The high level of unemployment that bedevilled the Nigerian society as a result of the global pandemic has left an unprecedented rise in the number of individuals without jobs, salary reduction and job uncertainty thereby leading to hard financial times.
A recent report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) states that on the average, 4 out of 10 individual in Nigeria has real per capita expenditures below 137,430 naira in a year, what this means is that over 82.9 million Nigerians are considered poor and as such fall below the poverty threshold.
This data further reveals that 52 percent of people in rural areas live in abject poverty while18 percent are in the urban parts of Nigeria. At the centre of this is the average Nigerian whose dreams could be on hold and the future be uncertain.
If truth be told, the belief in the conventional career path is inherently flawed because it encourages studying to find jobs that could vanish any moment. It goes thus: You get a job, advance in that job, command more salary and promotions in the cause of being in a paid employment and eventually retire to live off on retirement funds. Millions of Nigerians today follow this path, by relying on a single occupation that studies have shown, could lead to a total financial failure.
In a recent private conversation about what can be done to reduce poverty in Nigeria, Nigeria-based property investment entrepreneur, with vast experience in the real estate sector value chain, Oluwatobi Oladele, Chief Executive Officer of FIPS Multilinks, shared his thoughts and ideologies with Radarr Africa
“One of the biggest factors preventing many people from having extra streams of income is the misconception that to earn an additional line of income, they have to devote an extra full-time job’s worth of time and energy to the same profession. This isn’t true, one can earn streams of income while keeping on the 5 to 6 job. All that is needed is to be strategic and map out a flexible timing for both jobs”. Oluwatobi begun
“There are countless untapped opportunities in Nigeria where people can create a solution by just identifying a problem in their community, and the real estate sector is one area with several opportunities. People can generate extra income amounting to millions of Naira by simply joining and working as a part-time sales consultant with most real estate development firms. Opportunities lie in real estate consulting and referral marketing, where a sales consultant simply invites friends and family to buy or sell a property and earn a commission as a downline or referrer, this can quickly translate into hundreds of thousands of Naira to a referrer”. Oluwatobi Shared.
According to him, relying on a single source of income in today’s economy isn’t smart, especially as most high paying jobs barely guarantee financial security. “One lesson the pandemic taught us is that nobody’s job is safe and the best way to stay a step ahead is by having several passive incomes to complement your 5 to 9 job”. He stated.
“The real estate sector has a lot to contribute in reducing the unemployment gap in Nigeria, but first, there must be a fluid collaboration between the public and the private sectors. The government should regulate the industry and implement policies that will assist property developers to create more value by building more properties. By doing this alone, more properties will inevitably be erected, which will lead to more houses being bought, more artisans will be engaged in the construction processes, more staff employed in the property companies and it goes on, ultimately leading to job creation and economic growth simply by focusing on policies governing one industry, now imaging replicating this in multiple other industries like Telecommunications, consumer goods, Media, fashion and more”, Oluwatobi Opined.
Oluwatobi Oladele holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Federal Polytechnic, Bida and a Master of Business Administration with specialization in Entrepreneurial Management from Lagos Business School and Pan-Atlantic University.
He has over 20 years of working experience in the Engineering and construction industry in different organizations in Nigeria, as well as over 15 years of expertise in various aspects of Real Estate such as consulting, strategic advisor, sales, business development, & marketing, construction and project management, and project management, across other real estate development firms in Lagos, Nigeria.
He is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of FIPS Multilinks a real estate development and marketing company in Lagos, Nigeria.
1 comment
Deep insight!