BY DAYO ADESULU
A Professor of Business Administration, Prof. Oluseyi Oduyoye has called on the Federal Government to support small businesses devastated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
He stated this while delivering the Babcock University 33rd inaugural lecture at the Babcock Business School main auditorium, August 8, 2021.
Delivering his lecture, “From the Small Business to Big Business: A Future with Little Hope, Professor Oduyoye noted that many small businesses were unlikely to recover from losses incurred during the pandemic lockdown if the government did not come to their aid.
He specifically called on the Central Bank of Nigeria to assist the small businesses from the much-publicized N50billion support fund set aside for distribution to businesses in need of a lifeline for sustainability and growth.
Aside from this, he urged deposit banks and insurance companies to strengthen the SMEs through renegotiation of contract terms and affordable minimal premiums following the losses and economic setbacks occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Professor Oduyoye noted that small businesses could become big companies if they were fortified with values of integrity, customer focus, openness and the fear of God.
“Starting small but having the eyes on the big picture should always be the focus of the typical small business owner,” he stated.
He also recommended networking with more experienced individuals in the industry to gain the needed leverage for growth.
Professor Oduyoye, who thanked the leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, his family and the Ilishan Development Association for making him what he had become, attributed the collapse of many businesses to the lack of integrity and the absence of the fear of God.
READ ALSO: How Nigeria’s fighter aircraft foils gunmen Kidnapped Attempt of 16
“Anything done without integrity cannot stand,” he said. “The lack of integrity and the love for quick money and shady deals is the bane of long-term growth of these small businesses.”
He lamented the fact that internet fraud popularly known as Yahoo-yahoo has taken over while integrity has been relegated to the background causing the nation to “bleed.”
“For aspiring small business owners who have the ambition of becoming big players in the future, the qualities of integrity and customer satisfaction are key attributes of success,” he said.
