Nigeria should adopt a committee-type, non-party government and mobilise all for learning, urges Francis E. Ogbimi
This article is an open letter to all Nigerians and especially for the attention of Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd), Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo (rtd), Nigerian youths, The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria(CBCN) and CAN officials. It is also for the attention of the Sultan of Sokoto and the leader of Muslims in Nigeria, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III; Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi Ojaja II; and the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Akinyemi III. It is also for the special attention of Chief E. K. Clark, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), Prof. Wole Soyinka, Chief Emeka Anyaoku and others who have expressed their concerns about the worrisome state of our nation, Nigeria, openly.
I am Emeritus Professor of Technology Management. Early in the 1980s I had reasons to ask myself whether the Blackman is the same modern man like the Caucasian and Asian. I commenced a curiosity-driven research in 1986 to establish the scientific basis of the present global distribution of wealth and power and how nations develop. The research has been blessed abundantly. I have summarized the highlights of the results in a seven-book series.
I believe that the results of my research constitute a special God’s gift-package to mankind.
There are basically two types of nations in the world today. They are the industrialized and rich nations on the one hand and the non-industrialized and poor nations on the other hand. Nigeria belongs to the poor nations’ category. History shows that all the industrialized nations in the world today had agricultural-handcraft economies and were poor for many centuries before they were transformed into industrialized nations.
Our research revealed that learning (education, training, employment and research) is the primary source of industrialization. The history of the economic, social and political statuses of mankind is that of his learning. ALL human beings are born as crying-babies. The baby soon begins to babble ( learns how to talk) and later talks. The baby who could not babble grows up to be a dumb adult. Just like the baby acquires the capabilities to talk through learning, so s/he acquires every other capability through learning. God made all humans as crying babies to learn all their life-time. If a society possesses the capabilities to manufacture many scientific products, the citizens must have acquired the relevant knowledge, skills and capabilities(KSCs). The learning-people appreciate in intrinsic values with learning-time and learning-intensity. Learning increases the capabilities do things and create wealth.
Industrialization is achieved when a nation has learnt for a period and accumulated a critical quantity of KSCs and experts. The scientific knowledge possessed by the citizens of a nation and the extent to which the citizens apply it in solving problems are the most important factors that determine the economic and political statuses of nations in the world today.
The rate of transformation of a society is determined by the learning rate. European and Asian nations neglected learning for thousands of years. They acquired science through learning-on-the-job. Britain had no public educational systems when it achieved the first modern industrial revolution. Hence, the transformation of European and Asian economies from the agricultural status into the industrialized status took 2000-3000 years.
We developed a theory of employment which demonstrated that Employment (in quantity and quality) is the blood of the economy. The theory showed that increase in employment in an economy improves productivity and decreases inflation; improvement in productivity is the true antidote to inflation.
To speak a language, an individual must acquire certain minimum quantity of vocabulary and syntax of the language. The more the effort put into learning a language the sooner a person speaks it. We can say that nations which are industrialized speak the science and technology (S & T) language. Hence the more the citizens of a nation mobilize to learn and acquire KSCs and develop experts the sooner the nation achieves industrialization or speaks the S & T language.
Japan mobilized all the citizens for learning in the period 1886-1905, 20 years and achieved industrialization. China, after wallowing in poverty under kings for about 3000 years mobilized over one billion people for learning and industrialization in 1949. China achieved industrialization in early 1980s. Unemployment, poverty, high crime wave disappeared readily. That was how China, after being called a sleeping giant for about 3000 years accelerated its transformation to become a world power.
Nigeria will also become industrialized in a few decades, if it mobilizes all Nigerians for learning. Nigeria is at an advanced stage of failing. Nigeria is not just facing insecurity problem that soldiers and mercenaries can solve. Nigerians need to be built the nation.
In my book, “Understanding the theory and Practice of Federalism and Democracy,” written in 2008, one of the nine recommendations and two observations I made for transforming Nigeria, the British intention, into a Nation, was, No Party politics and Elections for 50 years. Under that subheading I wrote, “International Political Transfer(IPT) and the associated national politics practiced since 1960 have not promoted national development in Nigeria, rather they have been promoting retrogression, decadence and decay. The wrong thing indoctrinated… know is that national political parties develop overnight and they are the most important features of democracy. Let national party politics evolve and develop in Nigeria from non-party based activities/elections. Let Nigeria conduct non-party based election for about 50 years. During the administration of Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd), Aust 1998-May 29, 1999, Nigeria conducted non-party based local government elections.
The social, economic and political situations in Nigeria today are much worse than in 2008. Nigeria needs “blood transfusion” to survive. Nigeria needs an encompassing economic/social/political proramme to make Nigeria a great nation.
I suggest that there should be no party politics/elections in 2023, 50 years thereafter, otherwise Nigeria will fail. Nigeria should adopt a committee-type, non-party governments, to mobilize all Nigerians for learning and industrialization. Nigeria will achieve industrialization in a few decades like Japan and China did.
fogbimi@yahoo.com
