LETTER TO MY FELLOW AFRICANS

Dear Africans,

What is the way forward for our continent?

We are now in the dawn and morning of globalization that the sound minds and superior
thinkers of yesterday foresaw- the age of artificial intelligence, robotics, CRISPR, parallel
universe, intercontinental ballistic missiles and so on.

Truth is: our times are so dynamic such that it presents us with incredible opportunities and at
the same time overwhelming complexities.

Part of the implications of this is that Nigerians in West Africa can now receive calls on behalf
of firms in Ireland and provide services for consumers in far away Arizona.

Software developers and programmers in Canada can now handle ICT for companies in
Thailand without crossing borders.

A simple click of a bottom can transferred a document from New York to the United Arab
Emirate via various usable formats. Event can take place anywhere in the world and still gain
audience from everywhere in the world through various channels.

Businesses can now be transacted electronically from one geographical entity to another with
so much ease, comfort and speed. Academic degrees are now revolutionized. The computer and
the internet are the classrooms of our time. Ask university of Liverpool.

Ideas like Amazon, Aliexpress, Alibaba, Buyrex, Jumia etc have inspired consumption more
than any ‘physical market’ in recent times. I mean; the possibilities are countless. The world
really is so much of a parish. To think that we can be in these complex times and still function
as though we are in the old is chronic ignorance.
Today’s possibilities create enough room for anyone who cares to explore. Nations that
maximize those possibilities are the most prosperous today compared to Nations that just sits
on the sidelines.

Unfortunately, Africa appears to be among those sitting on the sidelines. Apparently it has
refused to move away from its feeble deposit of natural resources and embrace sound
technological ideas like the rest of the world. The world now speaks of concepts like invention,
innovation, Blockchain, market penetration, life in Mars etc; all of which the African society is
yet to tap into.

The most prosperous Nations have continued to engage superior innovation, robust thinking,
research and development in relation to the global ubiquitous free market. The results are
largely evident in all of the tools of civilization – the phones, computers, cars, choppers, laser
and Bluetooth technologies, advances in medicine, social media and even all of the weapons of
mass destruction as we know it today; all aimed mostly at improving the quality of life. These
stuffs have reorganized how we love, feel, interact, care, spend, think and even how we war.

What does that tell you?

People are simply making good use of their brains all over the world.

What is clear in global economy is that the most prosperous Nations are giant producers. These
Nations creates brands that are universally compliant. What is Japan without Honda, Nissan,
Mitsubishi, Toyota, Mazda, Panasonic or Toshiba? What is Germany without its BMW,
Volkswagen, Opel or Mercedes – Benz? What is the United State of America without Ford, HP,
Dell, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Facebook, Microsoft, Google or Apple? The list is actually endless for the
latter.

These are not just global brands that originated from the aforementioned countries. No! These
are global brands that contribute significantly to the GDPs of their respective host countries.

Do you know that in 2014 alone Apple’s economic output was worth about $87 billion?
According to IMF the next biggest economies were Ecuador and Slovakia, both of which
produced $100 billion each. Just below Apple were Oman at $81 billion, Azerbaijan at $78
billion and Belarus at $77 billion.

If the US economy is $17 trillion, then Apple is equal in size to 0.5%, that’s half a percent of the
US economy. So if the global economy is $60 trillion, then Apple is 0.15% of the global
economy.

Forbes has emphasized that if Apple’s earnings continue with that same pace, its annual
revenue will be almost $300 billion. That figure can largely rival the GDP of Israel, Greece,
Denmark or Hong Kong yet Apple is not as big as any of the aforementioned entities in terms of
land mass and constituency.

This is just one company dwarfing the GDP of some of the countries our young people want to
run to. Imagine the outcome if more of these kind of companies owe their origin to a country.
Yet we all wonder why America is so great.

African societies must begin to think like this. See, this is the new vista for any Nation that is
concerned about its economics. Africa can no longer afford to remain a land of consumers with
over one billion ready buyers across the continent. It has sustained for too long the position of
the world single largest liability producing what it does not consume and consuming what it
does not produce.

Africa’s most critical asset seems to be a begging bowl; receiving aids, relief and support from
the rest of the world. That’s a sure formula for retrogression because each time you seek
favour, you lose a degree of freedom and for years, we have traded that freedom. It’s time to
come home and think seriously about how to lead meaningful growth and sustainability.
Do you know that for every £1 we get in aids, Africa gives back £14 through trade restrictions,
tax evasions, debt repayments and certain international laws? Source.
Dear Africans, we must now take responsibility for the relevance we must experience. We must
now get on the production corner. Africa must now take a shift from natural resources to
human capitalism. This is the conversation we need to have as a matter of supreme urgency.

Our natural resources have not done too much for us as an entity even with the possibilities
they foster. Instead, they’ve led to civil war, genocide, more riots, nationwide strike and
political instabilities across the continent just to mention a few indicating that they are never
enough for our corporate peace, balance and stability. Something else must work for us. The
future does not belong to traditions; the future belongs to innovation.

Here are few things I believe we must begin to do.

1. Government must make policies that support, promote and advance human capital. It must
afford to question the nuisance of natural resources and embrace the blessing of research
and development and also make huge investment there.

2. Our institutions particularly universities and polytechnics must offer curricula that are
robust enough to provide the requisite knowledge and tools for our young minds in such a
way that production of acceptable brands with global bearing can be the critical objective.

3. Students on the other hand should be encouraged to study a discipline related to science
and technology by providing good incentives. Our Institutions must pass the test of
education rather than academic. Our best hands and heads must be retained, supported and
paced into the golden ideas of modernization, originality and development (MOD).

4. Africans must resist the temptation of overrating foreign products and more frequently
patronize made in Africa goods. Africans should never again look down on any content that
has its origin and methodologies from here. A better alternative will be to find credible ways
to improve on such content either by constructively criticizing or proffering solutions when
satisfaction is not derived.

It’s a tough choice, I know; but it is a necessary choice because our economics depends on it. If
we do all of these, we certainly will begin to see a better Africa ready to take its proper place in
the comity of Nations.

I am very optimistic that we will get there but only if we take responsibility. Collectively we
can make Africa great. Responsibility is the new name of the game!

God bless Africa.