The knowledge economy is an economic reality whose time has come; thanks to ICT. Whether Nigeria and its people wake up to the reality or not, the truth remains that the country occupies a prime place that entrusts her with a leadership role as the largest black nation in the world.
It is the second largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa, the largest producer of oil in Africa and the seventh largest oil producer in the world; with its quality of oil ranked among the best three globally.
Petroleum is only one of the many natural resources that Nigeria is blessed with. The country is equally blessed with fertile land, topography and climate that are a haven for agricultural activities to thrive.
How about our mineral resources? I understand that Ondo, Ekiti and a few other states have huge deposits of bitumen. What all these unique information about Nigeria simply shows is the fact that she possesses certain knowledge, experience and wealth that no other African country has – a fact that gives her an edge in a global knowledge economy. Or so it should.
The sad reality, however, is that these blessings from God are turning out to be a curse for her people. This is a good reason to start searching inwards and focusing on the nation’s huge human resources. The fact remains that these gifts of nature have not made a commensurate positive impact on the quality of life of the citizenry and the national economy.
Crude oil became a global index for national economic growth and affluence not only because of its international marketability, but more significantly, due to its central role in catalysing industrialisation and infrastructural development in countries where they are sourced.
There are numerous by-products from crude oil that forms a significant input into other aspects of the economy like manufacturing, textiles, power, transport and aviation industries, etc.
Nigeria missed out on these huge benefits when it failed to add value to crude oil (as indeed with agricultural produce of the early 70s – 80s), having failed to develop adequate and efficient refining capacity. A situation where Nigeria was only content with rent-seeking on the exploration and sale of oil alone could only have resulted in the humongous level of corruption and infrastructural decay that we now have to contend with.
But here again, the 21st century offers another unique opportunity in the shift to the knowledge economy. This is another opportunity that Nigeria must not fritter away; if not for any other reason, for the fact that oil is losing its vantage position in the global landscape of political economics as more African countries now discover oil and developed countries intensify their quest for alternative energy sources; all pointing to uncertainty in the international oil market. Add to this, the terrifying fact remains that Nigeria’s oil reserves may not be exactly as boundless as our nonchalance would suggest.
Therefore, we must, as a matter of urgency, begin to embrace the growing global shift towards a knowledge economy. But what explains the nature and workings of knowledge economy?
Thurow, L. 1991, in his book ‘New Tools, New Rules: Playing to win in the new economic game’ (Prism, p. 101), says: ‘’In the 21st century, comparative advantage will become much less a function of natural resource endowments and capital-labour ratios and much more a function of technology and skills. Mother nature and history will play a much smaller role, while human ingenuity will play a much bigger role.”
However, knowledge is not a new entrant to the indices of any economy as all economies, however simple, are based on knowledge about how, for example, to farm, to mine and to build. But as the increasing infusion of knowledge and information into the economy steadily increased since the industrial revolution, the resultant structural and qualitative changes in the economy now makes knowledge in itself a strong base of competitive advantage.
Nigeria may seem to be losing out already considering the very purpose of knowledge. Knowledge has two purposes. The foremost purpose of knowledge is its practical application to improve the quality of products, services and the process and structure of governance. Nuclear physics, for example, became a prominent field of scientific enquiry due to its relevance in delivering more efficient and eco-friendly source of energy to power homes and industries in developed countries. Secondly, knowledge is a foundation for the growth of more knowledge.
The development and deployment of ICT by countries such as India, Japan, China, the US and some countries in Europe, for research purposes etc, have catapulted the economies of these countries and the result today are the continuous barrier breaking innovations in every field of endeavour.
Time and again, I hear some of our top government shots use the phrase “moving Nigeria to the knowledge economy” and I ask myself if they really know what they are talking about. I doff my hat to those of them who are not just talking but doing all they can to see that this becomes a reality. Honestly, this is the future.
What are these ICT tools and global knowledge economic indices that can be applied to the Nigerian project to make it move with the tide so as not to be left behind economically dejected in the foreseeable future?
This piece will be concluded next week; do ensure a copy of Sunday Punch is top in your agenda.
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