Peace Obi
Nigerian students have been urged to strive and be great thinkers and idea generators, whose ideas and knowledge will drive the needed innovation for their own world and for the future.
Speaking during the 2016 Business and Technology Week of Loral International Boarding Secondary School, Igbesa, Ogun State, the Bursar, Crawford University, Ogun State, Mr. Raymond Nnamdi, said the world belong to great thinkers and that if Nigerian students could think, the country will in the next 10 years, be an exporter of knowledge.
Delivering a paper titled, ‘Developing Entrepreneurial Skills Driven by Technology for Self-reliance’, Nnamdi stated that many innovations, especially the present technology-driven world are as a result of people who could think beyond what they see. He reminded the students that they live in a world where innovative ideas and creative works are increasingly driving economic success, adding that every aspect of life that needs innovation is for the thinkers.
“The world belongs to people who can sit down and generate ideas; people who look at things at the surface will not be able to see it. As a student, it is good that you have that innate mind of thinking because when you think, you don’t see things at the surface anymore. You will start to see yourself going into the university not just to acquire a degree but to acquire knowledge that will make you a job creator rather than a job seeker.”
Citing examples of people he described as great thinkers and entrepreneurs like Henry Ford, Bill Gates, Aliko Dangote, among others, he said their inventions, innovations and the changes they brought to life and economic activities and the subsequent economic success experienced are all products of ideas.
Nnamdi said if educators could rise to the need to instill in students the culture of thinking, creativity and innovation, it would make them understand the need to go for such knowledge that would guarantee their self-reliance.
“It is now a culture in every university toinculcate in students the idea of being self-reliant after graduation. Now if secondary schools can start to build such things into their curriculum, to start to give students the opportunity to exhibit their skills, it will motivate them towards learning entrepreneurial skills.
In her remarks, the Senior Principal, Mrs. Martha Osime, said entrepreneurial education is common now, and that gone are the days when people go to school just to acquire knowledge devoid of practical skills that encourages self-reliance.
Reflecting on the theme, ‘Business and Technology: Blending the Mix for Self-Reliance’, she said technology on its own does not count so much if it cannot be useful in solving everyday’s problems. “The focus now is on education that is practical, education that is useful that can serve humanity. Today’s education is one that places the students at the centre of it all. We do not want to bring up students who after their studies will be busy looking for jobs; we are bringing up students who can create jobs.”
Stressing the importance the school places on entrepreneurial skills,Osime said it is evidenced by the numerous creative works by the students. “We will take you through a tour of some of the exhibition stands and then you will see what we do here in Loral as far as business and technology is concerned. In fact some of the products you will see and their packaging, you will wonder whether they were made in this school through students.”
A senior secondary two (SS2) student, Master ChizaluAkuobi in his presentation, ‘Digital Era: Stretch Your Boundaries’said the business world is experiencing a massive transformation brought about by the adoption of technology in transactions and general management.
He said technology is now moving at breakneck pace, adding that most human activities are now carried out digitally. “Technology is now an integral part of every person’s daily life. Businesses are making use of technology to enhance transaction, negotiation and service delivery to their customers.”
While urging everyone to use the opportunities technology offers to every segment of the society, he warned, “companies, schools, businesses and individuals that do not go with this trend will be left behind because most business activities now revolvearound technology.”
Other presentations were generation of electricity through salt water;bead and purse making exhibitions by a team of SS2 students; market survey and research by students of The Bells Secondary School, Ota;business plan and market survey by Corona Secondary School, among others.
