Parents risk losing generational wealth without preparing heirs — SAN

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Osaro Eghobamieh, has warned that parents who transfer businesses and properties to their children without preparing them to manage the assets risk destroying the wealth they spent their lifetime building.

Eghobamieh said Nigeria lacked sustainable generational wealth because many family businesses and assets collapsed or became subjects of disputes after the death of their founders.

Speaking on Sunday at the 18th anniversary celebration of Arise Women Conference, held at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, with the theme, ‘Impact’, the SAN urged parents, particularly business owners, to involve their children early in their businesses, relationships and financial decisions to prepare them for eventual succession.

Opening his presentation with questions about death and inheritance, Eghobamieh asked parents to consider who would have access to their private belongings, manage their assets and take responsibility for their underage children if they died unexpectedly.

He also challenged couples to consider how their children would handle properties and businesses jointly established by their parents after the death of either spouse.

The lawyer said transferring wealth wasn’t simply about writing wills or handing over properties; it required deliberate preparation of the next generation.

“If you don’t prepare your sons, if you don’t prepare your daughters for when there is wealth, and you pass on that wealth, it is a recipe for disaster, because you’re afraid for them to receive what they’re not prepared to receive,” he said.

Identifying five forms of capital required for successful wealth transfer, Eghobamieh listed spiritual, intellectual, social, human and financial capital as essential to preparing children for family business succession.

On spiritual capital, he said parents must instill values such as integrity, hard work and discipline in their children from an early age.

He recalled an experience in which his father insisted that his children remain in a meeting with a prominent Nigerian businessman instead of leaving the room, explaining that they needed to understand how business relationships were built and managed.

Eghobamieh noted that the experience later helped him in business dealings, including an early investment in shares.

“Please get your children involved, and make sure that there is discipline, and there is a level of rigour in that involvement,” he said.

On intellectual capital, the SAN clarified that education alone was insufficient, urging parents to expose their children to business operations, professional relationships and decision-making processes.

He shared his experience of taking over the management of his mother’s business for four years after returning from the United Kingdom, while his younger brother later expanded the business internationally.

Eghobamieh added that children should not necessarily inherit the hardships their parents experienced but should be taught the discipline, structures and principles that sustained their businesses.

On social capital, he warned against business owners who built extensive professional networks but failed to introduce their children to the people and relationships that sustained their enterprises.

He said children must be introduced early to their parents’ business associates, partners and professional contacts to establish relationships that would support them when they eventually took over.

The fourth pillar, human capital, was described as the structures, values and relationships parents develop within their families to ensure that their children can work together and make decisions after their departure.

Eghobamieh said parents should not rely solely on prayers for their children’s success without establishing structures that would prepare them for responsibility.

“Sometimes that’s the wrong prayer. What you should be praying for is structures that will give a result in success. Prayer alone will not take you to success,” he stated.

Recalling his family’s experience, he said his father regularly gathered his children at night to share stories about his legal practice, business experiences and professional encounters, while his mother also shared lessons from her activities.

He said such interactions helped the children develop a common understanding of the family’s values and businesses, reducing the likelihood of disagreements over inherited assets.

Using the example of a family-owned 10-bedroom property, Eghobamieh explained that children could have conflicting ideas about whether to sell, redevelop or retain the property for sentimental reasons if their parents failed to establish a common vision during their lifetime.

On financial and business capital, he urged parents to put appropriate succession arrangements in place, including documenting their assets, properly registering property ownership and establishing structures for managing family businesses.

He lamented that Nigeria had yet to develop a strong culture of generational wealth.

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“In Nigeria, we don’t have generational wealth. What we have is wealth that dies with the old man, and the children try to acquire it,” he asserted.

Eghobamieh said professionals could help families establish trusts, family offices and succession structures, but stressed that parents must take responsibility for preparing their children.

He urged parents to reflect on what they were building, who they were preparing to inherit it and whether their businesses and investments would survive beyond their lifetime.

The SAN said involving children in family businesses and decision-making early was essential to ensuring that wealth created by one generation could be sustained and expanded by the next.

Earlier in her welcome address, the Convener of Arise Women, Dr Siju Iluyomade, urged women to use their influence, resources and leadership positions to build lasting institutions and transform underserved communities, saying meaningful impact must go beyond temporary charity.

Iluyomade said women must embrace ambitious visions, challenge societal limitations and invest in initiatives that address critical needs in education, healthcare and economic empowerment.

She explained that the Arise Women 18th Conference theme ‘Impact ’ was intentionally chosen because impact must be transformational, monumental and unstoppable.

“The impact we seek to have must be transformational; it must be monumental, and it must be unstoppable.

“Impact is not an accident. It is intentional, it is bold, it can be disruptive. It can be disruptive to the status quo. But the transformation must occur,” she mentioned.

Explaining the difference between charity and sustainable development, Iluyomade said interventions should empower beneficiaries to become self-reliant rather than depend on temporary assistance.

“Charity gives a man a fish; he eats it for a day. Relief gives him fish for a month. But transformation teaches him to fish, own the pond, sell the fish, and teach his village to fish,” she stated.

Highlighting the organisation’s achievements over the past 18 years, she cited its adopted village project in Zamfara State, where Arise Women provided schools, healthcare facilities and libraries to communities that previously lacked basic infrastructure.

She added that the organisation also introduced technology into rural schools and improved access to maternal healthcare.

“We have been giving birth to children year in, year out, and no child has died. Not one,” she said.

Iluyomade, who is also a lawyer, recalled visiting another rural community, where the village chief identified a school for children as the community’s most pressing need.

She subsequently approached a benefactor, who supported the construction of a fully furnished school with water facilities, drainage, a generator and boreholes.

According to her, the intervention demonstrated how empathy and collaboration could translate community needs into lasting development.

“Every transformation is ultimately a human story. Technology empowers, but it is empathy that leads us to those villages,” she noted.

Drawing lessons from biblical figures, including Joseph, Moses and Esther, Iluyomade urged women not to allow their circumstances or societal expectations to limit their ambitions.

She stressed that women should recognise the power of their influence and use it to transform their families, communities and the nation.

“Let nobody tell you that you cannot be useful. Let nobody tell you that you should be well-groomed. Let nobody tell you that you are over the top,” she said.

The convener also challenged participants to move beyond discussion and take practical steps to address societal problems.

“Transformation moves from ideas to impact. Transformation lives out its purpose through action. Walk the talk. Stop the talk. Do something about it, do something meaningful, and do it for other people,” she added.

She urged women to pursue ambitious projects that can improve Nigeria’s education and healthcare systems, rather than continually seeking better services abroad.

“Be monumental in your purpose, but be humble in your hearts. True greatness lifts others. Don’t chase monuments, become one,” she said.