ThankGod Trading Ventures Limited is one of the reputable names in printing services in Mushin, Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State.
In this exclusive interview with Ambrose Obioma Okehi, the Publisher of News Emperor Magazine, Chief ThankGod Onyebuchi Ogbudibe, the Managing Director MD/CEO of ThankGod Trading Ventures Nigeria Limited, spoke a lot about Igbo apprenticeship system as a model of raising millionnaires in our society. He equally encouraged others tribes to emulate this system of raising young people to become meaning influential in the society. Chief Ogbudibe also spoke about printing in its entirety.
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Q: Tell us about yourself. Who is Chief ThankGod?
Ans: I am Chief ThankGod Onyebuchi Ogbudibe. I am the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of ThankGod Trading Ventures Nigeria Limited, Mushin, Lagos, Nigeria.
Q: What type of business is ThankGod Trading Ventures into?
Ans: We are into printing of award plaques, souvenirs, T-shirts, caps, bags, signage, and anything concerning printing. That is what we do here.
Q: Apart from this printing business, are you into other kinds of business?
Ans: Yes, we are also into the hospitality business. We are in the hospitality industry too.
Q: Is that still taking place in this same building?
Ans: No, it is in another area of Mushin, Lagos. It is a few streets away from this place.
Q: Where does ThankGod hail from?
Ans: Chief ThankGod Onyebuchi Ogbudibe, the CEO of ThankGod Trading Ventures, hails from Uzii, Ideato North Local Government Area of Imo State.
Q: Tell us more about your growing up.
Ans: I am the last born of my parents. We are seven in number, and I happen to be the last born.
After my secondary education, I went into apprenticeship. I served. I really served.
Do you know what it means to serve as an apprentice? That was how we started life. For ten good years, I served. It is because I served under my brother. And I obediently served him with all humility and sincerity.
Q: Was it in this same Mushin?
Ans: Yes. You know, the more you serve, the more you learn. So, those ten years were ten years of knowledge and ten years of acquisition of the wisdom needed for the business. If you serve for one year, you learn something for one year. If you serve for two years, you learn something for two years. The more you serve, the more you learn, and the more knowledge you have of your business area, the more opportunities you create for your prosperity in the business.
So, I served and learned the business very well. That is what made me who and what I am today. Though we are still pushing, I have trained boys who are also doing well in this business today, and I still have boys serving me. And more are coming to serve.
Q: How do you see the Igbo apprenticeship system or model in Igbo land? It is a system that has made many millionaires in Igboland. Is it something that should be encouraged and emulated?
Ans: Yes, I recommend it for a national model. The Igbo apprenticeship system is good. It is something that should be encouraged and emulated by other tribes. It is a capacity-building platform and the easiest and simplest way of raising a new generation of millionaires in our society. Just check it out, and you will see that through this informal way of training local people in trade and business, many Igbo homes and families have directly or indirectly raised generations of millionaires without knowing. Through this crude, local, and informal method, we have developed individual capacities and the national economy too.
Number one, it has helped a lot of Igbo families. For instance, what a family could not do financially, they have done directly or indirectly through their son serving as an apprentice to a man who has already made it in business. I mean, their son, whom they could not ordinarily raise capital for, has started the same business without their financial involvement. That is the model we are talking about. It is called ‘Igba boi’ in Igbo language.
Two, because you, as the master, have trained and groomed such a fellow to become somebody in life, he will not forget you all through his lifetime. As he prospers in business and in life, your name will be written in gold in the history of his life. He and his family will not forget you. This is possible only when the master sincerely and genuinely trains and settles such a boy after seven years of apprenticeship. So, after his biological father, the next is his master, who made him who he is today. That is why I said your master’s name will be written in gold in the life history of that nwa boi, is now a business tycoon and millionaire. Even if that person grows old, he will not forget his Oga, who trained him.
There is a certificate usually issued to the apprentice after his freedom, and in that certificate, it will either be written “settled” or “not settled.” All depends on whichever befalls you as a servant.
Another important thing is for a master to get a good apprentice, and for an apprentice to get a good master who has integrity and the fear of God. Yes, there are dubious and greedy ones who end up exploiting their apprentices and, in the end, ruin their future.
This is very, very important, because it will determine how far you are going to go in that business.
Sometimes, those who were not settled, nobody knows why. The problem could come from the master or the apprentice. Therefore, there is a need for both the master and the apprentice to have integrity and sincerity in their dealings.
Sincerity on the side of the boy who is serving will determine whether or not he will be settled, and how he will be settled.
Sincerity on the side of the master too, means that the master has the fear of God and cannot compromise or cheat his apprentice, no matter what may have transpired in the process of learning the trade or market. Some will falsely lay allegations against their boy so that they can avoid settling them. Other Ogas may not have the money to settle a particular apprentice at that particular time. On the other hand, some apprentices may be the reason for their non-settlement. Why? It may be because they stole their Oga’s money. Some will settle themselves and still come back to demand settlement from their Oga. In such a situation, if the master finds out, there will be no settlement for such an apprentice.
Q: Is there usually any form of monetary payment made by the parents of the boy to be trained under the Igbo apprenticeship system?
Ans: No, no. There is nothing like money to be paid by the parents of the so-called apprentice.
Q: What can you say to parents who have negative views about this model of training?
Ans: My simple advice to parents who don’t have money to train their children in higher institutions of learning is this: instead of staying and dying with them in poverty, send them for apprenticeship. There, they will not spend a dime, and their children will go and learn a trade or business free of charge and come out multi-millionaires at the end of the day.
That is my candid advice. Yes, instead of worrying and dying in poverty with that child, send him out as a “boy boy.” By that, you have removed some forms of stress from yourself.
Though it is not automatic, it all depends on how sincere and straightforward he is in serving his Oga and his wife, and how respectful he is to both the Oga and Madam.
He is even expected to respect his Oga’s parents. As an apprentice, you are to wash your Oga’s car and his clothes. Wash plates for Madam. Fetch water when it is necessary. Not even now that most compounds have taps. There are some places and cities where apprentices went the extra mile to fetch water for the household in those days, like in Aba, Abia State. Some apprentices would carry wheelbarrows to far distances to fetch water for the use of the house.
He must wake up very early in the morning, do other house chores before going to the shop, open the shop, and scout for customers at the market too. Most importantly, serve with humility and sincerity of heart. You will see that your Oga and his wife will love you, including his people. They will all love and cherish you. Definitely, they will settle you, and then the sky will be your starting point.
Q: What is the secret of your success in this printing business?
Ans: One thing that is certain is that God is our all and all. And again, no one is a giant on his or her own. There must be people around him or her, and those people will be the ones to connect him or her, the ones to favour him or her. Because God uses man to favour man. He does not come down to help people; He uses man to help his fellow man.
This is because no tree can make a forest. You need someone to tell you to invest here or there, and that it will yield profit. And if you obey, then you will eat the fruit of obedience and the fruit of the land.
Q: What is the name of your hotel?
Ans: Polite Suites Anchorage &Suits.
Q: Where is it situated?
Ans: It is still here in Mushin, in Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State.