Bianca Iboma
In the face of Nigeria’s abundant human and material resources, the majority of the citizenry continues to wallow in poverty, disease and near-destitution. The simple reason, Chinedu Onyeizu argues, is that the country has not been led by visionary leaders in the decades after the civil war ended in 1970. Onyeizu is the Chief Executive of Afripera Limited, a strategy consulting group that is focused on supporting emerging governments at local, national and regional levels. In 2018, he joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) and contested as the youngest senatorial aspirant of the party, with a promise to help reform the Nigerian energy industry if elected but unfortunately he didn’t go beyond the primaries of the party. In this interview with Sunday Sun he reveals that the political economy of the country would witness rapid growth if the youths are empowered.
Please give us a snapshot of your background.
I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri. I have a Master of Business Administration degree from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston. USA, where I studied as a member of the 2017 Sloan Fellows cohort. Currently, I have enrolled for a Masters in Science with focus on Strategic Planning at Heriot-Watt University, United Kingdom.
I started my career in 2004 as a research associate with the Petroleum Technology Development Fund. I later joined Chevron as a petroleum engineer in 2007. Since then, I have assumed senior leadership roles as a staff of the multinational company. Currently, I am the chief executive of AfriPERA Limited, a strategy consulting group that is focused on supporting emerging governments at local, national and regional levels.
I am committed to the growth and development of Nigeria. In 2003, despite earning less than $100 per month as monthly allowance from my participation in the country’s one year national youth service program, I devoted my meager resources and time to plan and coordinate a free eye clinic and medical outreach that involved 12 British specialists in expert doctors in Kaiama, Bayelsa State for people with cataract and other less privileged people in the society. Through the project we restored sight to over 67 persons who had become blind because of cataract. The effort earned me the Best Corps Member of the Year award.
In January 2012, during the nationwide fuel crisis period, I quit my job in the oil and gas company to seek a permanent solution to our liquid energy challenges. At MIT, I developed a three node strategic model that could permanently solve the problem of fuel scarcity in Nigeria. I am one of the few Nigerians that feature on the MIT Technology Experts blog forum.
What do you think is crucial to achieve national unity and development?
To improve on national unity amongst the diverse ethnic groups and interests in Nigeria, our leaders and my fellow citizens need to start seeing our diversity as a form of identity and strength. We need to learn to leverage it to promote unity and development. Additionally, to improve unity in the country, political appointments at various levels should be approached from the prism of fairness and equity.
With increasing level of exposure and education, I believe we can identify very competent and credible Nigerians from the six geopolitical zones, who can effectively occupy any political position in the country. It is enshrined in the country’s constitution under the section on Federal Character as it relates to political appointments and inclusion.
Therefore, sustainable unity can be fostered through deliberate inclusion of competent and hardworking Nigerians who have come from the various geopolitical zones of the country.
Apart from encouraging inclusiveness, based on geopolitical zone of origin and national unity, emerging countries like Singapore strive through inclusiveness on gender and age demography.
This concern can be resolved with government affirmative action programmes allocating a certain percentage of appointments to competent youths and women in the country.
What are the factors hindering youth development in the country?
Lack of leadership development programmes and initiatives contribute to the poor development of our youths. I believe the country is yet to invest significantly in development programmes. The cost of participating in qualitative youth development programmes is usually exorbitant and with the rising cost of living, personal capacity development typically becomes a low priority item on the expenditure plan of young Nigerians.
But this concern can be ameliorated if the government invests in subsidizing participation at different levels through scholarships, if the programs are held abroad for example. The government can try to organize boot camps or events in-country on a periodic basis as a means of bringing the opportunities closer home. Also, the government must always invest in building leadership skills for our youths in general.
Towards a better Nigeria, what can be done to develop the minds of young Nigerians?
Three things need to be done. One is for us to include youths in national development plans and strategy. Two, we have to provide an enabling environment for the private sector to create employment opportunities for our teeming youths. And three, our leaders should model good leadership characteristics for our youths.
What lessons has life taught you as a person?
I’ve had vast experiences in my life and met many people from different parts of the world, each with their unique type of personality. Some left me with regrettable experiences but most of them enduring memories. My two most significant life changing lessons occurred in Kaima village, Bayelsa State and in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
In both cases, I learnt to be resilient and persevere in the face of rejection, abuse, disapproval and discrimination. I also experienced the power and audacity of hope in what is yet to become. Overall, I managed to stay determined and focused with my eyes on the task at hand and looking back, I am thankful to God for seeing me through those.
Who influenced your growing up, mum or dad?
Both my parents played very active roles in my upbringing. My late mother was a teacher and my father was a licensed land surveyor. They both were very supportive at various stages in my life.
My dad, who previously was a mathematics and physics teacher in a secondary school was a big influence in making me love science and subsequently encouraging me to study Petroleum Engineering for my undergraduate education in the university. He always reminded me that “the world is a place where the fittest survives.”
He would always say that his wealth was for himself and his wife. He deliberately didn’t make any provisions for my siblings and myself, but I thank him for letting us go into the world after completing the national youth service. It pushed us to become strong on our two feet and create our own lives.
You have an enviable job why do you want to leave it for politics?
Patriotism. I started reaching out to disadvantaged people in our society at a very young age. It gave me joy, and now when I look back, I am passionate about helping to put smiles on the faces of Nigerians passing through hard times due to the neglect and recklessness of irresponsible officials in government.
Secondly and very importantly, I wanted to inspire other young leaders in Nigeria to participate in creating or rather strengthening our democracy.
With unemployment rate at 23.1%, what do you think Nigeria should prioritise to empower its youths?
Well, I think our leaders should go back to the drawing board and start putting together strategic plans that will create millions of jobs for our teeming youths. As a country, we still fall within the bracket of countries that depend on agrarian produce at subsistence level to sustain its economy. Apart from crude oil, the next major sector that makes up our GDP is the agricultural sector. However, a sector that needs to be given priority attention is the industrial sector, which the present government is beginning to embrace.
In my view it is the right move for job creation. If the focus on infrastructural development and the move to an industrialised market economy is sustained, the high unemployment rate amongst youths will be significantly reduced.
However, to achieve these goals of industrialising our economy, the right set of fiscal as well as investment policies will need to be adopted at state and national levels. Attracting foreign direct investment in the agrarian, manufacturing and services sector will translate to the creation of millions of jobs for our hardworking youth population.
Tell us a bit about your growing up and life in Lagos?
I came from a middle-class family of four siblings, two boys and two girls. Our childhood was as good as one can imagine.
However, there were downtimes in the family and happy times too. I think I am one of the very lucky Nigerians who had a comfortable upbringing. Although I had been to Lagos a couple of times, I permanently moved over to Lagos in 2007 after securing a job with a multinational oil and gas company. My only sad experience in Lagos was losing my mother shortly after I relocated.
Where is your favorite holiday destination?
My village, Abayi Ohanze in Abia State, Nigeria.
I have travelled around the world but I’m a local man at heart. Alternatively, I like to spend some my holidays in the beautiful city of Pau in France.