Former Nigerian Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has expressed concerns that the extravagant lifestyles of Nigerian business owners are unsustainable for the growth of their enterprises.
Osinbajo made this statement on Thursday in Lagos while delivering the keynote address at the 2024 Women in Management, Business, and Public Service (WIMBIZ) conference.
The two-day event, now in its 23rd edition and themed “Dream, Dare, and Do,” is chaired by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Professor Folasade Ogunsola.
The former Vice President highlighted that many business owners are dedicating crucial investment resources to maintaining appearances rather than reinvesting in their ventures.
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He said, “Trying to keep up an image of success affects a major plank of business. The lifestyle of business owners is a problem, in my own opinion, for Nigerian businesses. There is a huge pressure that Nigerian business owners have which probably business people elsewhere do not have.
“To maintain a perception of success that is usually above the means of the business. If the business cannot support your lifestyle. There is pressure to look and spend as though you are very successful even though your business is only a few years old. The pressure is worsened by the unrealistic lifestyle of allegedly successful people on social media and an environment where most wealth is unexplained or unexplainable and where so many people are rich before becoming business persons.
“There are so many people who were wealthy already before becoming business owners and you are looking at those people and thinking surely, ‘I should be like those people.’ Consequently, every CEO or middle cadre of business enterprises feel the need to buy the best cars, the same cars that the richest man in Africa drives and they travel first class. So, a lot of the investible resources are spent on maintaining appearances.”
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Osinbajo also urged Nigeria’s elites to lead efforts in advocating for the interests of the impoverished majority.
“A society or nation rises or falls by the sense of responsibility of its elites. That elite could be political, business religious and anywhere in the world, it is this class that determines the economic, moral and even the political direction of their nation. What they hold dear is what society considers important and what they disavow is what is rejected. They are the opinion moulders.
“Among the successful people here, if you look at the kind of conversations that go on, it is about how much local and international fares cost; the cost of school fees, private schools for children abroad, the cost of medical, especially medical abroad, now the cost of fueling more than one car and possibly visas to Dubai.
These issues are vital to us, and when we engage with those we believe can drive change, these are some of the concerns we raise, hoping they’ll be addressed. Meanwhile, the other 99.99% of the 200 million citizens are more focused on day-to-day survival—concerns like affordable public transportation, food, basic healthcare, housing, and access to justice.
“My point is that the elite must be the mediator for these people. Alongside their concerns, they must fight for social welfare schemes; health care, and school feeding programmes for children in public schools because these are matters that politicians are required to address but often do not and they don’t even have an elite that can put them under pressure. Your collective voice and action for the education of girls in the north for example can affect the destiny of our nation. Today, we have over 67 per cent illiteracy in the north, a country with half of its population socially and economically disadvantaged by illiteracy will find development difficult if not intractable,” he stated.
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