How unemployment made me a trader – Computer Science graduate

Kindly introduce yourself and your educational background.My name is Abdulwasiu Adebayo. I hold a Higher National Diploma (HND) certificate in Computer Science, Post Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Education and I am also an associate member of Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria.What are you doing presently for a living?I am into marketing services, I am […]

Kindly introduce yourself and your educational background.
My name is Abdulwasiu Adebayo. I hold a Higher National Diploma (HND) certificate in Computer Science, Post Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Education and I am also an associate member of Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria.
What are you doing presently for a living?
I am into marketing services, I am a marketing agent. I am into general contract and supply of P & G products including baby diapers, toiletries and sanitary pads among others.
Why did you decide to be self-employed after studying computer science in the higher institution?
There are many factors behind my decision to be self-employed. Firstly, lack of employment is the major reason I decided to be self- reliant. I graduated from the higher institution in 2006 and since then, getting a job in line with what I studied has been difficult. Though, I initially got a job as a teacher and later worked in a trading company before I finally quit and decided to stand on my own.
So, how do you run your business, since you went solo?
Well, the business has to do with collecting goods from distributors as a wholesaler and supplying to the retailers; so I serve as a middleman between the distributor and the retailers. The business is all about selling. You have to first register with the distributor you intend to transact business with and then you will buy goods worth thousands of naira. I deal on P and G products including diapers, sanitary pads, toileteries and toothpaste among others. For easy access, I have a shop which serves as a registered office where customers come to get their supplies and we sell at fixed price from the distributor.
How much did it cost you to start the business?
I started the business officially with N350, 000, which is the minimum cost of goods you can buy from the distributor for a start but thereafter, you can buy goods worth N200, 000N or 150,000 but you cannot buy goods lower than N100, 000 at any point in time.
Will you describe the business as being lucrative?
Yes, it is lucrative depending on how prudent the operator of the business is.
How come you are enjoying the business when it has nothing to do with your field of study, computer?
Yes, it seems not to have anything to do with computer but it still has a lot to do with computer because I use computer to configure my sales. Precisely, I use the Quick book package. So my knowledge of computer science is enhancing my business.
Do you still desire to do a white collar job or are you satisfied with what you are doing?
Human being can never be satisfied with whatever level he or she is. If there is a bigger opportunity, I will not allow it pass me by but not to the detriment of what I am doing presently so as to serve as a source of employment to the young ones because I presently have two workers in my employ.
Do you have any regret doing this work and what have you been able to achieve since you began the trading?
I don’t have any form of regret. It is this business that led to the registration of the Non-Governmental Organisation, Youth Development and Moral Rebirth Initiative. Money that was used to register the NGO was sourced from the business and the NGO is impacting positively on the lives of youths especially.
What is your call to unemployed graduates out there who are hell-bent on getting a white collar job to survive in life?
My advice to them is that there is no harm in going into self- employment provided there is a means of doing so because as it is now, government at all levels cannot provide employment for the huge number of graduates that are being churned out on a yearly basis likewise the private sector; so the only alternative for the youths is to be self-employed. They should use the skill, the knowledge they acquired from school to create something that can serve as a source of livelihood. Government on its own part too needs to create an enabling environment because some of the challenges youths face when they want to organise themselves capital wise is lack of funds to start up as well as lack of knowledge of the business which requires training. You cannot just jump into a business without adequate knowledge of the business else you will end up wasting the capital. Starting a business has technical, legal and financial requirements. Legal requirement is to register it with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC); the technical requirement is to have the training on the business and then the finance to run the business. Training is very important; in fact I had to learn my business for a year before standing on my own in 2011.    
You are one of the founders of Youth Development and Moral Rebirth Initiative, what is the drive behind founding the organisation?
The organisation was founded in 2009 but was officially registered as a corporate body last year. It is aimed at promoting the high level of morality especially among the youths. We collaborate with faith based organisations, educational institutions and other relevant bodies towards promoting morality and youth empowerment as well as to combat and campaign against act of indecency, indiscipline, immodesty, violence, corruption and terrorism as well as to equip the youths with values for their participation in the development of the society and also to organise public enlightenment programmes by way of seminars, summit and public enlightenment programmes.
Why did you decide to focus on morality?
There is an adage that says that ‘a nation lives as long as it morality lives and the nation declines when the morality of the people living within declines’. So in order to safe guard our environment, we have to promote high level of morality especially among the youths because youths of this day don’t exhibit culture of morality in the conduct of their activities.

There seems to be an increasing level of immorality in our society, what is your organisation doing to curtail this?
Our organisation is trying in term of organising enlightenment and awareness against the societal ills including corruption, terrorism, violence and indiscipline among others. We are also organising orientation and rehabilitation for the youths as well as youth empowerment because you cannot rehabilitate the youths without empowering them. We render educational empowerment to some of them by encouraging them to go to school and facilitate the means of their going to school. In term of enlightenment, we have been able to reach thousands of youths while in terms of empowerment, we have empowered about hundred youths due to financial constraints.
Apart from registering the NGO, how has your business been of help to your NGO?
It has been very helpful as most of the funds used in running the NGO are gotten from the business. Though we normally solicit for funds but in situations where we cannot get the required amount to carry out some activities, I shoulder the responsibility as the president of the organisation.
What is your call to government?
My call to government is to assist us. Though, they have been supporting us morally but in terms of finance, we have not been supported by government. So I call on government to look into our activities and find a way to assist because we have a lot of programmes for the benefit of the Nigerian youths.