“The economic factor in the politics of a country is always a difficult matter to discuss, for it is made up of infinite details, some of them purely speculative, all of them hard to disentangle”- John Buchan
Presuming that there is a political class in Nigeria that is both visionary and patriotic, this series of articles aims to provoke discussion on the role of this class in the scheme of development and modernisation of the country. Industrialising a country is a conscious political decision arrived at by a deliberate process of identification of the nation’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as locating its place in history.
The convergence of political power and astute planning in the realm of the national economy are the two forces that are best suited to shape the destiny of any nation. China’s phenomenal rise and development in the last four decades or so, gives testimony to the role of the leadership of that country under the tutelage of the Communist Party of China, CPC, and its various apparatuses. The controlled and guided planning that led to the emergence of China as the global manufacturing superpower is not a miracle but the careful nurturing of strategies for establishing the country’s ascendency in the world economy.
Likewise, for Nigeria to achieve a similar role and status, the country’s leadership and political establishment must embrace a conscious path towards industrialising the country and modernising its productive forces. The mantra of the diversification of the economy has been pronounced ad nauseam and ad infinitum to the point that its has lost its meaning and currency altogether. A commitment to develop the country must start from the leadership and trickle downwards to the various levels of performers in the national programme of economic regeneration. This trend can only be assured with the adoption of policies and implementation of programmes on reform and readjustment of the economy along the lines of prudent management, selective investment, innovation and modernisation.
Today, as Nigeria stands on the crossroads, her fortunes can only be made worse by the wrong choices in policies while the correct choices will ultimately reinforce the belief that Nigeria still stands a chance to be among the top 25 developed nations of the world. Such a convergence is definitely needed at this time in Nigeria’s emergence and evolution as a democracy with great potentials as a global economic power. The rule of law and democratic governance are frameworks around which policies are constructed and decisions are taken in the direction to which a country should go. Ultimately however, there can be no substitute to the texture and tenor of the sound management of the national economy, and the marshaling of resources towards an accelerated transformation of Nigeria into a high performing economic power.
Going by the dictates of politics in this country, an astute manager of the economy who also understands the intricacies of 21st century challenges of nation-building has become imperative. Aggregating the various factors that make a country economically viable and prosperous, and accelerating the drivers of stability, predictability as well as accountability, are functions of the political class as evidenced by the examples of Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, China and several other countries that have emerged from the world’s economic back woods to take the leading position today.
Undoubtedly, many initiatives have been adopted and put in place by previous administrations in the form of ease of doing business, for instance, and the various other efforts geared towards attracting investments into the country that at one point stabilised the Nigerian economy and saw the country emerge from a deep recession with relatively few adverse consequences. However, going beyond such expediences, a deliberate focus on rapid industrialisation should be formulated and pursued aggressively. Industrialisation of Nigeria is the greatest challenge that has continued to confront successive administrations in the country since independence in 1960. This factor underlines the greatest weakness and soft underbelly of the country that has deprived Nigeria the chance of becoming a world class power.
Critical deployment of skills in governance and the astute management of the economy are the two most significant factors in the achievement of economic development and industrialisation everywhere in the world today. Nigeria cannot therefore; be an exception to this rule. Industrialisation must be the minimum baseline that should be established by Nigerian politics, and the yardstick by which the success or failure of any administration should be determined. Without the concerted effort to do this, politics itself becomes meaningless in the sense that it can only lead Nigeria down a blind alley with no prospects of emergence from her state of indifferent existence and attaining the heights of significance and prosperity that she should rightly aspire to.
It is in this regard that the historical task of building a peaceful, prosperous and respectable nation to preserve the dignity of the Black Race should be aligned with the desire to industrialise and achieve a reasonable level of physical economic development that should translate into decent living for all Nigerians and other Africans. It is only in such a condition that the pursuit of the collective well-being of the African and Black Race can be meaningful and become an agenda around which Nigeria could galvanise the global African Diaspora. It is only Nigeria that has the potential and the capacity for the undertaking of such a historical task, especially as it relates to taking more seriously her role as the interlocutor for the Black Race.
Nigeria possesses all the relevant indicators to provide the necessary impetus that is needed towards creating the conditions for the emergence of a “Black Centre of Gravity” to reorient global opinion vis-a-vis issues of existential import such as inclusive racial cooperation towards solving global problems like racism and racial discrimination, xenophobia and associated human rights violations.
Industrialisation of Nigeria must therefore, be the scaffolding around which the Renaissance Project for the Black Race would be built that would encompass the vast range of identities and complex mixes of interests that define the condition of the African Diaspora today. Such an effort would not only need a strong personality in the mould of the early nationalist figures of Africa, but also a man of the moment who has passed through the crucible of politics to become a statesman of global repute.
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