Ladesope Ladelokun
If there is one thing deemed worthy of commendation by a great number of President Muhammadu Buhari’s followers in spite of his perceived cracked veneer of integrity in some quarters, it is saying the truth about the state of the nation,even when it is self-indicting regardless of the feeble attempts by his spin doctors to murder and bury truth.
True to his mai gaskiya sobriquet,Buhari had on Monday last week lamented the degree of grinding poverty in Nigeria,stating that the elite,including himself had failed to put certain programmes that could guarantee basic education for all irrespective of their level of poverty.
Of course, it was not his first moment of uncomfortable truth.In December 2018, Buhari informed Nigerian governors that the economy was in a bad shape, charging them to come together, think and rethink on the way forward at a time his handlers were busy reeling out “impressive” statistics about how well the economy was doing.
But the fulcrum of governance is the welfare of the people.No impressive statistics can take its place. Let all the economic indicators read positive, if they contrast sharply with the living conditions of the masses,it makes little sense.Buhari hit the bull’s eye in the instances aforementioned.
Indeed,poverty crawls on all fours here. Also, it is hard to contest the fact that there is a wide gulf between our current economic realities and where we ought to be as a country.Ours is a classic case of a people surrounded by drinkable water but still thirst.
Despite our enormous endowments, Nigeria’s economy has remained petro-centric for decades,leaving the agriculture and solid minerals sectors,which were hitherto the mainstay of the economy sidelined and locking up the opportunities they can provide to better the lives of Nigerians.
Beyond the lamentation about an economy in a tailspin and the heavy concentration of the wretched of the earth in the most populous black country in the world, the current government must demonstrate that the political will to transform Nigeria from a mono-cultural economy to a truly heterogeneous economy by developing the right strategy to boost the revenues generated from other sectors of the economy,creating new avenues for economic growth and providing opportunities to liberate a good number of Nigerians from the dark cell of poverty.Dishing out handouts will not cut it.
It is true that the current government has shown some commitment in its drive to revive the agriculture sector but it can do more.With the advancement in technology changing the way we live and the black gold gradually losing its relevance, there cannot be a more auspicious time than now to invest heavily in Information and Communications Technology(ICT) to lift Nigerians out of poverty and change the sad narrative associated with our economy.
Today, the first five most capitalised companies in the world – Apple, Alphabet,Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook- are technology companies.The African continent is the next frontier in terms of market size and opportunities. But the full potentials of the continent has not been deployed in terms of its ability to leapfrogging ICT capabilities.
Truth be told,a lot of state actors are still oblivious of the capabilities of ICT.It is evident in the paltry investment in ICT infrastructure. With a population of almost 200 million people and broadband penetration of about 33 percent, opportunities for investment,innovation and growth abound in the ICT sector.
The growth of ICT and its contribution to Gross Domestic Product(GDP) can be increased if there is a realisation by the Nigerian government and other African governments that every 10 percent growth in broadband penetration leads to 1.38 percent growth in GDP and also reduces youth unemployment.
It is time and Nigeria and other African countries removed their economies from being heavily dependent on export of oil and raw materials.We can draw inspiration from the Indian model and how the ICT industry has developed into a $100 billion industry per annum for that country.
Back home in Africa, Nigeria can borrow a leaf from countries with a digital focus like Rwanda, Egypt, Morocco and South Africa.In Rwanda, for instance, President Paul Kagame is directly promoting the digital growth of the country, especially broadband. Government policies to promote the technology and Communications sector are also stimulating entrepreneurial creativity and growth across the economy.
The earlier we realise that the fastest way to lift our economy and our compatriots out of poverty is to embrace ICT, the better for all of us. We must begin to develop local capacities and come up with innovations to solve problems around the world.
Ladelokun writes from Ogun State via [email protected]