Nigeria Favours The Shallow Over The Deep, Intelligence Also Matters
By:Douglas Ogbankwa Esq. @douglasogbankwa@gmail.com
The Super Falcons got 100k dollars for winning the WAFCON, but a Police Man or Police Officer has served the country for 35 years and gets 2 million Naira or less .
There are many young Nigerians who are investing in IT, infrastructure, and no support from the government. The owners of futtetwave and pay stack relocated the headquarters of their businesses to South Africa. The Nigerian Government did not ask why or even encourage them to cone back. Pfizer and Glaxco Smith kline left Nigeria,no questions from the Nigerian Government.
Do you know how much 100k dollars will do to a start up? Do Do you know how many start-ups are looking for seed funds .We, however, choose to give it to footballers when there are many businesses struggling for survival.
The empowerment programmes are shrouded in secrecy and mystery. I have not seen one person who is a beneficiary.
As a government, we do not encourage excellence in creativity. I have been promoting Benin Writers Society, and since I was a teenager , no government has ever called me for support .If I were a BB Naija House Mate, a Footballer, or a Musician, I would be hosted by my Governor or appointed Special Adviser on any related field.
The government should wake up and know that there are many talented Nigerians that need our support.
The rest of us are like national orphans , while those who play football, shake big buttocks ,big breasts, or organise concerts are patronised by the government.
The Intelligent in Nigeria also matter. A Best Graduating Student in a University has 30 thousand Naira. It is getting worse because the last one I saw got 20 tubers of yam. If you sold 20 tubers of yam today, you can get 60 thousand Naira.
As we speak, we are not in the AI race
Our children are still learning diffusion and osmosis when their mates have moved from coding to building AI controlled systems, including Humanoids.
Nigeria does not have an AI development policy .The Minster of Education is rather interested in killing fledging knowledge. If not, I see nothing wrong in a 14 year old getting into the university. That is what happens all over the world .
Government should support young talented Nigerians. The money for the so called Conditional Grant Scheme should be given as grants to run businesses. Nigeria has perhaps the highest number of CEOs in the world. Let us harness the Nigerian Enterprising Spirit .
Let us encourage our vibrant young population to create perhaps the greatest black nation in the world .
