THE REALITY IN LIFE AFTER SCHOOL

‘The worst thing you can do after leaving school is to work for any company or person. It irritates me to see a large crowd of graduates struggling to be factory worker. It is how big you can think that will determine how far you can go in life,’ those where the word of the chief speaker, Mr. Ogbo Awoke at a workshop organized by the association Demography and Sociology students on Thursday 20th 2010 at OAU cooperative hall.

According to the President, Olaosun Dewe, a 400 level student of Demography and Social Statistics he said, ‘This is the first Demography leadership and Entrepreneurship workshop (DLW). This workshop is meant to make students job providers and not job seeker. It will make them self reliant and serves as an eye opener for all students to the unlimited opportunities available to us after school.’

Engineer Antony Oba the CEO of Tropical Entrepreneurship Development Center, ‘Students should be able to start a job of their own even while on campus. Unfortunately, the system is not encouraging them. Students should not complain about initial capital to start off. The first thing they need is the idea, ideas that are solutions to the problems of the society. You can start small; you don’t need all the money in the world to start off. You can start with 5000 naira and then you will grow. Most students are coming in fresh to the market and they are looking for 1 or 2 million Niara. Where do you think you will get it? When people see the success you are making with the little you have started with, then you will attract money. Students can start by selling books to their colleagues and I call it portfolio bookshop. There is nothing wrong in dreaming big, neither is there anything bad with starting small.’

Mr. Ogbo Awoke requested for seven volunteers to have a bite on an Apple and after each has had a bite. He showed the participants how much each ate, and he said, ‘life is a big round apple, all you have is one bite.’ He further said, ‘there is no limit to your ideas, Chinua Achebe published Thing Fall Apart at 26 was are you doing?

One of the participants, Adeseye Matthew a 300level student of Demography said, ‘This seminar came at the right time, especially at a time where the numbers of job seekers are innumerable. Many of us are thinking of working with Shell or Chevron and her is someone her to talk to us (Mr. Ogbo) who shuttled between shell and Chevron and still resigned on his own. Working in such places is false life because once you are sacked you cannot live the life you were living while on the job. My orientation has changed.’

Afolabi Oni

400 level Education English