Prince Ejeh Josh
The Enugu State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Peter Mbah has charged the youth to think of how they can use technology to disrupt their environment through innovation, continuous and never-ending-learning thought process that will bring self-emancipation and lead to the much desired change in the society.
Mbah said this on Wednesday, while delivering a keynote address at a technology and entrepreneurship summit tagged ‘Enugu Tech and Entrepreneurial Summit 2022’’ stressing that the growth of any country, business or economy could only be enabled and driven by the optimal utility of technology.
Speaking on the theme, Tech Inspired: The Role of Leadership in Entrepreneurship Success, the Chief Executive Officer of Pinnacle Oil and Gas Ltd, said that technology plays a pivotal role in economic self-emancipation of the youths.
Mbah who adeptly delivered his thought-provoking speech extempore while holding the teeming youths spellbound charged them to think outside the box by making use of the opportunities presented by the summit to redefine their environment.
His address which he said was practically designed to spark off the hidden technological entrepreneurship in the youths focused on how they could play leadership roles in their respective fields of endeavour.
While looking at leadership from two perspectives which he called, market or strategic leadership and organisational or business leadership, Mbah said the two of them required innovation to achieve.
According to him, the role of Innovation in market leadership can not be underestimated as it allows people to propel their businesses by displacing other already existing market shares. He pointed out that innovation was all about creating and capturing values that would serve the society.
He told the young people that innovation could occur by way of routine, incremental or radical means which he also called disruptive innovation. Disruptive innovation, Mbah insisted, should be the interest of every youth that is planning to go into an already established market. This he said entailed doing things differently from convention and market norms.
“You can innovate through technology by disrupting a business module and doing things remarkably differently from others. The story of the city taxi where people had to wait on the street to flag down a taxi, and Uber where people could comfortably order a taxi via their mobile phones is an example of innovation. Some young people thought out how to make life easier for the world, thought outside the box and created a platform called Uber.
“Therefore, taking the leadership position in the market place requires being technologically compliant. If you’re already in a crowded or established market and you want to play a leadership role, then you must embark on disruptive innovation,” Mbah further said.
Insisting that the opportunities in technology are inexhaustible, the maritime lawyer stated that the only thing the youths should do is to find at what stage the market is when they are venturing into it.
He also noted that business or organizational leadership involves the ability to influence, inspire and help others to achieve their goals in life, stressing that youths must first organise themselves individually or collectively as a team to understand their vision, define their vision and clearly communicate it to their team.
In this respect, Mbah stated that self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, communication, motivation and the ability to imbibe the characteristics of transcendental leadership are paramount to achieving one’s goals.
Using his experience at the oil and gas downstream sub-sector of the economy, the oil mogul said he was one of the late entrants to the already saturated market, noting however that his vision to play the dominant role in the market was clear despite the rigid hurdles he encountered.
The governorship candidate further enjoined the youths to start from somewhere by deploying the technologies around them to change the country, promising that his administration will be technologically driven when he assumes office.
He also said that he would use technology to change the economic narrative of the state, adding that youths entrepreneurship would be one of his focal points which will address youths unemployment and restiveness.
Earlier on, the convener and founder of TxE Summit, Mr. Williams Uchemba described Mbah as an insatiable lover of knowledge, innovator and world renowned entrepreneur who broke even through technology.
Uchemba said Mbah had already made his mark in the private sector in the 90s before he accepted to serve the state as Chief of Staff and Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development, urging the youths to toe his exemplary steps of leadership.
