A professor of Accounting in the Department of Management and Accounting, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Rafiu Oyesola Salawu, has canvassed the inclusion of entrepreneurial development courses/subjects in the curriculum of students at the secondary and tertiary education levels.
He said the main thrust of entrepreneurial development is to increase the number of entrepreneurs that would create jobs, increase productivity and reduce the level of youth employment in the country.
Professor Salawu gave the advice as the keynote speaker at the third international conference of the Faculty of Financial Management Studies, The Polytechnic, Ibadan, held from Monday August 25 to Thursday 28, 2019 at the Conference Centre of the institution.
While speaking on the theme of the conference, ‘Fiscalism and Entrepreneurship: A Drive towards Sustainable Economy’, Salawu said entrepreneurial development is most needed in Nigeria today as there is, according to the National Bureau of Statistics data, 58 per cent youth unemployment as well as low level of manufacturing activities in Nigeria.
The lead paper presenter at the conference, Professor Ishola Rufus Akintoye, while speaking on the topic ‘Entrepreneurship: A Key to Sustainable Economic Development in a True Federalism’, also charged governments at all levels to provide good platforms for entrepreneurship through education and basic infrastructure.
In his address, the rector of the institution, Professor Adebiyi Kazeem Adekunle, who was represented by the dean, Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Management, Mr Femi Ipadeola, noted that entrepreneurship is fundamental to the development of any economy, “just as a sturdy and virile entrepreneurship environment full of motivated individuals is a veritable symbol of growth.”
He lauded the Faculty of Financial Management Studies for its commitment and consistency in organising the annual conference and for choosing such a thought-provoking theme.
The dean, FFMS, Dr O. I. Oyetunji, while speaking about the conference said, the major objective of the four-day conference was to examine the effect of the country’s fiscal policy on entrepreneurship development.
He noted that the theme was predicated on the assumption that solutions to the policy dearth that might be plaguing the various institutions of government would receive positive attention via the scholarly papers and intellectual engagement that would follow.
Dr Fola Akinosun, a seasoned politician, who was the special guest of honour at the event, pledged his support for the institution in giving out more scholarships to indigent students in the institution.
He solicited for a piece of land from the management of the polytechnic to build a structure in his name as his contribution towards the development of the institution, just as he gave N100,000 to the Music Department in appreciation of their performance.
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