoping for a job, he was not idle but paid a fee and learnt how to design and make clothes as well as worked as an apprentice at a renowned fashion outfit in Lagos.

    

The young man within a few months excelled as he began making fabulous designs to the amazement of the Proprietor, the other Trainees and even the employed in the organization. And so after one year of training, he was placed on a small salary by the proprietor until he left at the end of his two years agreement to start his own outfit.

Then check this out:

While he served at his former place, his friends and members of family patronised him or *should I say, the company* as they would come to his place of work, a staff would take their measurements, give them a price as the company deemed fit and without any hesitation, they would pay whatever amount they found on their bill even though they knew he would be the one to make the clothes under the organization at the end of the day.

Unfortunately for the young man, having seen this trend over and over again, he decides to veer out of ‘paid employment’ to start on his own with the hope that those huge number of friends and family who have been patronizing his ‘boss’ would be his first set of clients as an entrepreneur but ‘alas! His hopes are dashed because the same friends and family who have paid huge sums to his former ‘Boss’ *knowing full well that it is not his boss who made the clothes* would give him materials but pay less or nothing for making the same quality of outfit he made while working in that organization. A big shame.

This why a lot of people/entrepreneurs get discouraged and it would take the grace of God not to ‘close shop’ after such an experience.

That is the kind of situation we have found ourselves in this country.

Nigerians, please, for those things we know are well made locally, let us patronise the producers.

IT'S TIME TO REALLY GO LOCAL!