By Msonter Ijoho
In Nigeria’s evolving economic landscape, more individuals, both at grassroots and elite levels, are turning to entrepreneurship, not just as a backup plan, but as a primary wealth strategy. From young professionals quitting their 9-to-5s to affluent investors seeking to diversify portfolios, the hunger for business ownership has never been stronger.
But with this hunger has come a dangerous misconception: that money is the master key.
Many believe that with enough funds, business will automatically flourish. That beautiful structures, imported equipment, and aggressive marketing will cover up for gaps in understanding, planning, and operational depth. They’re wrong.
Across my years as a business development expert and consultant, I’ve had the privilege (and sometimes pain) of working with all kinds of clients, from first-time entrepreneurs to seasoned high-net-worth investors. And one truth remains constant: when people undervalue knowledge, they eventually pay more than they should.
Let me illustrate with a case I handled a few years ago.
I was invited to consult for a large-scale farm project that had recently ventured into piggery. By the time I arrived, millions of naira had already been invested. A ‘sophisticated’ penhouse had been constructed, over 25 pigs were purchased, and operations launched for almost a year. On paper, it was impressive. But the realities on ground told a different story. It wasn’t about having pigs in an pen.., are you in the BUSINESS of pig Farming?
The structures were poorly ventilated. Pens were unorganised. Drainage systems were either absent or wrongly positioned. The pigs, mostly unhealthy, low-yield breeds. Were being managed by staff who had never handled livestock in their lives. The farm was hemorrhaging resources.
I had to make difficult recommendations: sell off most of the stock, demolish and rebuild certain sections, strengthen and retrain staff strength, and import improved breeds. We redesigned the operation using professional agritectural™ standards and shortened the reproduction cycle by introducing mature high-yield hybrid pigs. In two months, six sows were pregnant, and productivity spiked.
But there was a twist. Just as results began to show, the owners made a classic mistake: they assumed expertise was no longer necessary. They secretly replaced my services with someone cheaper – one of my own trainees – and terminated our engagement. What followed was a cascade of preventable failures. The team could not manage farrowing, and over 90 piglets per sow were lost during delivery. Pride blocked the path to correction, and eventually, the piggery operation was abandoned. Even if they sold a piglet for ₦50,000 only, multiplied by 90, they would have made a revenue of about ₦4,500,000. What pained me most wasn’t the loss – it was how avoidable it all was.
This Isn’t Just About Farming. What happened at that farm is the same thing that’s happening in restaurants launched by celebrities, boutique, hotels funded by politicians, and fashion houses set up by silent investors. Beautiful beginnings marred by structural ignorance. Money spent without strategic direction. High-end setups with zero understanding of industry dynamics.
You don’t have to be a small-time entrepreneur to make rookie mistakes. In fact, the larger the capital, the costlier the error. And sadly, many big players don’t realize this until they’ve wasted resources that should have built generational wealth.
What Every Serious Investor Must Understand:
1. Capital is Not a Compass – Money can buy materials, manpower, and machines, but not insight. Without proper guidance, your capital will fund confusion, not growth.
2. Every Sector Has its Science – Whether it’s agriculture, hospitality, construction, media, or fintech, there are principles, processes, and patterns that determine success. If you don’t know them, engage someone who does.
3. Professional Input is a Cost-Saver, Not a Luxury – Contracting a n expert to consult for you is not an expense, it is security, it is insurance. A skilled consultant can help you skip years of trial-and-error and fast-track you to efficiency, profitability, and scalability. It’s not about cost; it’s about value.
4. Money Can Buy a Business, But Not a Legacy – Anyone can launch a brand. But sustaining it, growing it, and passing it on requires structure, governance, and long-term planning. That’s where strategy, not spending, comes in.
5. Pay for Knowledge. It’s the Cheapest Form of Insurance – In a world of copy-paste entrepreneurship, customized insight is gold. Consultants, industry experts, and business developers like myself exist to help new entrants build with clarity, avoid avoidable errors, and create systems that run beyond sentiment or chance.
It’s time we stop seeing business consulting as an afterthought. We must normalize paying for guidance the same way we pay for land, equipment, or branding. Whether you’re investing ₦2 million or ₦200 million, you need structure, strategy, and a roadmap.
The idea is simple: Don’t just enter a business. Understand it. Master it. Structure it. If you lack time, hire people who don’t. If you lack knowledge, pay for it. It is cheaper than restarting.
Business is not trial and error. It is informed design. It is foresight. It is systems thinking. And above all, it is the humility to admit what you may not know enough, and take steps to learn or bring in those who do.
Don’t build to impress. Build to last.
Don’t build blind. Build informed.
Hon. (Dr.) Msonter Samuel Ijoho is a business development and agribusiness consultant, a political enthusiast nd public affairs commentator. He writes regularly on governance, agribusiness, youth development, and institutional reform in Nigeria.
