AT a conference we facilitated at the Lagos Business School in August, I had a discussion with a friend who made a powerful speech on motivating Nigerian youths to success.

I told him afterwards that although I shared in his message and value but I had some fears. This was based on my interactions which reveal that the shortcomings of state, leadership, enterprise or community in Nigeria are not based on a lack of motivation at all. On the contrary, almost every Nigerian is convinced that he or she will succeed.

Make it. Someday. Somehow. So we don’t really need motivational or inspirational speakers to make us know that we will make it. We already know that. It will happen someday.

The real challenge is in convincing Nigerians that every motivation for wealth or success without the will to back it with practical plans (with multi-layer strategic analysis), hard work, vision and tenacity is nothing more than hallucination.

Success is never separate from the process. There is a huge gap or disconnect between the conviction that wealth will come and the acknowledgment of the need for practical plans to accomplish the expectations. You’ll find that when you ask Nigerians how they plan to achieve success, you’ll be very disappointed if you expect to hear any deeply analytical thought process or plan that is designed to practically navigate the path to wealth. We expect overnight miracles.

When a Nigerian asks you a question on an innovative idea, new business, concept or investment, the expectation is usually a one-layer answer: Yes, it will work, go ahead. Or, no, it will not work, don’t do it! Anything in between or more, you lose his interest or attention. Little or no interest in detailed analytical thought process, planning or strategizing.

A business is judged to be lucrative if it is simple to invest and reap profits overnight. A company is assessed to be a good place to work if the company’s image is large(to allow us show off in social circles), the pay is good and allows us a generous amount of free time to do other business on the side.

Any company where your daily efforts are required to contribute to revenue generation is viewed as a place of suffering.  Government positions are deemed lucrative because the majority of Nigerians view it as a great opportunity to amass instant wealth..

How can we then as a nation, handle the complex multi-layer challenges associated with governance to lift us out of the doldrums we find ourselves in? Leadership challenges are similar in entrepreneurship and governance.

In the developed world, the society knows that nothing of significance is ever achieved with a single layer thought process. Every innovation, creativity or idea most times throws up equally daunting challenges. When the designers conceived the idea of the Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger jetliner, there were many daunting challenges including regulatory restrictions on wing span, speed of emergency evacuation of all of the over 800 passengers, etc.

There was also the high risk of damage by bird strikes at high collision speed. Rather than abandoning the concept based on the many challenges and limitations, Airbus conducted extensive research, tests and analysis to develop cost effective solutions. The Eagle’s flight technique was studied to discover how the large birds used angled manipulations at their wing tips to overcome limitations posed by wing-tip vortexes which would otherwise impede lift and flight.

Designers adapted this process to develop angled addition to the wing tips that solved the problem. A 12th century bow making technique which used two different materials to make shorter, durable bows that could fire arrows accurately over 300 meters was the motivation to develop the composite material of aluminium and fibre glass which was used in the aircraft body building as a lighter and much tougher material.

Similar research and tenacity was used to resolve other challenges. Test flights, one in September 2006 and two in March 2007 were part of practical testing and refinement process. Despite the over $15b spent on development and research costs, Airbus and partners remained committed to making the vision a reality.

There is always a cost to greatness. In June 2009, Singapore Airlines made the first commercial flight using the A380 to land in Paris. The French, German, British and Spanish governments invested heavily into the 10 year aircraft development programme to challenge the American Boeing 747 jetliner. In Nigeria, we are at least investing in diesel and diesel generators to power our homes, factories and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Our banks, insurance
companies, entrepre
neurs, presidents, governors, senators, legislators, workers, leaders, followers, journalists, engineers, social scientists, students, lecturers, and all citizens stand no chance of making any real progress or head way if we continue with a one-layer thinking and instant profit mindset. We must find joy and satisfaction in the rewards of due diligence, deep analysis, patience, planning and commitment in the practice of our chosen profession, career or position. Let’s devote more space in our media to sharing constructive ideas to enduring enterprise, leadership and nation-building instead of all the criticism directed at the government. We all make up the government at different levels, so we should not expect miracles on sudden assumption of office. No matter how much the banks re-consolidate, the rot will remain if the mindset does not change. The growth of banks must be tied to real sector growth. Anything else is an aberration that will never last. The many societal problems in Nigeria are opportunities for growth and sustainable entrepreneurship.