I drove to the Olowu street headquarters for car batteries in Lagos. The place was bustling and very busy as usual.
My new car was running cold in motion, and someone had said that the clips on the battery were loose. So I branched the place to have it tightened and promptly drove into the hands of some of the most aggressive salespeople you will ever see.
From just tightening the clip, I bought a new battery, bought a new alternator, bought new brake pads, and was moving towards replacing the car before I came back to my senses.
These boys are sharp, aggressive, and go-getters. They knew what they wanted and understood sales. Playing on my fear, naivety, and need to have a good job, they sold everything to me.
I loved them and started engaging them. Uche was the battery salesman. He had just gotten his freedom, and his boss set him up with N300,000,
from where he got a shop and started with two batteries. He thanks God because he is among the few lucky who got paid.
From there onwards, it was tales of woe. Kelechi had served for 13 years, after which he was locked up for ‘stealing’ and to regain his freedom; he was asked to forgo his settlement funds.
This was the story of most of the boys I encountered, and they concurred that this was the case generally.
Modestus ran from Kano. His master detained him and made sure he was banished. He had served for over 9 years. James was lucky after three years, he asked to leave and got N400,000, which he doesn’t know what to do with.
Sébastien was very hardworking as he changed my brakes. He wasn’t paid, but instead, he paid to be taught and now had to pay the Omo onile N500 every time he repaired a car on the land.
Chike was good-looking with a good smile. He, too, had been chased out by his master and now collected ground rents on behalf of his Yoruba master. So, in a day, he makes about N8,000 and pays out N5,000 to his landowner.
The shock from hearing these stories can not be explained. I had heard about this but didn’t believe it was this generalized.
My shoe merchant had told me how his own master had set him free with just N13,000 after over 10 years. The Gardner in my estate had gone to jail for years after serving and only got his freedom by forgoing his claim to settlement
I had thought these were far and invitees cases, but from what I am hearing this morning at the Olowu market, it looks like the Igbos are eating up themselves
The Igbo apprenticeship scheme has been a much-vaunted scheme that has been running for ages of not centuries.
It has been shown as a remarkable example of Igbo industriousness where business and trade schemes were passed down through generations empowering the youths and ensuring that the Igbos remain independently economically reliant
But today, this same scheme seems to have been bastardized by a new set of ‘masters who would rather see their words as slaves to be used for wealth creation and not to be rewarded.
I think the major source of this problem is the lack of institutionalization of the scheme as it remains exposed to the vagaries of the inclement business climate
How do you settle say four boys N500k each when our business is in debt? When you are owing banks or when customs have seized your goods.
I’m so, instead of being a man, that you throw up trump in charges to escape the need to settle your ward.
This is not to say that some of these boys do not ‘settle’ themselves before their time, but the informality of the whole process just makes the whole system open to the abuses we see now.
This is why asset management firms, insurance, and other such allied should come in with sustainable initiatives that would ensure that adequate provisions like sinking funds, target savings, and other such products can come in and support the Masters to build a veritable settlement scheme for their wards
These laudable schemes should not be allowed to be destroyed. We should strengthen it and replicate it nationally and use it as a powerful tool to fight unemployment, wealth creation, financial inclusion amongst others.
Thanks
Duke of Shomolu