Chukwudi Iwuchukwu wrote:
I have been doing a lot of thinking of late.
One of the conclusions I reached after weeks of intense brainstorming is that for Nigeria to be saved and for the country to be a giant, starting Fintech business up and down (even though I’m a big fan of young people doing amazing things in the Fintech space) will not save Nigeria.
What will save Nigeria is to copy the same economic template that saved Vietnam and Bangaladash that turned the two countries into super power in manufacturing and export.
The economic miracle and turnaround that transformed Vietnam and Bangladesh into the Asian Tigers of today
40 years ago, Vietnam and Bangladesh were among the poorest countries in the world.
Nigeria was richer than them because of the oil boom, and had higher GDP growth as well.
The leaders of these two countries went to a retreat to discover the low-hanging fruit which could take the citizens of their countries from poverty to prosperity.
The low hanging fruit, which they discovered and then implemented, was manufacturing and export, but not Fintech.
The leaders of these countries went to work to make this happen, and the outcome is looking better than in Nigeria, which has flutterwave, Opay, and Patricia.
Just last year, Bangladesh made $52 billion exporting clothes, including jean trousers to other countries in the world.
Vietnam made $300 billion in exporting 22 items in 2020.
For proper context, Nigeria has not made $100 billion per annum selling crude oil for a long time now.
Aside from the money these two countries made from exports, the lives of ordinary Vietnamese and Bangladeshis have changed for the better.
Vietnam's people are 400% wealthier in 2022 than they were in 1990.
In Bangladesh, citizens are 220% richer than they were in 2000.
This Fintech thing is good. I’m a big fan, but manufacturing and exporting of finished products have better outcomes on the lives of ordinary citizens than focusing on how to be be the next Flutter Wave.
Most importantly, manufacturing companies create more jobs for a low-skilled country like Nigeria.
Imagine what will be the outcome of all the tailors on Facebook and Instagram if they are sewing clothes for the export market.
These tailors will become millionaires and billionaires in dollars and Nigeria and it’s GDP wlll be richer for it.
Vietnam and Bangladesh are growing and delivering prosperity.
While we are shouting Fintech, mobile money, services, and Nigeria will do things differently.
The next president has his job cut out for him in turning Nigeria from a service economy that delivers few jobs to a manufacturing economy that exports finished goods and products to the rest of the world.
To do this is not rocket science.
Fix the power problem so that manufacturers can have a 24-hour power supply.
Then encourage private investors to build more ports for export, the way the Aswani family is building Lekki deep sea port, so that our people can easily export their finished products to the world without stress.
We are breeding an army of unemployed youths finding jobs only in unproductive and low-paying service jobs.
While the citizens of Vietnam are becoming richer because they are exporting their finished products, we are shouting, give everyone a laptop, and we are doing things differently with mobile money. You are very very wicked.
The era of high crude oil price -driven growth is over.
It ended in 2015.
Nigeria’s salvation and redemption lie in shaping it to be a manufacturing export behemoth and not this Fintech thing.
We can be the next Vietnam and Bangladesh.
Yes! It is possible.
Topic: manufacturing companies create more jobs for a low-skilled country like Nigeria (Read 206 times)
