Olasunbo Sobogun
Business on the campus of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic has been an auspicious one since the school was established in 1979.
The major place of business where almost anything relating to students and teachers can be bought is the ‘school market’ located opposite mass communication building and just before the school bus shed when coming inside the school campus.
Although, the school bus shed was primarily meant for transportation purpose, its environment has developed gradually to another major business area on campus.
There is MAPOLY Integrated Services Company (MAPINSCO) business centre located behind the bus shed along with quite a number of shops and stands for buying and selling.
Other places and spots where buying and selling can be have been erected as time goes on. There is the motion ground, shops at strategic locations and even hawking inside classrooms after lectures.
There are also students who bring goods from home to sell to their colleagues and other interesting buyers. These are student-entrepreneurs who have identified the needs of their fellows and decided to make profit from such while studying.
Most respondents see MAPOLY as a prosperous ground for business given its population especially when the school is not on vacation. “MAPOLY is good for business especially for an enthusiastic seller like me who knows how to convince people to buy my goods. I sell earrings and other cosmetics and with the little I sell now, i’m sure if I can get a stand somewhere, I will sell more,” says Omolewa Taofeek of Mass Communication HND 2. Other student-entrepreneurs are of the opinion that MAPOLY is not as viable for business as it used to be. This is attributed to reduction in number of student of the institution and perhaps the dwindling economy.
Mrs Asekun, a food seller at the school market said, “because everything is so costly now, students have been complaining and patronage has reduced,” while Boluwatife who sells snacks at the bus shed thinks MAPOLY is still a prosperous place for business, but not as before.
Despite the positions of some of the respondents that MAPOLY is not as vibrant for business as it was before, the summary is that MAPOLY is business oriented and has numerous entrepreneurs who can easily identify opportunities while studying. Low patronage is not peculiar to the campus but an economic problem.