The Lagos District Society and Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has commenced a partnership arrangement with the social service foundation set up by the new Oniru of Iruland in Lagos State on basic accounting training of young entrepreneurs within Iruland. The two-week training, commencing last week within Iru community and expected to end in the week ahead, was a pioneering effort of ICAN in collaboration with the HRM Abisogun 11 Foundation (HA11F) on peace and thought leadership.
The training, described as ‘business bootcamp for entrepreneurs in Iruland’ by the organisers, was intended to boost the capacity of beneficiaries and help them better manage their business finances. Attended by about 50 participants from various professional and business backgrounds with business enterprises mostly within Iru community, the participants were taught on basic accounting principles and techniques to help them manage their transactions, keep records and ensure growth.
The business bootcamp, involving free training by professional accountants, was described as a form of contribution to the community’s development. At the opening ceremony, the Oniru of Iruland, His Royal Majesty Abdulwasiu Omogbolahan Lawal, disclosed that the idea fits in well with his “passion to make positive impact, build capacity, assist people to be fulfilled and self-reliant, create wealth and prosperity as well as give back to the community such gems as would change many lives permanently for the better.” He said, as a traditional ruler, he was preoccupied with how to “do well by doing good” and give back to the community. According to him, “this has made it possible to attract individuals and corporate organisations that are willing and ready to do the same for and in my domain.” He congratulated ICAN for this type of partnership “which is ‘steps higher’ than what many call Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR).”
The Oniru, obviously considering the success of the bootcamp as part of his scorecard, underscored the significance of the timing of the bootcamp, saying he clocked six months on the throne within the week, which was also the week of certificate award ceremony for over 200 female beneficiaries of the vocational and skill acquisition training within Iruland, organised by HA11F in partnership with the Lagos State government. Explaining his desire for the prosperity of his people, the Oniru expressed his delight that the bootcamp event “marks part of the fulfilment of such a desire.”
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A former government official and a long-standing commissioner in Lagos State, Oniru Lawal expressed the view that “while we expect the government to lead the way in finding lasting solutions to all” the “socio-economic problems, we cannot in all honesty expect government to solve all of them. That necessitates back up or complementary efforts from other power centres such as professional bodies and traditional authorities. It calls for innovative leadership, the type exemplified by collaboration that brought this bootcamp into existence. He urged the participants at the bootcamp not to trivialise the training because they got it free of charge.
The new chairman of Lagos ICAN, Mrs. Constance Nwokejiobi, noted that organising the business bootcamp in collaboration with HA11F “is set up to scale up the capacity of entrepreneurs within Iruland on leveraging the fundamental principles that is required to optimise business opportunities and serve as an awakening to new approaches that can be adopted to develop the existing business opportunities in Iruland.” She said, although ICAN, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has partnered with schools and communities over the years to make impact and promote the accounting profession within our communities, “this pilot programme with 50 participants is the first community-based” finance training for non-finance entrepreneurs “pioneered by a monarch for entrepreneurs in collaboration with ICAN in Nigeria.
Nwokejiobi said: “This programme is part of our support for national content strategy to promote advocacy, enhance supplier diversity and economic empowerment for men and women” in “businesses.” According to her, “we believe this project will spur the interest of businesses, thereby creating a ripple development.” She said her professional body plans to train about 50 entrepreneurs each quarter, so that an estimated “200 business men and women would be financially literate and equipped” within a year, “with the right skill set required to operate an efficient business.”
The executive director of HA11F, Mrs. Folusho Olaniyan (OON), spoke of “great unmet needs” globally, arguing that “we have to act locally in every part of the world in order to meet these needs and accomplish these expectations that have global implications.” She added that “attention has traditionally been on government as the sole actor and provider, meeting such needs. But the new reality now is that civil society, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), faith-based organisations, corporate organisations and traditional institutions are now having innovative opportunities and reasons to get involved in meeting societal needs and solving social problems, individually or in partnership, for the common good.”
Olaniyan called for flexibility in the perception of CSR, adding that, with partnership and collaboration at the core, “the collaboration between HA11F and ICAN, with the active support of the City of David, are working together to ensure the creation of shared values through the capacity building and human capital development training programme commencing here today.” She said there are so many ways through which the efforts to address societal concerns can yield productivity benefits, and “human capital development is one of them.” She noted that “helping the disadvantaged people living within the same communities with the privileged is more of an imperative than choice. Helping them this way reduces social tension, discontent and insecurity.”
Olaniyan commended Oniru’s visionary leadership and passion, helping to transform dreams to realities within Iruland. She expressed gratitude to the leadership of ICAN for agreeing to embark on this training for all the participants at no cost to them, and to the City of David “for the liberality and provision of this beautiful and conducive environment for the hosting” of the programme.
