You know, we Nigerians tend to see the glass half-empty. And often-times we have good reason to. What with various social issues like corruption, mis-governance, political instability, etc. You can hardly blame anybody for being pessimistic about the outlook for the future.
But is it really that bad? I think a lot has happened since 1999 that gets me thinking, well, Nigeria may not be so far off from development after all. Sure, the pace is slow, and the impact is hardly felt. But a lot of things have happened in the economy that we don't usually take notice of. I'll list a few:
1. Pension Act: This fund has grown to around $11bn as at 2010. The funds, having being largely secured in bonds rather than equities or futures, are largely secure from the tanking of the global markets we're currently experiencing everywhere. I wonder if U.S. 401(k) holders can say the same?
2. Insurance Industry: Though not yet uhuru, the industry has managed to grow 11% over the last 4 years, since 2007. They've also diversified into various products. The challenge they still face is the natural pessimism of Nigerians. But that they have managed to grow and sustain their business is quite remarkable.
3. Health Care: The health insurance scheme has changed the face of health care in Nigeria for the better. The only problem is, there is very little investment in private health care by Nigerians. I'd have expected that, just like in India, the Nigerian healthcare entrepreneurs could have teamed up with their diaspora counterparts to finance mega projects in health care delivery, pharmaceutics, and biotech. Health insurance bridges the gap, and more people can now get access to good services. But right now the few private hospitals cannot cope with the volumes, and end up delivering poor service.
4. ICT: I won't dwell too much on this, cos it has been said too many times. However, it is worth mentioning that ICT, especially telecom deregulation, has probably generated an income for Nigeria in the billions of USD, and may have created over a million direct or indirect jobs.
Maybe you guys can help me with a few more sectors where you think we have made progress. Remember, this is about positive developments, and especially areas where we all should be looking at for investment, rather than trying to make our fortune from forex trading or IB jobs (I am saying that tongue in cheek!)
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
We Need To Rediscover Ubuntu
Ubuntu: "I am what I am because of who we all are." (From a translation offered by Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee.)
I actually stumbled on the meaning of the word Ubuntu by accident this evening, while watching Jacob's Cross. Of course I had heard of the word in computer circles, the operating system that's a variant of Linux, but I certainly was not aware that behind Ubuntu was a very interesting concept or philosophy, and the fact that it was something unique to Africa. So I decided to do a little research.
Ubuntu, from what I have been able to garner, is very much in consonance with the concept of interdependence as preached by Stephen Covey his bestseller, the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Covey, in his book, talked about a Continuum of Maturity, which represents the bridge between low and high effectiveness. Milestones along the continuum represent stages of Dependence, Independence, and Interdependence. According to Wikipedia, Nelson Mandela explained Ubuntu as follows:
A traveller through a country would stop at a village and he didn't have to ask for food or for water. Once he stops, the people give him food, entertain him. That is one aspect of Ubuntu, but it will have various aspects. Ubuntu does not mean that people should not enrich themselves. The question therefore is: Are you going to do so in order to enable the community around you to be able to improve?
It appears the whole point of Ubuntu is essentially interdependence, which is exactly the same concept Covey has postulated. You first learn how to become independent, and stand on your own, then you unite with your fellows and ultimately depend on each other. It's a noble concept, without a doubt. Why should it concern us? I'll seek to answer.
Sometimes,you tend to wonder what it is all about, why and how it is that we seem to be self-absorbed, and obsessed with the pursuit of self-preservation and advancement of self. We Nigerians are particularly ultra-competitive and, I dare say, quite selfish. We treat each other oftentimes more with contempt than respect, and seem to be more interested in getting one over the next person. We go to great lengths, and ultimately achieve measures of independence. But we inherently don't trust each other, and end up competing against each other. Small wonder we hardly ever achieve beyond the individual.
We need to imbibe Ubuntu.
I actually stumbled on the meaning of the word Ubuntu by accident this evening, while watching Jacob's Cross. Of course I had heard of the word in computer circles, the operating system that's a variant of Linux, but I certainly was not aware that behind Ubuntu was a very interesting concept or philosophy, and the fact that it was something unique to Africa. So I decided to do a little research.
Ubuntu, from what I have been able to garner, is very much in consonance with the concept of interdependence as preached by Stephen Covey his bestseller, the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Covey, in his book, talked about a Continuum of Maturity, which represents the bridge between low and high effectiveness. Milestones along the continuum represent stages of Dependence, Independence, and Interdependence. According to Wikipedia, Nelson Mandela explained Ubuntu as follows:
A traveller through a country would stop at a village and he didn't have to ask for food or for water. Once he stops, the people give him food, entertain him. That is one aspect of Ubuntu, but it will have various aspects. Ubuntu does not mean that people should not enrich themselves. The question therefore is: Are you going to do so in order to enable the community around you to be able to improve?
It appears the whole point of Ubuntu is essentially interdependence, which is exactly the same concept Covey has postulated. You first learn how to become independent, and stand on your own, then you unite with your fellows and ultimately depend on each other. It's a noble concept, without a doubt. Why should it concern us? I'll seek to answer.
Sometimes,you tend to wonder what it is all about, why and how it is that we seem to be self-absorbed, and obsessed with the pursuit of self-preservation and advancement of self. We Nigerians are particularly ultra-competitive and, I dare say, quite selfish. We treat each other oftentimes more with contempt than respect, and seem to be more interested in getting one over the next person. We go to great lengths, and ultimately achieve measures of independence. But we inherently don't trust each other, and end up competing against each other. Small wonder we hardly ever achieve beyond the individual.
We need to imbibe Ubuntu.
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