A concerned Igbo man, Mazi Ifeanyi Nwosu has raised alarm that the Igbo traditional apprenticeship system will be extinct in the near future unless drastic measures are taking to stem the tide.
Mazi Nwosu made the remarks in a recent video he posted on Facebook, a social media outfit.
He noted that most of our youths choose Methamphetamine, commonly known as “Mkpụrụ Mmiri”, over and above apprenticeship and education.
He remarked that some Igbo businesses will be stagnant if care is not taken.
“Ụmụ odibọ/boy should be encouraged by ndị oga. Make sure you treat them well maka echi,” he remarked.
For centuries, the Southeastern region of Nigeria has practiced what is known today as stakeholder capitalism — a construct that businesses must elevate the interests of communities, workers, consumers, and the environment alongside those of shareholders.
The Igbos, the predominant ethnic group in the region, are known for the Igbo apprenticeship system, a communal enterprising framework where successful businesses develop others, and over time provide capital and give away their customers to the new businesses.
The implication is that few businesses grow to become very dominant, since they keep relinquishing market share, and in doing so, they accomplish one thing: a largely equal community where everyone has opportunities, no matter how small.
It is noteworthy that Igbo Apprenticeship System (lAS) was recently approved by Harvard Business Review.
The approval followed the groundbreaking work of Ndubuisi Ekekwe, a Nigerian professor, on the Igbo Apprenticeship System.
The Igbos in Africa has been practicing for centuries what is today known as stakeholder capitalism.
IAS is a communal enterprising framework where successful businesses develop others, and over time provide capital and pass along their customers to the new businesses.
Some businesses grow to become very dominant, and in doing so, create the equal community where everyone has opportunities.
The key focus of IAS is to prevent poverty by mass scaling opportunities for everyone.
The IAS has been recognized as the largest business incubator in the world as thousands of ventures are developed and established yearly through it.
Many have noted that the Igbo apprenticeship system could be reformed to provide better protection to the young apprentices.
Others, however, have argued that formalizing the process will distort the natural equilibrium where people derive pride that they helped younger people.
Nonetheless, for the Igbos and some Africans, it is a working system which has brought equality and peaceful coexistence in communities.
Respecting the recent nonchalant attitude towards the Igbo Apprenticeship System, an observer noted:
“I have also noticed it in Kano, Igbos have lost out in trading and are being replaced by Hausas in Kano and in other places by other non-Igbos.
“Nobody in Igboland wants to do boiboi [apprenticeship] and no parents wants their sons to do same.
“Everybody wants ego mmabute [get rich quick syndrome] yet money they no see.
“Many have turned to hard drugs including Mkpurumiri and this is just the beginning.
“It has been said that by 2048, Igbos will no longer be controlling trading in Nigeria and beyond.
“Even inside main market, I have seen some northerners owing shops and selling inside main part of the market. I know two.
“All we do now is look for where to mabute ego [get rich quick]; if we don’t see, we start attacking few successful ones amongst us.
“Nobody wants to bend down. Everybody is an alpha male,” he lamented.
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