The Igbo "Nwa Boy Apprenticeship is Beyond Settlement: It's NOT slavery

So, one "Theo Abu" recently stirred a controversy with his "hot teks" on the popular Igbo "Nwa Boy" apprenticeship system.

He wrote:

Hear me out: this is what the boy gets after eight years of service?

Everything in this shop, including the shop rent, is worth less than ₦5 million in today’s Nigeria.

This is low-key slavery, and the bosses need to compensate these boys adequately.

A good reward system and a structured agreement on what the boys will receive at the end of their service need to be created.

The Nwa Boy apprenticeship system needs urgent reform.

When he was called out by other social media users, he responded:

I am so used to you people’s resort to ad hominem any time anybody questions the current nwa boy apprenticeship system which serves the ogas better than the boys building the businesses. You love the system to remain the way it is because it serves you better. A slave master. Nothing new.

Now, let's pause, because this is where social media gets it wrong!

You guys will just come online and post whatever thing comes to your head, without properly analyzing it all in the name of "hot teks."

The man fed the boy, clothed him, housed him, paid his medical bills, taught him everything about the business, every secrete about the trade for FREE!!! At the end, he still settled him with a shop, goods, and sometimes even a furnished house, yet y'all call it slavery?

Let's be for real, which school "settles" their graduates after graduating, despite the fact that they pay huge fees? NONE!!! You'll leave with a certificate, and most times, debts! Meanwhile, the nwaboy system gives you not just the knowledge, but a working business, capital and connections.

The Truth About the Nwa Boy System

The apprenticeship is not just about the settlement package. it's about;

1. Knowledge transfer: Years of hands on training in business, customer support, supply chains, credit system, things no textbook gives you.

2. Social Capital: Networks, suppliers and the market reputation built over years of service.

3. Character Building: Discipline, patience, resilience, values that money can not buy!

4. Practical Business Ownership: Unlike a graduate who still has to job hunt, the apprentice often starts off as an employer.

Even people who pay millions to attend Harvard or Lagos Business school don't walk out with a shop and stocked goods. They walk out with theory and still hustle to raise capital.

Is it Perfect?

This is a question that requires an honest answer. No it is not perfect. Because nothing is absolute, except GOD!

Sure, there are abuses. Not every oga does right by his boy, and there is room for reform to make it more transparent and fair, but to dismiss the entire system as slavery? That's ignorance!!!

The Igbo Nwa boy apprenticeship has been described as arguably the most successful informal business education system in the world. It has produced countless millionaires, and sustained Igbo commerce for generations. That is not slavery, that's empowerment.

So before you call a centuries old survival system "slavery," ask yourself, what exactly has your so called formal education system done for you after all the money you poured into it?

The Nwa Boy apprenticeship system is beyond final settlement, it is life changing education, a launching pad, and a proven system of wealth creation. It doesn't need your condescending Twitter takes. It needs understanding! It needs respect!!!

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