Babalawo and Decision Making
Question - 1
COUNTRY PROFILE OF NIGERIA
Nigeria is situated on the west coast of Africa; it has thirty-six (36) states, and its capital territory in Abuja. The profile of Nigeria will be discussed under the following headings;
GEOGRAPHY OF NIGERIA
• SIZE & LOCATION: The size of Nigeria is about 923,768 square kilometers. It is a coastal state on the shores of the Gulf of Guinea, with Benin to the west, Niger to the north, Chad to the northeast, and Cameroon to the east and southeast. Nigeria is the 14th largest country in Africa in term of total area.
DEMOGRAPHICS OF NIGERIA
• POPULATION: Nigeria has a population of 173.6 million and an annual population growth rate of 2.8% (World Bank, 2013). The life expectancy of the total population is 51years. (CIA Factbook, 2014).
• ETHNICITY & LANGUAGE: There are more than 270 ethnic groups in the country who speak over 370 languages with English as the official language. These ethnic groups are identified with wide variety of cultures, the major ethnic groups include, the Hausas/Fulani, Yoruba and Igbo. Others are Edo, Idom, Ijaw, Nupe, Tiv etc.
• EDUCATION & LITERACY: This entry includes the rate of literacy of people between the ages of 15years and above. The literacy rate of the total population is 60%, the rate for male is 69%, while female is 50%. (CIA Factbook, 2014)
• RELIGION: It has been suggested that about 50% of the population is Muslim, 40–45% is Christian, and 5–10% practice indigenous religious traditions, none of these figures can be accurately validated, and they are more speculations than fact.
ECONOMY OF NIGERIA
• GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP): In 2015 The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in Nigeria was last recorded at 6,100 USD, with Agriculture having a share of 17.8%, Industry 25.7% and Services 54.6%. While GDP annual growth rate averaged at 3.99% from 1982 until 2016.
Question – 2
SUMMARY OF THE CASE
Nigeria is inhabited by people of diverse culture and ethnicity. The culture of Nigerian hasn’t had any significant change despite western influence in all other areas including religion, trade, business etc. Traditional Cultural practices are a fact of life mainly among sole proprietorships and family businesses. At times managers would rather consult fortune teller and soothsayer for decision making than engaging in strategic planning.
John Okumabuwa is a young man who hails from a village located at the outskirts of Lagos, who had no high school education. He was convinced by the experiences and narratives given by his friend and he decided to seek the advice of a soothsayer, popular referred to BABALAWO, who does rituals and incantations to predict future outcomes for people or organization. Babalawo advised John to go to Lagos, where he would one day become a leading businessman, operating a transport company.
John moved to Lagos in 1974, where he acquired driving skills and found a job as a taxi driver. He developed good contact on the job with businessmen, bankers etc., with whom he shared his dreams. He was giving his first shot at business by and entrepreneur who offered him financial assistance and guidance which he accepted. He bought a truck to haul goods from the port of Lagos to the hinterland, due to his good business sense strengthened by his belief in babalawo’s prediction, within a few years he was able to build up a vast fleet of buses carrying passenger to all nooks and corners of Nigeria. John’s transport company upheld good safety record with disciplined driver, and was a favorite amongst passengers. In 1988, the company started facing troubles which include accidents which were sometimes fatal and vehicle breakdown on the road.
This led to decreased profit and affected the company’s customer base. A consultant was asked to identify the cause of the disaster, but he found that Vehicle maintenance was done regularly and efficiently, and management aspect in terms of training and motivation was high, the consultant couldn’t pinpoint the cause of the debacle.
John took the advice of a close associate, and he decided to consult Babalawo for advice and Guidance so as to change his current fortune. Babalawo told John that his business was declining because his kinsmen in his village were annoyed with him, and his business would improve only if he went to make peace with his kinsmen and he didn’t seek the blessings of his ancestors when he started. Being in the business for some years John was also convinced that his business acumen was the real reason