“It is still affecting me because I am no longer on a monthly payment but contract pays all because of school,” she added.
By: Fatoyinbo Aminat
Although many would-be entrepreneurs may think it’s best to wait on their budding business ideas until they graduate. Some are engaged before gaining admission while some go into business while still in school. The question now is, how do they manage both?
STUDENTS’ ANGLE
Nwosu Ukamaka Abigail, a flight attendant and a student of Mass Communication, Lagos State Polytechnic, said combining the two is not easy for her.
“July 2018, I was unable to start the semester with them until a month to exams because I had to leave the country because of work.
“I missed a whole lot of tests and it became very tough to balance both work and academics.
“2019, it was almost the same because I also left school for work only that this time, my friends gave me updates on class activities and I ensure I do my assignment then send to them for submission so I had it a little easier,” she said.
Amaka explained that she had to spend her midnight hours reading and making researches to cope with the school works she missed during her absence from class.
“It is still affecting me because I am no longer on a monthly payment but contract pays all because of school,” she added.
Shobodun Zainab, a baker and a final year student of Accounting, Lagos State University said sometimes she leaves school to attend to her business.
“I bake cakes and sell clothes. As regards the clothes, going to market, dealing with increment in prices and many more are the struggles I face. In cases when I have a cake to bake for my customers, that’s even more exhausting because I have to leave school for home.
“All of my baking pieces of equipment are home and by so doing I miss whatever it is that is being done in school. This is not because I am not serious but I do this to make money to pay my school fees and also have money to do my assignments,” she stressed.
Olapade Kaosarat, ND student of Mass Communication, Lagos State Polytechnic, and graphic designer agreed that working and schooling are okay with her but the challenge is that one outweighs the other.
“What I mean by this is that I am 70% in one part and 30% in the other. For instance, there was a day I have an afternoon exam so I stayed in the shop to go through what I have read before leaving for school.
“As I was about to close my shop, a customer came saying she wanted to type and design her banner, looking at what she wanted to do I know it would earn me a lot of money. I told her to come back but she said she needed it urgently.
“As every other person will feel, I was pained but there was nothing I could do at that moment because of my exam. I just had to let her go with the money,” she explained.
According to Agidi Emmanuel, an HND 3 student of Mass Communication, Lagos State Polytechnic and a dealer in men’s wears said: “I find it difficult to combine because I like to be in class so I can get a well-detailed explanation of the lectures being delivered so at a point I had to postpone all of my business deals to weekends.
“There are some days customers will call you to deliver goods for them and you also have classes to attend. Now, what are you going to do? It’s either you miss classes or you lose the client which I am very sure is not an option because that is where you earn your living so class suffers it.
“Struggling to balance them both is very tedious and almost impossible.”
LECTURERS Viewpoint
Immediate past Assistant Director, School of Part-Time Studies Day, Lagos State Polytechnic, Isolo Campus, and a Senior Lecturer, Department of Marketing, Mr. Pearse Olugbenga emphasized that it’s not a new trend for a student to have an entrepreneurship skill.
” In fact, in our current economy, one must possess one entrepreneurship skill or the other irrespective of who you are to assist the Nigerian economy and also help it grow.
“If you are fending for yourself as most students do, then I don’t see any challenges in managing both together. It’s just a matter of being able to manipulate yourself to be a complete product and be useful to yourself.
“For it to be easy for you to combine both academic and business, you need to look for the entrepreneurship skill in your field of study. By doing this, it won’t take you away from your field of study as well as from class.
“In as much as you can do this, then you are good to go,” he concluded.
A lecturer at the Department of Entrepreneurship, Lagos State Polytechnic, Mr. Balogun Olumuyiwa explained that entrepreneurship has come to stay in Nigeria and that the government has advised every student to learn one entrepreneurship skill or the other.
He said the students have to plan themselves and make timing important in their daily routine. “In entrepreneurship, you can be in school and also own your business or have your skill. To balance both, you need to plan yourself well. To achieve both aims without one collapsing or suffering for the other, timing is very essential. You dedicate specific hours for lectures and the others for your business or skill.
“By doing this, you will have smooth coordination of both,” Balogun said.