Doing Business in Lagos Part 2 by Don Abiodun Odedeyi

THROWING MONEY IN THE DRAIN, The African way

Continuous exportation of raw materials, importation of finished goods into Nigeria or any periphery countries, irrespective of balance of trade will continue to underdevelop the later so far this action remain in practice.

One of the critical panaceas that I have come to accept (as reason for poverty and solution) is the Structural Development which advocate for delink/break-of-ties (with the core countries) and rigorous homegrown import substitution industries.

This decision did not come from the bin.

The Chinese example is living right with us as it denied twitter a chance to make entry into it country instead released its own microblog version, weibo, in 2009. 

With the world’s population at 7.5 billion and China’s population at 1.379 billion (that’s 18.4% of the world’s population), China remain the largest market among the Developing countries. The decision to shut out twitter and embrace local substitute, Weibo, has interpreted to $11.3 billion in value, about $200 million more than Twitter (Source: money.cnn.com).

In the third quarter of 2017 alone, it stock surged in value more than 10 percent making it twice as valuable as Twitter Inc.

What that means is a long list of benefits to China including employment, forex (inward) among others. A feat that would have been unheard of if Twitter had made its way into the Chinese market in 2009.

With 186 million (Source: United States Census Bureau) people and counting as at 2016, Nigeria is a huge market for world industry yet Nigeria is neither seeing itself as market for its own goods or view other populated countries of the world (India, China, Russia etc) as market ground.

It is a pity that Rodney Walter’s How Europe Underdeveloped Africa was digested and solution implemented by an unusual country whose name was never mentioned in the book.

The introduction of Funds among other investment funds by governments of sub-sahara Africa is a critical intervention and a leg in a two-way action that will rejuvenate the mockery state of industry found all across Africa.

Aside from struggling with lack of infrastructural amenities needed to deliver these products to the consumers, the availability of substitute goods due to globalization will soon drive these industries, employes and these Funds into oblivion.

My honest question is, why all these efforts when it can’t be sustained in the long run?

Why are Africa leaders keep opening our borders to products that are produced locally when we are waging war against poverty through single digit loans, CAPFunds, different monetary empowerment programmes? 

Certainly, there is a mixed-up of confused advice from appointed officials whose duty is to develop framework and present to the executives who adopt these and forward to the legislative for approval and budgetery allocation.

It is indeed an unnessary exposure of home-grown industries to unfair competition against foreign companies who have technology/mechanical advantages to produce enmass using less time.

Minnesota Farmer

A work-field in Kenya

The ongoing agricultural revamp in Nigeria cannot pick a single farmer who could boast of cultivating 50 acres of arable land yet this is not new to farmers in the United States or Britain.

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