(The 21st Century Nigeria (a Look at Vision 2010 And The Industrialisation Of Nigeria)
Chapter Five
5. RECOMMENDATIONS
Having introduced this report and identified its rationale and objectives, having also identified the problems and the measures taken by the various governments in Nigeria to solve the problem, and having critically assessed the problems and the measures through my constructive discussion, I will now recommend strategies to achieve Nigeria’s aim of joining the industrialised nations.
The recommendations will be made under separate issues necessary to achieve progress. These are –
Education and Training, Cultural change and the Rule of Law, Provision of Infrastructure, Currency and Financial Market Stabilisation, Business Confidence and Good Image, Three Tier Government and Unaccountability
5.1 Education and Training
In accordance with the provisions of Vision 2010, the Committee recommended a compulsory education for children and young people between the ages of 5 and 24. The Committee also suggested a sound basic education in the science and technology.
I therefore recommend that for Nigeria to educate her youth in order to take up the challenges facing them within this 21st century, Nigeria has to emulate the British Educational system. In Britain, education is free and compulsory up to the age of sixteen. For those who want to further their education, there are colleges and universities ready to admit them. British colleges and universities are equipped to meet the educational standard. In Britain, there are laboratory equipment, computers, up-to-date books and research publications, all the necessary technological equipment for science and technology students, and indeed, trained and fully qualified teachers and lecturers. Teachers and lecturers in United Kingdom continually update their knowledge through seminars, lectures and further training.
Nigeria also has to adopt the vocational qualification system of Britain in order to develop their workforce to acquire the skills, experience and knowledge needed to work within knowledge based industries. In UK, in order to develop and improve skills needed for the knowledge based productivity at work place, Training and Vocational Educational Initiative (TVEI) was introduced in 1982. This is to be achieved through the links between the Youth Training Scheme (YTS) and further education. In 1986, Britain also set up City Technology Colleges in order to develop and equip students and workers with the advance technology. Nigeria can develop knowledge based workforce by emulating British educational system and also by promoting welfare and motivation system for teachers and lecturers.
5.2 Cultural Change and the Rule of Law
The culture of get-rich-quick, and too much emphasis on material wealth have to be changed. Due to the break down of educational system, and the emergence of Get-Rich-Quick through fraudulent practice, have led youth to be uninterested in education. The role model has changed from higher education aspiration to money and material wealth aspiration. The new millionaires, who are now the role model to the youths, have little or no educational qualifications. The educated people and qualified teachers are now poorer than the new millionaires. Children and youths emulate what they see as the norm. Who will blame the youths for wanting to be rich and successful? These new millionaires emerged through corruption. The society accept it as normal. Many of these new millionaires are elected to the high political offices, and some are also given high political offices by the government that is supposed to clamp down on corruption. Even though, the new millionaires are widely seen as corrupt, they are honoured with traditional titles by the traditional rulers of the communities.
These new millionaires emerge through dubious means. Many emerged through embezzlement of corporate funds, stealing from the national purse, or by robbing intending foreign investors. They all get their wealth by breaking the law and escaping justice.
For Nigeria to join the industrialised nations, the perception and aspiration of get-rich-quick has to be changed. This culture will only change through the denunciation by the government and the traditional rulers that this fraudulent practice is wrong and will not help Nigeria to attain her aspired status. This will also be done through promotion of good practice and rewarding good behaviours on national, state and local levels. Youths should be encouraged to choose career paths and must be properly rewarded for their efforts.
Granting pardoning to the Speaker of the Federal House of Representative who forged a postgraduate qualification will not help in promoting good practice in Nigeria. In the eyes of foreign investors and Nigerian youths, this is not a sign of encouragement. Corrupt people like the former Speakers of the House of Representatives must be punished to demonstrate that the law does not condone any wrong doing. Punishing the Federal Speaker of the House of Representatives will go a long way to act as deterrent to other people of dubious minds.
5.3 Provision of Infrastructure
Basic infrastructures such as electricity, water, telecommunication, and transport will help business activities and free movements of people and goods. Vision 2010 specified of Nigeria focusing on manufacturing section. Many industries need water and electricity to operate. To start with, the government of Nigeria has to work hard to stabilised electricity and water supply by investing on new and advanced technology to support production. Transportation is a problem in Nigeria. There must be good and up-to-date transport system to sustain the free movements of good and people. This required government investment to procure the necessary equipment. Telecommunication is the key to business success. Provision of necessary technology to improve communication will help business development and growth.
Development and improvement of road and rail transport systems will support business growth. This will involve constructing new rail lines to link up industrial cities. It will also involve investing in modernising the old rail tracks currently out of date. There is no need linking North and South of Nigeria with a single line. It needs linking up of industrial cities. Investment will also be intensified with private partnership to fund construction and repairs of roads and rails. Road and rail transports should also be constructed to link Nigeria and other West African states as they aspire to dominate the regional trade as Vision 2010 specified.
Sea Ports should also be improved. If we are to compete globally, Nigeria must reconstruct their sea ports to accommodate large quantity of consignments. Global goods are transported by sea and Nigerian governments should construct new sea ports with advanced technology to accommodate the large volume of inward and outward goods.
Value chain distribution system will not work if adequate transport system and telecommunication system are not provided. Industries have to receive and distribute their goods and therefore, require adequate transport system. There is no need for Nigeria to invite multinational corporations without providing means of receiving and distributing their goods to required destination without added costs and difficulties.
5.4 Currency and Financial Market Stabilisation
Stabilisation of currency is one of the policies of the present government of Nigeria. Nigerian Currency has continued to depreciate against major international currencies. On a global economy, allowing national currency to be subjected to the full force of free market will have an adverse effect on the economy. International currencies are partially pegged and supported by policies aimed at reducing the impacts of market force. This is one of the reasons why the pounds sterling was withdrawn from the ERM in 1992. If a major currency like the pounds sterling with the backing of strong economy could not stand the heat of the market force, it is unlikely that Nigerian Naira, with a collapse economy will.
The Federal Ministry of Finance working together with the Central Bank of Nigeria must find a way of stabilising the currency. They must evaluate the currencies of other developing economies like china, South Korea, South Africa and India, and compare their rates of exchange against the developed economies’ currencies like US dollar, UK pounds sterling, French Franc, Dutch Mark and Japanese Yen. This will help the government of Nigeria to determine an exchange rate for the national currency (Naira). Unless and until the currency become convertible, investors, especially foreign, will not be comfortable investing in Nigeria.
I therefore, recommend that the government of Nigeria should send a team of economic managers to Germany to study and understand how they stabilised their currency after the Second World War, when it became inconvertible and valueless against the world’s major currencies in 1945. Germany has the experience and the Nigerian government should learn from them.
5.5 Financial Market
The failed Banks (Recovery of Debts) and Financial Malpractices in Banks Decree 1994 has done little or no progress in the financial market management in Nigeria. The collapse in February, 2002 of Savannah Bank, one of Nigeria’s biggest banks with foreign backing is an evidence that financial market in Nigeria is not reliable. I am a victim of mismanagement in this failed bank with an unbearable loss. Any business organisations banking with Savannah Bank will go bankrupt and investors will lose their money.
Nigerian financial market is not yet ready for global market. The financial business community will not risk their investment in Nigerian banking system. The government must work hard to stop these corrupt practices in the banking system before inviting multinationals to invest in the economy. Nigeria has potential for huge financial market if the corrupt practices in the banks are controlled. Nigeria should Japanese its business activities.
5.6 Japanisation of Nigerian Business Activities
Japan, like Nigeria with SAP and Vision 2010 policies, had two notable economic policies. Japan’s economic and industrial developments depended on two bold policies, the Edo period 1603 -1868 and the Meiji Restoration 1868. These two policies, especially the Meiji Restoration paved the way for Japan’s development. Japan sent groups of individuals on fact finding missions, to study the Western economic, industrial and technological developments. Some of the groups were sent to Europe and others to the United States of America. The most notable of them all, was the Iwakura Mission of 1871 -73, charged with studying and understanding the Western educational system, culture, technology and management methods. When the groups returned, Japan copied all that they had learnt into their system. I will say that Japan’s success depended on these missions through which, they emulated good practices and now does it better than those who taught them.
Nigeria should emulate Japan if they want to achieve the objectives of Vision 2010. Advanced management study encourages co-operation more than competition, and this is what globalisation is all about. Countries and industries share knowledge, research and development, and technological advancement. Nigeria must participate in sharing knowledge and good practice. It will be of immense benefits to Nigeria to send groups of young men and women to fact finding missions to Europe, America and Japan to study how they develop and manage their economies and the industrial technology. Since the late 20th century, the world over have been studying and copying the Japanese industrial management system. Japanese business practices, such as Zaibatsu and Kaizen are now widely practised all over the world.
5.6.1 Zaibatsu System
The strength and success of Japanese industries is the coming together of industrial and financial groups. These two groups co-operated with each other and also own shares in each other’s businesses. The zaibatsu system enables them to share knowledge, skills and financial risks. They complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and are inter-twined in business ownership structure. The practice of Zaibatsu prevents businesses from collapsing as fund, expertise and co-operation are widely available. In Japan, the business ownership structure is linked as many established industries pool resources together to jointly own banks and financial organisations. On the other hand, financial organisations also share ownership of other industries, resulting to diversification which Japan’s industries are known for.
If Nigeria emulate the zaibatsu system of Japanese industries, the problem of distressed banks will be solved as industries share their knowledge and support to assist any distressed organisation. If well established business organisations in Nigeria join hands together financially in establishing and supporting these privately owned banks, the question of ‘distress’ will not arise. In Europe, America and Asia, there have been a lot of publicised diversification through acquisitions, joint ventures and shared technological break through, through shared research and development. Nigeria must, and I repeat, must start now to emulate good practices from other parts of the world to avoid being left behind. Other parts of Asia have done what Japan did and they are now centre for attraction for the rest of the world. Nigeria is lucky as they are surrounded by the developed world. We must now study and copy as much as we can to enrich our knowledge store, for the benefits of the envisaged knowledge based industrialisation as contained in Vision 2010.
Nigerian family owned businesses should open their doors for other investors to share the risks. Nigeria should move away from family business to public limited liabilities where investors pool their resources together to share risks. For a country to advance in technology, there must be co-operation in Research and Development. Staff training and development takes time and money in order to build a knowledge store. Co-operation from other industries and professionals will ease the burden, thereby leading to technological advancement, new product development, market penetration and profitability. One of the best systems of improving knowledge store is through Japanese Kaizen, known in the West as continued improvement.
5.6.2 Kaizen System
Kaizen system, in management understanding is Continuous Improvement. Nigeria lacks continuous improvement. Many programmes in Nigeria were abandoned half way through, leading to lose of revenue and time. Most parts of the West, with the exception of Germany, practise revolutionary change in industry development. Japan and Germany practise evolutionary change. Nigeria is not matured yet to practise revolution in organisational change unless they are capable of frog-leaping. The best system for Nigeria at the moment is to establish a system whereby knowledge can be increased through gradual and continuous learning and improvement of good practice rather than fraudulent one.
Skill can be developed through apprenticeship. One has to learn the basics of any act or invention, before he can learn how to improve it. Continuous improvement means starting from the basics to know how things are done. It is better to learn from the ‘inside-out’ rather than ‘outside-in’. An apprentice will first of all, learn the names of the tools which his master uses. He will then improve by learning what they are used for, before he can apply them to work, and continues to use them to become a master.
Nigeria must pause now, go back to basics as John Major, the British Prime Minister had suggested to his country, to find where their problem lies and then start from there. If we continue the way we are going at the moment, it will be like building without foundation, which will eventually collapse. My suggestion is that we must send our young people on a mission of learning how others build and manage their economies, industries and politics, so that we can copy and apply them at home for our own benefits. We will then continue to improve upon what we have learnt.
5.7 Business Confidence and Good Image
There are many disabling factors against Nigeria. There is the instability of the economy, the inconvertibility of the national currency, the official corruption, the ineptitude of business managers, the dilapidation of educational system and basic infrastructure, and the internationalisation of fraudulent practices known as ‘419’. The world business community has lost confidence in Nigerian economy due to these mentioned factors.
For Nigeria to regain business confidence and reposition their image as a country aspiring to join the developed nations, the government must design strategies to tackle these problems. There is no need giving attractive business incentives without reassuring investors of how to protect their investment. Investors will not be happy if their investments continue to depreciate continually. Nigeria must be seen by the world business community to be doing some thing positively to correct these anomalies.
5.8 Three Tier Government and Unaccountability
The process of documentation is cumbersome and can lead to corruption. The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission should have designed a system whereby investors can process their documents without having to go through various levels of governments. The Commission must provide one stop shop dealing with all matters relating to foreign investment. Going through Federal, State and the Local governments gives room for delay and corruption. Nigerian officials are known for intentional delays of process which give room for bribery and corruption.
The Federal government must design a system which ensures accountability by all officials. The official corruption in Nigeria is at all levels and there is no need forcing investors to pass through dubious officials who have selfish interest. Until the world business community see Nigerian government as doing some thing to tackle corruption in order to enforce accountability, all the incentives to woo investors will be a wasted effort.
I therefore, finally conclude that even though the Vision 2010 policy is ambitious, it is achievable but not within the time frame, if the Nigerian government will implement the above recommendations. The problem of Nigeria is not inability to design good policies, but the will, determination and good leadership needed to implement them without selfish interest and favouritism.
oguchiblog 