JOURNEY TO LBS (PART 1)

A lot of people opt for an MBA degree outside Nigeria but I have always thought that an MBA degree at LBS would be best for me for two reasons. The first is that I would be taught how businesses are run here in Nigeria. This is very important for me as I run my own business. In addition, I have observed that a lot of the ideas I have read in books written by foreign authors don’t work here. Nigeria is a unique country. The second reason is that at this point in my life, I believe I need to build my local network not my international network. I need to meet real people, running real businesses in Nigeria and learn from them.

Once I decided to do an MBA program at LBS the first thing I did was to visit the school and make enquiries about the MBA programs and their costs. I was welcomed at the reception and taken into a small room close to the reception area where I met with a young man and lady who shared with me some brochures. I looked at the programs and knew at once that a full-time MBA would not work for me. I looked at the other programs and realized the Modular MBA program would be best suited for me considering my busy schedule running my business and taking care of my family. I asked the young man if I could take the brochure home and study it better and he said I could If I wanted. I was happy. I went home and devoured the brochure. I also went to the LBS website and perused it. I was really satisfied with everything I saw. However I had two problems. The first problem was coming up with the school fees which was about N8m. I thought I had to pay everything at once or at least a large chunk of it. Anyway, I decided not worry about the money as I had learned from experience not to allow lack of funds stop me from pursuing my dreams. The second problem was convincing my wife that spending N8m on an MBA program in Nigeria was a good investment.

I kept the MBA program brochure in my bag and looked at it from time to time for several weeks. I had to be sure it was not a fleeting desire. I finally decided it was the right move for me at this time and there was no going back. I now decided to find out how to fund it. I knew paying the full fees at once would be difficult but I hoped there could be some other way to fund it. I decided to call the young man who attended to me when I went to the campus. He told me there was a discount if I paid the whole fees at once but I didn’t have to. He said I could pay in installments. The moment I heard this, I knew I was going to be a student of LBS! All I had to do now was tell my wife.