Tosin Eniolorunda told the audience at The Platform Nigeria’s 2026 Workers’ Day edition in Lagos that an entrepreneur’s first battle is internal. "The biggest problem of an entrepreneur is yourself, and when you conquer yourself, you conquer the world. As an entrepreneur, your biggest challenge is anxiety," he said, urging founders to bring clarity to their aims before anything else.
Eniolorunda pushed against the impulse to rush into structures and headlines. "You need to set clear goals in your mind. You cannot set up a business that is for profit, and you do not have clarity about where you want to go," he said, and added: "Structures should be done in service of the goals that you have." He warned that many leaders err by designing systems around a single talented hire — "building structures around a smart person they want to place in a role" — instead of building systems that outlast any individual.
The Platform’s May Day gathering brought other blunt reminders from veteran voices. Former Minister of Finance Kemi Adeosun spoke of trial and failure candidly: "I had run nine businesses, six of which failed." Adeosun said collaboration mattered — "Moses needed Aaron. Every founder needs a team" — and counseled careful diligence: "Do your research with wisdom. Some things are not what they seem; that is why knowing your numbers will help you." Vusi Thembekwayo and a roster of entrepreneurs joined the session, part of an event designed to prod action as well as reflection.
Eniolorunda’s remarks kept returning to culture as much as technique. "We have a role model problem, and this stems from the people they see around them," he said, warning against the glamorisation of fast money. He named the phenomenon plainly: Nigerians have many alternatives to becoming a big yahoo boy, and many alternatives to becoming a hook-up babe who shows how she travels to Dubai and other places, and he urged audiences to reject the quick-wealth script in favour of durable ambition. "Nigeria has what it takes. We are driven people, motivated people and hardworking people. All we need to do is develop our human capital," he said, tying personal discipline to national progress.
The Platform Nigeria’s 2026 edition was held to commemorate Workers’ Day under the broader theme "Unlocking the Second Half Advantage: Transition, Impact and Legacy," and organisers said the May Day programme aimed to inspire a new generation of innovators and nation-builders. Speakers included Adeosun, Vusi Thembekwayo, Affiong Williams, Sinari Bolade Daranijo, Nancy Ogbue and John Alamu, and the tone mixed practical guidance with blunt personal testimony.
That mix exposed the central tension Eniolorunda highlighted: the entrepreneur must both master an inner, psychological obstacle — anxiety and unclear purpose — and resist the external pressures of role models and celebrity culture that celebrate shortcuts. His prescription was austerely simple: set the goal, build structures that serve that goal, and cultivate people. The contrast between short-term allure and long-term institution-building was the running friction of the programme.
Eniolorunda closed by insisting the individual work matters for the country. If entrepreneurs do the internal work he outlined — conquer anxiety, set clear goals and let structures serve outcomes — then their efforts will multiply through teams and, eventually, through national human capital. That argument, plain and urgent on a day meant to celebrate labour, left the clearest test the audience must answer: will Nigeria’s next generation of founders choose the harder craft of sustained capability over the easier glamour of instant riches?
