@techscorpion Thanks for starting this conversation. It brings a perspective that is important to re-iterate time and time again. I learned very early in my career that the formal world is mostly a big smoke screen.
In 1998 I got my first job out of college at the IMF at corporate HQ. I thought myself pretty fortunate, fresh out of a liberal arts college with a BA in Economics.
I spent 2 years there and came out with a very different perspective on many things. I learned a lot about the technical aspects of being an economist, how to evaluate country accounts, assess macro environments, build nice looking analytical reports etc. But the most important lesson I learned was no one cares about Africa other than Africans.
To most foreigners in modern times Africa is about what they can get from it. The world is about who can hold and expand dominion over it, America was dominant and intended to remain so, others have risen to act as a counter balance. Economic colonization is real, no one is investing in Africa or anything for that matter out of charity, they intend to get more than they put in.
We have all the tools we need to determine our own destiny. We are entering a new age where Africanâs can wrest our futures out of the hands of outsiders. Colonialism did not end with independence, it just morphed.
This time around we need to be careful not to sell Manhattan for the equivalent of $24 in 1626. The ubiquity of technology in inter-connectivity is affording us another opportunity to liberate ourselves. Lets make the most of it.
Mark Zuckerberg is in Lagos for the same reason Bill Gates did a hop skip and a jump into Lagos and Abuja. Both men have come across the highly talented Nigerian some of whom they have hired into their organizations and want to learn more about the source of this black gold. It is no different from the forays of Western companies into India when they first discovered the brilliance of Indian engineers many of whom contributed greatly to technology in Silicon Valley. It has nothing to do with African recolonization but the largely untapped creative brilliance and energy of the Nigerian youth.
Iâm tempted to change the title to âThe Obsidian Crabâ.
To focus on the Mark Zuckerberg is to miss the forest for the trees. The thought process that went into the piece was less about him and more about our inability to create a Mark Zuckerberg.
Whilst one cannot discount the danger of neo-colonialism, it peters in significance to the latter part of your sentence. The untapped creative brilliance and energy to which you refer has always been there, even before the Independence era. The real question is why is it untapped, and will it remain untapped for many decades to come. At least compared to our rapidly evolving peers in India, China, Russia, and Europe.
Perhaps to underscore @AkinSawyerrâs point about the clear and present dangers of neo-colonialism and how easily we can remain crabs with bowls in our hand for many more decades to come, Premium Times recently published this editorial on Monsantoâs foray into Nigeria. TLDR: Monsanto, a multi billion dollar American agrochemical and biotech firm, has been trying to spread its genetically modified seeds in Nigeria for a long time. Once approved and planted, our lands will only be suitable for cultivating their patented seeds. The approval will be signed by an obsidian crab.
Thatâs changing a good clickbait subject to a lame one. This one is better, it gets to rile our emotions - the âwhite manâ is coming to steal what we have. Or more like, what we think we have - but havenât seen.
We keep hearing that âNigerian lives matter,â but they seem to matter only when that helps politicians to get votes, or when that slogan helps demagogues demonize the police. The other 99 percent of Nigerian lives destroyed by people who are not police do not seem to attract nearly as much attention in the media.
We keep hearing that âNigerian Entrepreneurs Matter,â but they seem to matter only when that helps politicians to get votes, or when that slogan helps demagogues demonize the police. The other 99 percent of Nigerianlives destroyed by people who are not police do not seem to attract nearly as much attention in the media.
We have heard a lot about Nigerian Entrepreneur failing to meet Global Business Standards. So you might think that it would be front-page news when some whole ghetto Nigerian Entrepreneur not only meet, but exceed, the acceptable standards of Entrepreneurship in more upscale communities.
If Nigerian Entrepreneur Success was considered half as newsworthy as Entrepreneurship failures, such facts would be headline news â and people who have the real interests of Nigerian Entrepreneurs at heart would be asking. âWow! How can we get more youths into these charter dream?â
We seriously have to strive to celebrate our successfully Entrepreneurs and also unleash more favorable tech related solution.
PS. You guys should calm down with all this big big grammer. My head is spinning right now. Canât you guys prove your points with simply English? Abeg O! Hi
You focus a little too much on the negative. How many places birth a Zuckerberg ? The vast majority of great global tech companies were created in the USA which constitutes 5% of the worldâs population. Europe the brainbox of the world for much of the last century are asking why not them, what are they doing wrong? India that provides thousands of brilliant engineers to Silicon Valley are also asking why not them.
Can Nigeria produce a global superstar tech company? It could but the odds are slim when the environment is as treacherous and unsupportive as what Nigerian government has bequeathed itâs people along with the parochial mentality of Nigerians in general. Because otherwise talent is global and the same dysfunctional Nigeria has produced Oliver Mobisson, Kunle Olukotun, Bart Nnaji, Cyprian Emeka Uzoh all serious brains that were poached by the Americans.
But locally, regionally Nigeria is creating solid tech companies like interswitch, paga, konga, Bella Naija, etc.
Hi