As part of its efforts to empower the people of South East, particularly members of the church, a fourteen member Board of the Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies (IES) has been inaugurated by the Anglican Diocese of Enugu, South East, Nigeria.
According to the Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province and Bishop of Enugu Diocese, His Grace, the Most Reverend Emmanuel Chukwuma, the decision to set up the Institute was to impact skill acquisition to the people especially the youths.
Chukwuma noted that entrepreneurship development is a critical factor for sustainable development, adding that the Church needs a home-grown, strong, able and visionary platform to craft a response to the myriad of spiritual, material and ethical challenges it faces today.
He disclosed that the decision to establish the IES, Enugu was taken in response to a growing demand from within the Church in Nigeria for additional entrepreneurial support to the clergy and other members to access resources and ideas for greater enterprise and value creation.
He said, “It was in order to prepare about-to retire clergy and Church members for more secure livelihood choices after retirement. We realised that the entrepreneurial culture, which is not necessarily solely about business and profits, could dramatically improve the effectiveness of Church workers, the congregation and others in their vocations.”
“While we have been trying our best to give them opportunities to attend knowledge improvement events and courses, until now we did not have a specialized Institution that is exclusively dedicated to leadership, enterprise development and business management training. In response to this long overdue demand, the Diocese of Enugu is today taking a decision to constitute the Board of this institute so that it can hit the ground running,” he added.
While congratulating Engr. (Sir) Chris Okoye, for bringing up the idea of the Institute during their Synod in 2015, and for doing all the speed work that has culminated in the inaugural ceremony, Chukwuma said he is happy that the Board is composed of people from diverse experiences and backgrounds.
“I am informed that the Board members are coming from distinguished competencies in various fields. I am quite confident that this diversity will provide a healthy foundation for the success of IES. The Board should have the capacity to identify the entrepreneurship and enterprise development needs and challenges of the Church and the society at large, and develop strategies to respond to them.
“The leadership expected of the Board calls for proactive involvement and readiness to react to situations with forthrightness, dedication, commitment and relevance. The Board must have a listening ear. It must be professional, timely and realistic in its responses. It is my sincere wish that the Board will meet the challenge and help the clientele of IES acquire the best entrepreneurial virtues,” Chukwuma stated.
Chukwuma further explained that the Board has the responsibility to guide the Institute in the pursuit of its vision and mission as well as core values, which he charged the Board to quickly establish and sharpen.
He said, “This is an era of heightened expectations from the people we serve, and the forces of globalisation have continue to dictate the rules of engagement both at the local and international scene. I therefore urge the Board to think both locally and globally in the right proportions and act locally to the greatest extent possible.
“Indeed, to act locally requires the meshing of foreign and local knowledge, and I want to challenge the Board to institutionalise a process for structured tapping of local knowledge in entrepreneurial development, an approach that is currently missing from most entrepreneurial programmes in Nigeria. I will be glad to see case studies of local business successes produced and used in IES alongside successful foreign ones,” he added.
Speaking on behalf of the members of the board, the Chairman, Engr. Okoye in his acceptance speech said that that since after the Nigerian civil war in 1970, the quest for economic and social development in the present South East geo-political zone has been intense.
He said, “Families, communities and governments in the region have launched several initiatives to promote economic opportunities. The boom in crude oil price from 1973 created illusions of Eden regained in which a small number benefited. Unfortunately, the pervasive impact of the petroleum sector has caused four pronounced negative economic shocks in 1978-1980; 1982-1999; 2007-2009; and 2014 to date.”
“In each of these episodes, a number of people fell off the ladder of success after investing enormous effort. The 1982 to 1999 episode involved structural adjustment and banking failures, which hit many families hard. It consumed African Continental Bank, Cooperative Bank of Eastern Nigeria, Progress Bank and Oriental Bank, which were household names in this part. Pioneer manufacturing companies in Nigeria such as Nigerian Cement Company Nkalagu; Niger Steel, Emene; Niger Gas Emene; Golden Guinea Breweries, Umuahia; Cotton Mill Onitsha, Aba and Asaba Textile Mills, AVOP Vegetable Oil Company, Nachi and many others.”
Okoye add that it is his hope that the IES achieve a vision of becoming a reputable entrepreneurial resource centre in the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion with a mission to be a catalyst in facilitating the emergence of a new generation of growth-oriented, smart, honest, and value-driven entrepreneurs who will fan the dwindling embers of prosperity in our land.
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