Marwa Describes Olowoyo-Otegbade’s Book as Elixir for Entrepreneurs

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The Chairman of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig-Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd) has described  “Bumps on My Route: Experience of a Serial Entrepreneur”, a book authored by Ms. Kemi Olowoyo-Otegbade, as an elixir that can send established and emerging  entrepreneurs on an entrepreneurship odyssey.

He also noted that the book had the potency to encourage prospective entrepreneurs.

Marwa, who was one of the book reviewers stated this on Monday evening in Abuja during the public presentation of the book and the birthday of the author.

While reviewing the book, Marwa who was represented by Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Mr. Femi Babafemi described the 83-page book of six chapters for Nigerian entrepreneurs as  a must-read.

He was of the opinion that the book was different from other motivational books because the subject matter was well dissected and  the lessons well distilled. 

Marwa noted that the style was easy, the language was rich and the lessons were memorable.

He added that  the book was replete with nuggets of business wisdom, for both greenhorns and gurus. 

Marwa stressed that the first chapter of the book includes tips on how to start, scale the hurdles and steer the ship of a budding business; while  Chapter two underscores a fact that most don’t want to hear: ‘that making mistakes is a part of the journey of an entrepreneur.’

He said in  Chapter Three, the author demonstrated the importance of making a budding enterprise formidable with four business principles: Focus, Document,  Delegate and Monitor, adding that these four non-negotiable principles are essential to help you build a business structure. 

Marwa pointed out that Chapter Five of the book  was a distillation of the lessons from the author’s entrepreneur’s odyssey, while Chapter six provided hints on tilling the ground of entrepreneurship, of which the dominant idea is the necessity of businesses.

The NDLEA boss said the book  was not a magic book about how to hit it big in business; rather, it is a practical guide to building a successful enterprise on time-honoured principles, some of which have been touted by sages through the ages. 

Marwa stated: “I think the book has that potency. If there’s anyone who is held back by fear of failure, self-doubt or procrastination, reading this book will give them a good dose of the courage required to push the start or restart button as the case may be. 

“Her style is neither prosaic nor pretentious, as she doesn’t sugarcoat the harsh realities of entrepreneurship which comes out in big granules in her narratives. 

“Lest I forget, I also think it fits the audiobook format. The author’s voice comes strongly at you from the pages, a quality that can be maximised as an audiobook. Bumps on My Road is something you can listen to on the way to the office, on a bad business and at a time, you need an elixir to send you on an entrepreneurship odyssey. 

“Lastly, can it get better? Yes, as it is with all books to varying degrees, I would suggest a thorough proofreading with special attention to punctuation.”

Earlier, the author said her motivation for writing the book was to guide some paths, add to knowledge and encourage those who are almost giving up.

Olowoyo-Otegbade noted that the book was more of a business guide and handbook, very small in size but heavy in content.

According to her, many of us are lazy readers.

A business guide, if too voluminous, may not interest a lazy reader. So, I focused on intrigues, pains and gains of entrepreneurship. It will be useful to new and emerging entrepreneurs. 

Olowoyo-Otegbade stressed that it’s a realistic story that business life is not a bed of roses, but with consistency and perseverance,  the desired goal would be achieved.

She said: “And to let aspiring entrepreneurs know that being at the top may not be permanent, little mistakes in business decisions can disrupt your comfort zone.

“I will be sharing the book and regular business tips for free to interested National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members because my seed of entrepreneurship was sown during my NYSC at the place of my primary assignment in Benin.”