▪︎Tony Elumelu
” We should create a joined-up government task force to champion at the highest level, our young and our entrepreneurs.”
Tony O. Elumelu, Founder, The Tony Elumelu Foundation , stated this during the just ended Nigerian Bar Association (NBA)’s 63rd Annual General Conference, held in Abuja.
In his reflections on the theme of the conference ‘Getting It Right, Charting The Course Of Nigeria’s Nation Building,” Tony Elumelu, said : ” Nigeria is a nation of entrepreneurs – you know me as an investor and champion of entrepreneurs – I know the social and economic returns entrepreneurship creates.
“When entrepreneurs succeed, we succeed as a nation. If they don’t, we all fail.”
In his words, nations that prioritise their young go far – it is no coincidence that an America that created Harvard and Stanford, also produced Amazon, Microsoft and Google – we need the same focus on our young, their futures and ambitions.
” In my engagement with fellow private sector leaders, my message is simple:
We must see ourselves as the engine of innovation, the source of investment, and the creators of jobs.
This is exactly what we have achieved at the Tony Elumelu Foundation.
” The nurturing of entrepreneurship is not merely an economic endeavour, but a social responsibility.
By empowering our youth, supporting start-ups and SMEs, the private sector contributes to equitable wealth distribution, job creation, and social advancement.
It paves the way for economic empowerment that uplifts communities and contributes to a more inclusive society.
We all owe this to our people, even for our own enlightened self-interest,” he said.
◇ Written and edited by Franklin Ocheneyi