University of Ibadan undergraduate leverages social media to draw auto-maker’s attention

An undergraduate, Farouq Osuolale, has positioned himself for a windfall, having redesigned Innoson Motors’ logo. On Tuesday, the undergraduate of the University of Ibadan took it upon himself to design a befitting logo for the Nigerian auto manufacturer. Without any means of contacting the auto-brand, he opted for Twitter, and asked friends to share the new logo. The ‘share’ soon rose to thousands, drawing the attention of the management at Innoson Motors.

Presently, the young undergraduate has been invited for a meeting with the company.

Osuolale’s story is a pointer to how any Nigerian youth can reach beyond his or her limitations and tap opportunities somewhere else. The emphasis is, undergraduates do not have to wait until their final year in the tertiary institutions before seeking for ways of survival.

As Dr. ‘Biodun Adedipe, a former World Bank consultant, said this week, there are opportunities for business in Nigeria. These opportunities are begging to be taken by the youths; but unfortunately, most youths lack foresight. If Farouk Osuolale had kept his design to the dorm, Innoson Motors wouldn’t have noticed him.

It hardly makes any sense that students of computer science departments of the tertiary institutions are allowed to rut in the classroom when they are supposed to start catering to the huge market outside the schools by taking up maintenance of civil servants’ desktops and the likes for monthly retainership. The same goes for students at the mechanical engineering departments; and undergraduates at the agricultural science departments.

There are too many opportunities in the Nigerian market to be passed up or delayed till graduation.