Creating Opportunities, Building Wealth And Strengthening Economic Security

By Alfred Okoigun

At first glance, entrepreneurship and national security may appear to be separate subjects. One concerns business, investment and wealth creation, while the other focuses on protecting our people, institutions and national interests.

However, I believe they are deeply connected. A nation cannot achieve lasting security without economic strength, and it cannot achieve economic strength without building its own productive capabilities. This is the central message I would like to share with you today.

Drawing from my personal experiences and more than four decades of building businesses in Nigeria, I would like to explore how entrepreneurship can help our country develop indigenous capabilities, create opportunities for its people and strengthen national security.

A LESSON FROM ITALY
Let me begin with an experience that profoundly influenced my thinking. In 1977, I travelled to Italy for an internship with a company within the Eni Group, which was then owned by the Italian Government. What I observed opened my eyes to the relationship between industrial development, technical capability and nation-building.

At the time, Nigeria was developing the Warri refinery with significant foreign participation, while Italy had already established an extensive network of refineries. What impressed me was not simply the number of refineries, but the industrial ecosystem supporting them.

Equipment manufacturers, technical service providers, suppliers and other supporting industries had developed around these major investments. I observed a similar philosophy in the FIAT Group, the Italian automobile manufacturer. These industries demonstrated how businesses could stimulate one another, create employment, develop technical skills and retain more economic value within their country. I became fascinated by the people and institutions behind these enterprises.

Their stories helped me understand that building a company should be about more than making a profit. It should be about creating an institution that contributes to the economy, develops people and endures beyond its founder. That experience planted a seed in me: the ambition to build a Nigerian company that would outlive me and create opportunities for generations to come. Nearly five decades later, that lesson remains relevant.

A country’s economic strength is measured not only by the natural resources it possesses, but also by the knowledge of its people and the productive capabilities of its industries.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP: LESSONS FROM BUILDING ARCO
Entrepreneurship is often understood as starting a business. In reality, starting is only the beginning. Entrepreneurship involves identifying opportunities, solving problems, taking calculated risks and creating value. Sustaining an enterprise requires persistence, adaptability, discipline and the determination to build lasting competence.

My journey with ARCO has taught me three important lessons. First, opportunity often exists where there is a gap in capability. Nigeria’s oil and gas industry requires specialised technical services to operate and maintain complex infrastructure.

Historically, much of this expertise was provided by international companies. We saw an opportunity to develop the Nigerian expertise and systems required to provide these services. At ARCO, our ambition has been not merely to participate in the industry, but to build the technical and organisational capabilities required to compete.

This has involved investing in people, equipment, partnerships and professional standards. It has also taught me that local participation is not the same as local capability. A company may win a contract without acquiring the expertise needed to execute similar work independently. Our objective must be to ensure that participation results in lasting competence.

Second, adaptability is essential. Markets change, technology advances and customer expectations evolve. Yesterday’s achievements do not guarantee tomorrow’s relevance. Entrepreneurs must continually assess emerging needs and develop the capabilities required to remain competitive.

Third, we must build institutions, not businesses that depend entirely on their founders. A company may begin with the vision and determination of one individual, but its long-term survival depends on professional management, governance, accountability, succession planning and strong systems.

Our ambition should be to build enterprises that preserve knowledge, sustain employment and continue contributing to the economy across generations. The objective must be to transfer capability, not merely ownership.

TURNING NIGERIA’S CHALLENGES INTO OPPORTUNITIES
Many of us have travelled abroad and observed how people live in other parts of the world. Such experiences can inspire us to think differently about what is possible in Nigeria. When we compare living standards in developed economies with those in many African countries, we cannot ignore the considerable challenges that remain.

But these challenges also present opportunities. Consider education, healthcare, housing, transportation, water supply and electricity. In many communities, access to these essential services remains inadequate.
Each gap represents a problem that needs solving. And each problem presents an opportunity for entrepreneurs who can develop practical, affordable and sustainable solutions. The important question is not simply why these problems exist.

It is: What can we do to solve them? We must also recognise that solutions developed elsewhere cannot always be transferred directly to Nigeria. We should learn from successful economies, but adapt useful ideas to our own circumstances, resources and needs.

Nigeria has enormous potential in agriculture, manufacturing, energy, technology and infrastructure. Our task is to convert our resources into products, our knowledge into services and our opportunities into sustainable enterprises.

The experience of Aliko Dangote illustrates how entrepreneurship can move beyond trading into large-scale industrial production. Manufacturing creates additional value through factories, technical skills, employment, suppliers and supporting industries.

For Nigeria, the ambition must go beyond producing successful businesspeople.

We must build competitive industries capable of meeting local needs and competing internationally.

Alfred Okoigun is the GMD of ARCO Group