I just got a book called the world is flat which takes a practical view of globalisation. I have only just started to read it but the concept already scares me. Why? India and China are being touted as the new economic superpowers, America will resurge from the effects of offshoring and Europe will... still be Europe. South America, because of it's close proximity will begin to supply even more sophisticated services to the US. The idea is that advances in ICT will create a level playing field. Bangalore will be as accessible and wired as Silicon Valley. It won't matter where goods and services come from as long as they are cheaper, better quality and get to the user faster. So where does that leave Africa?
As a provider of natural resources which we are immensely blessed with. Unfortunately, we are unable to add value to our natural resourcs. We export cotton and import expensive textiles, cocoa for chocolates, oil for gasoline etc. China is already attempting to secure our oil and they will move on to other resources. Nigeria has the potential to become another BRIC economy (Brazil, Russia, India and China) but it takes men of great vision to take us there. Our problem is not natural resources nor infrastructure. What we lack is vision about the sort of country we want to create. So far, we have tried to be a little bit of everything thus creating a sort of Frankenstein's monster. All we need is one leader with a strong enough vision to infect each and every Nigerian. Joan of Arc infused a sense of nationalism in the French and enabled them route the English. All this at just seventeen. So it doesn't matter how old you are are what sex you are. All that matters is you have a vision you are willing to stick your neck out for.
Which brings me to a hot topic at then moment... The PDP primaries. The calibre of candidates is embarrassing. Is this the best we can do? Where are the Nasirs, Ngozis, Emeka Anyaokus etc. When will serious people begin to seek elective office? Anyway, I don't feel like writing about this anymore. What's the worse that could happen? So let's think straight for once and get our act together.
Kshorty1
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2 comments:
First thing, I do not think PDP is an option, not to talk of it being the only option. The beauty and strength of the book you referred to, The World is Flat' is that it challenges you to think differently or to use a buzz word (or phrase) out of the box. With Nigerian politics, we need to start doing the same. We have run our politics in a particular way for so long and it has not worked. We need to stop back, step back, reassess and come up with new ideas.
My suggestions: we need to stop saying XYZ is good but can't get there. If we feel XYZ is good, we MUST do our own bit to the FULL extent of our capacity to enable him do so. There is nothing like wasting your vote. We must also learn to leave sentiments out of our electoral choices as this means that we intend to exploit the person we have chosen on sentiment. We must recognise that when the right person gets there on merit, the good that he does is available to ALL without discrimination. When someone gets there on sentiment, a small and select group have discriminatory access to our collective resources.
Personally I am supporting Pat UTOMI in whatever way I can because I believe he will add value to everybody and therefore me if he becaomse President. Think about it, make your choice and support your choice whoever it may be. If you want my advice, support Pat UTOMI!
As much as I believe that we need to make a clean break from the past, I daresay that Nigeria is not ready for Pat Utomi. He does possess excellent credentials but I feel he is too much of an outsider and he is quite a paradigm shift. You and I as the educated elite of Nigeria might think highly of Pat Utomi but we are less than 1% of the voting public. What does the average man on the street think of him? Have they even heard of him? I personally detest the way the PDP is run but I am also a realist about the present political landscape. Which party has risen to the fore to challenge the dominance of the PDP. The Action Congress recently held was an exmaple of how not to run a democratic experiment. Some wise old men just decided which officials to elect and read out the names to the delegates. Wasn't this the same thing that the AD did in 1998? Where is the party today? We have a long way to go and we have only just begun the journey. I only hope we have the patience to stay the course.
Anyway, whether we choose Donald Duke or Pat Utomi, it is clear we need to keep the hawks out. I think we should start by identifying candidates we don't want and will not accept. After that we can then concentrate on true candidates. Maybe, just maybe Pat Utomi might emerge?!
(I'm still up for Donald Duke though)
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