From Magnus Eze, Enugu
Globally, Igbo people are known for their industry. They have excelled in various areas of life including commerce, majorly driven by their apprenticeship scheme popularly referred to ‘Igba boi.’
A national summit on Igbo apprenticeship themed: “Repositioning the Igbo Apprenticeship Scheme for Sustainable Economic Development” in Awka, Anambra State, last Thursday, recommended the apprenticeship scheme for the economic revival and growth of the country. It was organised by the Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS) and Awka Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (AWKACCIMA).
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in his virtual address from Abuja, said the widely celebrated, tremendous successes of Ndigbo in various fields of human endeavour, particularly in business, were facilitated by the Igba Boi scheme: “For several generations, legions of businessmen, traders and entrepreneurs have emerged and come into their own through the conveyor belt of the Igbo apprenticeship scheme otherwise known as Igba Boyi.
“It is, perhaps, the most popular indigenous Nigerian economic institution that has been globally recognized as the world’s largest business incubator. This clearly demonstrates that, as a people, we possess socio-cultural tools with which to forge a future of sustainable prosperity.
“The summit is timely as it provides an important opportunity to reflect on the scheme, and more importantly to fashion ways by which we can calibrate the scheme for national use and to meet the realities of the 21st century.”
He expressed the optimism that Nigerians have a lot to learn from the Igbo apprenticeship scheme if the scheme was brought into the formal economy and possibly introduce some aspect of technology into it: “I believe that the Igba Boyi scheme has the potential to do for our economy what similar apprenticeship schemes have done in other parts of the world.
“The notable ones are the ones in Germany and India. They have something unique to teach the world. And I think that this is a good start to begin to teach the world something original that comes out of the Nigerian business environment.”
Chairman, United Nigeria Airline, Dr Obiora Okonkwo, who has been a promoter of the scheme noted that findings from a recent research he commissioned at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, indicated that it would help in drastically reducing youth unemployment in the country.
In his keynote speech, Okonkwo said: “I am sure some of you may have been wondering why I was chosen to deliver the keynote at this event. The simple answer is that the apprenticeship scheme and the Onitsha Main Market hold a very special place in my heart as that was where I had my first stint in business.
“My father took ill when I was 14 years old, forcing me to combine my secondary school education with managing the business and his apprentices. That meant I went to school in the morning and continued at the Main Market in the afternoon. That basic trading experience, in many respects, helped hone my business instincts and also instilled in me a deep sense of industry and hard work that have defined my life’s journey to date.”
Okonkwo said because of the experience, when the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Business School in July 2019 honoured him with the Philanthropist of the Year Award, it was only natural for him to try to give back by endowing a major research project on the future of Igbo entrepreneurship:
“All who are familiar with the apprenticeship scheme would readily attest to its immense role in lifting the Igbo out of the devastating impact of the civil war and their quick re-emergence as key players in the Nigerian economy, even if mostly in the informal sector.
“The Igbo apprenticeship scheme, the foundation of the famed Igbo enterprise has a long history dating back to pre-colonial times. However, a combination of factors during the Nigerian Civil War, and its aftermath, provided the impetus for what some have called the “massification” of the apprenticeship scheme. Such include the destruction of the means of livelihood of most people and the resurgence of the communal spirit of solidarity and oneness.
“This was the bedrock that saw young boys from very poor homes climb the social ladder, registering their presence of not only arrival, but also a vehicle for the transformation of others, who would have been forgotten as dregs of society.”
Other stakeholders including captains of industry, scholars and media practitioners also described the scheme as a community catharsis developed for the survival of people who experienced excruciating economic and socio-political hardships.
A communique at the summit pointed ways the Igbo apprenticeship could be maximized for Nigeria’s economic growth. It among other recommendations urged that the term, “Igba-Boi” which has subtly become derogatory, be rebranded and repackaged, thus, the term “Nkwado Ogaranya”, literally meaning preparation for greatness.
Another coinage for the Igbo Igba-Boi scheme is adopted as “Apprenticepreneurship.” These terms were derived from Prof A.U. Nnonyelu-led study entitled, “Invigorating Igbo Entrepreneurial Behaviour through Enhanced Apprenticeship Scheme,” sponsored by Okonkwo.
Also recommended were: “Adoption of Igbo apprenticeship scheme in teaching young university and other higher institution graduates the skills and rudiments required to survive in their desired careers across the world.
“Depending on the nature of the discipline, the age and the duration which young graduates could spend in the apprenticeship scheme within Nigeria has to be streamlined and defined in Nigeria to avoid enslavement of graduates.
“The Igbo apprenticeship (Igba-boi) scheme should be extended to contemporary global business spheres like the processes involved in the procurement of intangible digital services as well as sales, installations and maintenance of information and communication technologies, hardware and software devices.
“There is need for all relevant agents of socialisation to reinvigorate the ethical and moral fabrics of the Nigerian nation to reflect the original core values which helped the early and genuine beneficiaries of the Igbo apprenticeship scheme succeed in life based on hallmarks of obedience, diligence, integrity and honesty.
“Nigerian government, organised private sectors, relevant national and international organisations should help reorient Nigerian youths to desist from the get-rich-quick syndrome by imbibing the original mind-set of Igbo apprenticeship scheme.
“Relevant financial institutions in Nigeria should assist contemporary Nigerian youths to obtain the requisite financial support towards establishing businesses to make responsible money after participating in the Igbo apprenticeship scheme.
“The Nigerian Labour Act should recognise the Igbo apprenticeship scheme to regulate as well as curtail inherent abuses in the system and make it more sustainable under the current national economic realities.
“In the spirit of the Igbo apprenticeship scheme, there should be a change in Nigeria’s national school curriculum to embrace multi-skill educational programmes that will enable young Nigerians acquire skills from tender age.
“Like in the typical Igbo apprenticeship scheme, young people in Nigerian schools should be encouraged to combine schooling with entrepreneurial skills development to help themselves and the nation at large in a more responsible manner.”
The communique was issued by Dr Obiorah Edogor (Team Leader), Dr Nneka Ono, Dr Njideka Ezeonyejiaku, Dr Chibuike Nwosu and Dr Uche Nworah, convener of the summit.