Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State has introduced the kind of leadership that only a like-mind can take further, writes Daniel Iworiso-Markson
Soon Bayelsa State will confront a monumental date with destiny. One thing is clear: in the context of developments elsewhere, where paradigms are shifting to encompass greater definitions of human progress, Bayelsa’s horizons cannot be circumscribed by the limitations of its past.
Take the idea by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to create a new “Ministry of Possibilities’, which is a further step in the continued aspiration of this modernising nation to not only remain competitive but even stay ahead of competition.
According to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the UAE premier and ruler of Dubai, the unconventional ministry, a virtual one but with input from the whole cabinet, will address pressing national portfolio of issues and build future governing systems.
“Future challenges require the constant development of the government structure …impossible is not in our dictionary”, he proclaimed.
Then I watched the video clip of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reeling off the incredible advancement of his country in science, technology and innovation through which it has built a very strong economy at home and a powerhouse in the global economy. Innovation in ICT has created its leadership in cyber security, tech companies, energy and agriculture.
As a matter of fact, Netanyahu emphasised to the world, the five current pace-setting companies in the world – Microsoft, Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook – have major resource centres in Israel.
“Our true wealth is in innovation”. By the way, Israel has just about 8 million people, which represent 1 per cent of the world’s population.
And from our back yard, Ghana announced to the world that the country will soon be distributing essential healthcare products to hospitals and other health facilities in the country through drones. The scheme is the largest in the world.
“No one in Ghana should die because they can’t access the medicine they need. We must do everything within our means to ensure that each and every citizen of Ghana has access to the quality healthcare they deserve”, an exuberant Ghanaian President, Nana Akufo-Addo, said.
Interestingly, Rwanda, which rose from the ashes of ruin years ago, has since been operating the same drone application in healthcare from 2016, when the pilot scheme started and already expanded to precision agriculture especially in potato and wheat production with farmers now smiling to the bank. We must remember that Rwanda is a landlocked nation without natural resources, yet it is now acknowledged as one of the fastest growing economies in the world.
Whither Nigeria in all this? Why should a nation of swashbuckling people threaten to be such a monument of failure with puny nations, who not long ago looked up to us now treating us with scorn and derision? What have we brought on ourselves? Why do we insist on carrying on with a clearly stultifying political structure?
In spite of all that, Bayelsa over the course of the past eight years is proving that a clear-headed and determined leadership with vision can still brave the odds and make a difference. It is the same audacity of hope which has seen the UAE under al-Makhtoum turn an arid place in a very short time into the toast of the world in commerce, tourism and excellent governance culture.
Yes, good governance. That is what is now driving the economies of both Ghana and Rwanda and to a lesser extent, that of Kenya. Overall, the defining characteristics of these countries are: thinking, bright and creative leadership, vision, determination and commitment, consistency and discipline. They have all helped to initiate some very forward-looking and pragmatic policies and programmes which are consequently changing their stories.
The particular case of Israel is a fascinating one and an inspiration to us in Bayelsa State. Just as Israel is a developmental lodestar in the Middle East and the world at large, having dared impossible conditions, Bayelsa can be similarly driven to become an economic power house not only in Nigeria but in the sub-region and even in the African continent.
Here, the focus is on innovation to drive development and in the process solve so many of the challenges we face in the state by applying technology and smart policies. Through the Israeli model, I think we can overcome many of our teething challenges specific to the Bayelsa condition, taming poverty through entrepreneurship, startups, light manufacturing, agriculture and agribusiness (rice, cassava, banana, plantain and oil palm), fisheries, energy (gas) and tourism.
Through collaboration and partnerships, technology could be used to harness the latent resources in Bayelsa (human and material) and unleash a new economy that could birth the “Bayelsa Economic Miracle.” Of course, innovation in this regard is the driver of productivity, economic growth and development.
It all boils down to leadership, vision and smart policies that are forward looking and disciplined and consistent. This is the model Governor Henry Seriake Dickson has sought to provide in the course of his exemplary leadership, which needs to be consolidated and built upon.
A major challenge in the ambition to leapfrog development is the manpower needed to run the process of innovation and technology and we must necessarily do greater investments in this regard.
The Restoration Government in Bayelsa State led by Governor Dickson has laid a solid foundation for this vision of economic revolution through massive investment in education across the state and other legacy infrastructural projects. Henceforth, the state can do more in prioritising maths and science and ICT as the bedrock of innovation.
The Bayelsa Innovation Strategy should address innovation capacity in relation to solutions to local needs and challenges in the specific areas itemised above. So capacities will come from the many students in schools now with the right motivation for learning and constant upgrading of curriculum to emphasise the rudiments of the economic tech age associated with the new vision under consideration in powering a new economy for Bayelsa State.
Here, innovation and sustainable growth in the long run will play a central role as we must build local capacities revolving around the right education, skills and human development.
The new economy will also have to be inclusive, in which case many of the youths who never had the opportunity of formal education will go through the Bayelsa Technology and Innovation Centre, a large and modern centre, where they will be taught various skills which will necessarily have a relationship with the various segments of specific areas of concentration of economic activities as designed by the realities of the new economy.
This is why we must reject the confining vision, which references Bayelsa State as a civil service state. We cannot continue with this mindset as all efforts must now be geared towards production and manufacturing without which no nation or state can claim to be developed. Like we had in Israel in their early stages of development, Bayelsa must begin start-up companies in different areas with the right support from the government, with the private sector as the engine of growth.
Our people must shake off the lethargy of waiting for government before they can make impact even as government can serve as key enabler. This was what informed my decision to henceforth embark on routine visits to start-up companies in Bayelsa, which is part of the ongoing effort by the Dickson-led Restoration Government to recognise and encourage young entrepreneurs in the state.
A few days ago, I visited the workshop of a talented young Bayelsan, who uses sawdust to fabricate lamp holders and screeding of walls. The support from government will certainly go a long way to enable him realise the full potential for his business.
The Bayelsa innovation strategy towards a new economy will have to build niche competencies in sectors of comparative advantage especially in agriculture, which is capable of being the lynchpin of a major economic revolution in the state.
Through technology application, there could be a great boom ahead when the rice fields in areas like Peremabiri, Ayamasa, Ofoni, Okordia-Zarama and in many communities in Ogbia, Nembe are well developed in increased acreages, improved varieties
and fortified with precision agriculture to increase yields 3 to 5 times a year.
Also, the cultivation of oil palm, cassava, plantain and banana on a large scale with same precision agriculture will, no doubt, give quantum results. The large scale fish farming, which has since commenced in the state courtesy of the Governor Dickson-led Restoration Government, will need greater investment and robust private sector participation for it to attain sustainable economic significance.
Bayelsa has core competencies in these areas and with the right comparative advantage will ensure great opportunities for export. A major relevance of such huge investment in these areas is also the capacity to address socio-economic challenges particularly the impact on poverty reduction by creating jobs.
A concerted effort must also be made to see how the enormous gas deposits in Bayelsa State can be converted into a huge asset that it represents despite the existing legal framework. Gas could fetch the state billions of dollars, when the current spate of flaring is completely cut off. That should be a priority concern. Then all efforts must be made to ensure our people begin some start-ups no matter the scale.
Entrepreneurship is the way to go. We cannot continue to pride ourselves as a civil service state. The Restoration Government already has a master plan on this and the active collaboration of the private sector must be sought in this regard. Borrowing from Israel, technology and innovation are capable of changing our economic narrative through adaptation.
Indeed Israel and Dubai have shown that with a clear vision and determined leadership, all things are possible even in an arid or blighted environment. We must change and advance socio-economic progress and better the lives of our people such that in about two decades, with the right priorities, smart policies, consistency and good governance, Bayelsa State can emerge an economic power house that challenges the rest of Nigeria to do better.
Governor Henry Seriake Dickson has set the ball rolling in this regard. Now, are there men out there to pick up the gauntlet, who see leadership as a call to self-denial, service and sacrifice rather than corruption of our morals and licentious living, the public treasury as an extension of his private pockets?
Now, who will be a hero for Bayelsa?
––Iworiso-Markson is the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Bayelsa State
