ayox2003:

Peter Drucker was advocating for a knowledge based economy in countries that have already done the basics. These countries already have industries, infrastructure and great service delivery. Drucker also canvassed for knowledge workers. Yes, we can adopt the knowledge based economy but the foundation must be laid. They include agriculture, education, infrastructure, manufacturing and production. Without these basics, nothing can be done. Plus, knowledge comes from expertise and expertise comes from experience. Without a real-life experience, what knowledge have we to offer? That's why we need these industries to create experts who would sell their knowledge.

I strongly agree with u but this is Africa where we need to create jobs from the vast landmass that we're blessed with. Poco a poco we will get there.


Frawzey

esere826:

I do not believe that the major problem with us is corruption
Even if we are not corrupt, I suspect we will still be underdeveloped

We primarily lack effective management skills
With the lack of management skills comes corruption and other ills

If we have effective management skills, we will know what we can afford to eat (corrupt) and what we cant afford to eat.

If you know the science behind a plane, and that if a certain bolt is removed , that the plane is 70%likely to crash. You wont eat the money for the bolt

But if you think the plane flying and remaining the air is a miracle wrought between God and oyinbo, chopping the money for the bolt wont be a problem to u

PapaBrowne:
I totally agree with you that the foundation must be laid. However, My take is that information has been democratised and the use of knowledge has been made accessible to all with the advent of the internet.

Now I ask you, has india done the basics?? If you check the records, you'll find that Africa is actually in a very similar place with India. But how come India is pretty much taking advantage of the Knowledge sectors? Why is India able to attract 500 million dollars in healthcare costs from Nigeria and the better countries like USA ARE NOT?
How come India is exporting more in software to Europe and America than say Japan or germany which are economies with better basics than India? How come India's bollywood makes more money globally than France's film industry despite France having a better go at the basics?

The next google could be founded by anybody in any dorm room anywhere on the planet. Nigeria can actually focus on creating knowledge solutions tailored to emerging markets...solutions that make life easier for those at the base of the pyramid. That group is 3 billion in number and are a 6 trillion dollar economy with impressive growth potentials.

PapaBrowne:

Incase you think there are no industries spring up, check Dangote. A decade ago he was a cement importer! Today he has factories all over Africa. Trust me, there are many Dangotes in the making all over the continent!

occam: I'm sure we are familiar with this saying: "The greatest lie the Devil ever told was convincing humanity that he didn't exist." Selling gold dust to and convincing African countries that it's diamond has now become the "flavor of the month" for development practitioners.

Some lies repeated in this video may indeed be more frightful than the devil's lie. We need to take heed lest we over imbibe the sweet words and lose focus.

Pan African-ism is simply a cool slang that serves no purpose. Africa is not a monolithic block, but countries sharing a continent. Each country must therefore fashion its own path to development based on it's unique problem.

Seminars touting GDP growth, low debt to GDP for African countries are increasingly commonn place. These seminars are deliberately quiet on the more important Human Development measurement which puts African countries at the bottom of the rankings. And according to the Global Competitiveness Report, most African countries are factor driven economy vs the innovation driven of North American & European countries. Yet some say we can catch up or surpass a country like Germany by 2055; 40 yrs time. Our goal is not to catch up with these countries. First and foremost: we have to reduce poverty to a manageable number. Too many poor in Nigeria and any year over year economic growth simply creates more poverty. This is what is going on in Nigeria today

Who are those guys? what is their agenda? Pumping out selective aggregated statistics to support the narrative of rising economic power house in Africa is delusional at best and deceitful at worst. Even more dangerous, it may encourage our leaders and policy makers to make bad decisions.

On a positive note the video has elicited, on this thread, vibrant discussions and diverse views on the path forward.

Africa’s Dutch disease: The way forward
Posted by today on Dec 3rd, 2012 // No Comment


ARTICLE: FRANCIS XAVIER TUOKUU
“The resources are there. It is for us to marshal them in the active service of our people. Unless we do this by our concerted efforts, within the framework of our combined planning, we shall not progress at the tempo demanded by today’s events and the mood of our people. The symptoms of our troubles will grow, and the troubles themselves become chronic. It will then be too late even for Pan African Unity to secure for us stability and tranquility in our labours for a continent of social justice and material well-being.” (Dr. Kwame Nkrumah -first President of Ghana).


Introduction

Africa is the world’s second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² (11.7 million sq. mi) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth‘s total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With 1.0 billion people (as of 2009) in 65 territories (including 54 recognised states), it accounts for about 14.72% of the world’s human population. The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, both the Suez Canal and the Red Sea along the Sinai Peninsula to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The continent includes Madagascar and has 54 sovereign states and two states with limited recognition. Either by fault or design, the entire continent has for the last fifty years been suffering from a condition famously labeled as the Dutch-disease.

This disease according to the Economists is a concept that explains the apparent relationship between the increase in exploitation of natural resources and a decline in the manufacturing sector. The term was first coined in 1977 by The Economist to describe the decline of the manufacturing sector in the Netherlands after the discovery of a large natural gas field in 1959. In recent times, the term refers to countries, which have abundant resources but are in deplorable states in terms of economic development.

Expectations arising from the existence of resources

Africa is the richest continent in terms of natural endowments. Some of these resources include gold, diamond, crude oil, cocoa, and timber, in fabled quantities, vast expanse of land inter alia. Almost all African countries are endowed with natural resources but notable among them are; South Africa, Ghana, DR. Congo, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Angola, Rwanda etc. With these resources, one would have expected that Africa should have the best health care delivery systems in the world, good education for its people, better infrastructure, vibrant industrial sector, more employment avenues, an enviable per capita income, higher standards of living etc.

Elsewhere, where a quarter of these resources do not even exist, efforts are being made by the people to develop their countries and some countries have actually made the transition into developed nations. Mention can be made of Germany, Netherlands and the so-called ‘Asian Tigers’. Japan and South Korea for instance do not possess as much natural resources as Ghana and Congo but development wise is light years ahead of the latter.
In Japan, only 16% of the land is cultivable as most parts of it are mountainous, yet, she is able to produce enough to feed her people. Sadly, it cannot be said of most African countries. Japan also happens to be among the seven (7) most industrialized countries in the world despite these resource constraints. What is then the excuse for the continent’s abysmal performance in the sphere of economic development?

The reality

Before one attempts answering such a question, one needs to examine the facts on the ground. Despite all the aforementioned resources, out of 24 nations in 2009 that were identified as having “Low Human Development” according to the United Nations’ Human Development Index, 22 were actually located in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This lends credence to the fact that resource abundance does not necessarily mean development will naturally take place. Development will be stagnant if these resources are not put into effective and efficient use.

The evidence on the ground shows that in most countries with huge natural resources, these endowments have proved a curse rather than a blessing. For instance, most people in Yenagoa-a village in Nigeria’s oil rich Delta region live in mud huts without basic amenities such as potable water, schools, electricity and in-door toilets. Interestingly, these villagers reside only a few meters from the oil wells drilled by giant corporations such as Chevron, Exxon and so forth. (African Agenda, 2006, vol.9.no.4 page 5). It is needless to also pinpoint the environmental hazards and especially the frequent oil spills that wreak havoc to farmlands and properties rendering the people not only homeless but prone to diseases.

There have been violent clashes between natives of the oil regions and the companies that produce oil in Nigeria for decades now. A fortnight ago, the government of Nigeria removed oil subsidies stating that several billions of dollars will be saved in order to develop infrastructure of the country. This move by the government led to mass protests on the streets of many cities especially the national capital, Abuja. Most Nigerians are of the opinion that as the leading producer of oil in Africa, the only benefit they derive from the country’s oil is the 50% subsidies, which they enjoyed but which has now being removed.

The Nigerian case is not the only situation. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) arguably is one of the most endowed countries in the world owing to the abundance of every natural resource. You name it; from rare minerals for manufacturing computer chips to vast forest resources the DRC has it. Experts have estimated that the Congo basin alone can produce enough food crops to satisfy the nutrition requirements of nearly half the population of the whole world (Obeng, 1997, vol.5, page 34).

This potential wealth however, contrasts sharply with the extreme poverty of the people of this country. According to some statistics, an average Congolese earns an annual income of less than US$100. State revenue represents less than US$ 1billion for a country whose population is about 60million with a land area of 2, 243,000 square kilometers (African Agenda, 2006, vol.9.no.3, page 12). From this, it is clear that the natural resources of this country benefit neither the state nor the local communities. On the contrary, they seem even to become a sort of curse because of the repeated war situations they engender and the political and economic instability they create for this country (African Agenda, 2006, vol.9, no.3, page 12).

Equally mind blogging is the case of Sierra Leone. Many people especially vulnerable groups like women and children lost their lives needlessly owing to greed over the exploitation of blood diamond. Nowadays, the heavily burdened Sierra Leonean Government makes a lot of money from the diamond mines but this is yet to reflect in the lives of the people.
Ghana in a less dramatic fashion is no different. The production of cocoa has given way to mineral production. The regular blasting activities of Newmont Ahafo have resulted in cracks in a number of houses at Dormaa in Kenyasi No. 2 and Habitat in Kenyasi No. 1. It is now difficult for students to acquire scholarships from the Ghana Cocoa Marketing Board (GCMB) since the cocoa farms which were evidence to acquire scholarships are no more as the land is now being used for mining activities. This has given rise to poverty in the area (African Agenda, 2006, vol.9, no.3, page 14). Furthermore, the recent discovery of oil in Ghana in commercial quantities does not excite some people judging from the examples of other countries. Others have made it clear that, if the discovery of oil in Ghana will become a curse on the people then, it should be allowed to stay on the ground.

In his address to the Parliament of Ghana in 2009, President Obama remarked “the African continent is rich in natural resources and that there is bountiful wind and solar power; geothermal energy and bio-fuels. From the Rift valley to the North African deserts; from the Western coasts to South Africa’s crops-Africa’s boundless gifts can generate its own power, while exporting profitable, clean energy abroad. He reminded Ghanaians in particular about the fact that oil brings great opportunities, and that, Ghanaians have been responsible in preparing for new revenue but that, oil simply cannot become the new cocoa” (Daily Graphic, 13th July, 2009). This is because, “dependence on commodities-or a single export has a tendency to concentrate wealth in the hands of the few, and leaves people too vulnerable to downturns”.

Why the current state of underdevelopment?

Most people have always blamed Africa’s problems on colonialism. The British, the Portuguese, the French, Germans, Belgians, had colonies in Africa and took away resources of their colonies which they used to develop their countries. They also introduced the slave trade in Africa, where the best brains and the labor force of Africa were sent mostly to the Americas to develop plantation farms owned by the colonial masters. This many believe till date is the main cause of the underdevelopment of Africa.
However, in the 21st century, this argument does no longer hold water when assigning reasons to Africa’s underdevelopment. This argument has been described as a staggering one and a deliberate attempt to look away from the real causes. Even though some external factors play a role of a sort such as imbalance terms of trade and the fact that African countries still depend on loans and grants from foreign countries especially their colonial masters, which dependence is accompanied by unfavorable conditions, a chunk of the problems of Africa emanate from within.

First, many have decried the attitude of African leaders beginning from the post-colonial independence to the contemporary era as reasons for Africa’s poor state. Many African leaders have reserved the national resources to themselves and cronies in the form of money mostly in foreign banks. Mention can be made of Mobutu Seseku, Gen. Saani Abacha, Iddi Amin, Murmur Gadhafi among others who were richer than their respective countries. The former Egyptian strongman, Hosni Mubarak is currently standing trial in his country not only for responsible for the recent upheavals in that country which led to loss of lives, but for allegedly stealing several millions of dollars belonging to the Egyptian tax payer. Indeed, corruption and bad leadership has become so pervasive in Africa that, an African philosopher, Prof. Kwesi Wiredu describes it as ‘a moral pollution’. It has become part of the African daily life and even more serious in government institutions. To overcome this, we need what he (Prof. Wiredu) calls ‘a conceptual moral revolution’ (Gyekye, 2004).

Poor work ethics is another factor militating against Africa’s development. People generally do not give out their best in their respective work places especially in the public sector. Therefore, the resources can be there, but once the people’ attitude to work is negative, development will remain stagnated. Also, the concept of ‘African time’ is retarding the progress of development in Africa. It is a common practice in government institutions across the continent where some workers often go to work late, go for break before time and close from work earlier than the time given. It is not uncommon for people to go for a programme scheduled for 10am at 12pm believing in the concept of ‘African Time’. How do we expect our productivity to increase when we do not respect time? Time management is very important in every sector of our economy and that explains why we have planning officers in every unit or department/agency to plan our projects and programmes according to a stipulated time period.

In Africa, there is no rule of law but reality of the law, where the reality of the law refers to the fact that all persons are equal but some are more equal than others. It is often as though the law is made for some people and this has led to the culture of impunity. We have cases where governments in power massage their constitutions to stay in power forever and examples can be found in Niger, Senegal, Zimbabwe etc. These have led to conflicts in many parts of the continent. According to President Obama, “no person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. That is not democracy that is tyranny” (Daily Graphic, 13th July, 2009, page 9).
The way forward for Africa

[size=18pt]Education is the secret of the developed world and Africa has regrettably only begun to realize this. Without education, regardless of a nation’s natural resources, its people will remain steeped in poverty without till the end of civilization. It is therefore imperative for our leaders to invest in the education of the youth. In most African countries, our educational systems are not only ‘confused’ but do not equip students for industry.[/size] In Ghana for example, the politicians keep on reforming the educational system year after year but end up sending their children to the best schools in Europe and elsewhere.

Additionally, generous investment into technology, industry and scientific research and development should be made if African nations are to compete in the technologically driven world of tomorrow. This will not only help to alleviate poverty and improve the economic well-being but quintessentially, provide the vital human capital which can conveniently innovate as well as utilize these technologies to withstand the imminent surprises of the next decade.

Development depends on good governance and that is the ingredient that has been missing in Africa for many years. “Each nation gives life to democracy in its own way, and in line with its own tradition. Governments that respect the will of their own people are more prosperous and successful than those that do not…. No country is going to create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy to enrich themselves-or if the police can be bought off by drug traffickers” (Daily Graphic, 13th July, 2009, page 9).

The hour is upon us to put an end to the numerous wars and conflicts in Africa. African children are crying for development and Africa can only come out of poverty if we put an end to the wars and conflicts. Researchers at the International Rescue Committee, a US-based aid agency that has chartered the impact of DR. Congo’s war, say 1,000 people continue to die every day, mostly from hunger and disease, on-top of the 4million that have died since the last war began in 1998 ( BBC Focus on Africa, 2006, vol.17, no.2, page 15).

Most resource rich nations of Africa are politically volatile with several local disputes ensuing over the control or distribution of wealth which has for long remained the sole source of national revenue. Poverty and lack of visionary – cum transparent leadership has rendered these nations backward, thereby inflicting much dint in its human capital development. Urgent measures need to be put in place to reduce if not completely eradicate these conflicts. Furthermore, public fora should be organized on regular basis. At such fora, the way forward as to how to manage the resources of each country will be discussed to reduce unnecessary suspicion from the people thereby minimizing the tendency for various forms of confrontations between the government and the duty-bearers.

State institutions must also be strengthened to work so that those who break the laws will be punished severely by the appropriate bodies mandated by law. In the words of Obama, Africa needs strong institutions and not strongmen. Many argue that stiffer laws should be introduced but this might not be the remedy to the problem. The answer lies in a higher commitment to the implementation of the existing laws, which do not have teeth to bite especially the powerful in society.

All in all, as Dr. Kwame Nkrumah summarily captures it “our people supported us in our fight for independence because they believed that African Governments could cure the ills of the past in a way which could never be accomplished under colonial rule. If, therefore, now we are independent we allow the same conditions to exist that existed in the colonial days, all the resentment which overthrew colonialism will be mobilized against us.”
(Francis Xavier Tuokuu is a Freelance Journalist and a Postgraduate Student in Corporate Social Responsibility and Energy (MSc) at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland).

esere826:

I do not believe that the major problem with us is corruption
Even if we are not corrupt, I suspect we will still be underdeveloped

We primarily lack effective management skills
With the lack of management skills comes corruption and other ills

If we have effective management skills, we will know what we can afford to eat (corrupt) and what we cant afford to eat.

If you know the science behind a plane, and that if a certain bolt is removed , that the plane is 70%likely to crash. You wont eat the money for the bolt

But if you think the plane flying and remaining the air is a miracle wrought between God and oyinbo, chopping the money for the bolt wont be a problem to u

Katsumoto:

When the western nations decided to shift operations abroad, they had a checklist and India ticked most of the boxes

1. Stable democracy
2. English speaking
3. High population of graduates (rivaled by China but Chinese don't speak English that well)

If Nigeria wasn't so tainted by fraud, corruption, and political strife, it may have rivaled India as a destination. Indian software exports are primarily due to Microsoft, Oracle, and other western software corporations.

shymexx: ^^^^^Uncle Gbawe, you have continued to disappoint me with some of your posts of late... Why should we use an already peaked and declining economy such as Europe as the blueprint for Nigeria?? To be honest, Europe(West) is hanging onto economic revolution today because that's the only area it has an advantage over the rest of the world... I don't need to remind you that Europe has little or no raw-materials/mineral-resources and there are no more colonies for it to loot like it did in the past - hence why it's hanging onto its last straw(economy) before it finally collapses??...

It's a new world and if Nigeria/Africa is going to make it in the scheme of things in the world - we have to follow the Chinese and Brazilian template... We need to start with an industrial revolution and develop a manufacturing base using our natural resources... Enough of selling our raw materials to the rest of the world in return for finished goods that we can easily manufacture in our own country... Thus, creating employments for the youths - and saving overhead costs...

Everything we're witnessing right now is just an economic bubble - and we need to get our acts together before it's too late..

lakhadimar: Intellectual topics like this should not be rare in the politics section not all those rubbish about biafra. Keep it up guys am really learning and enjoying this cerebral discuss

pazienza:

Keep deceiving yourself. Same tribalists are same people masquerading as intellectuals here.
Awo was an intellectual too,and am sure he had good ideas for africa too. But he had no problem starving millions of africans.

The key to africa's economic boom is re-drawing the colonial borders. Groups should exist in the same country,based on mutual understanding and agreements and not forced unity.

The exploitation and decay of africa started with creation of artificial unstable and unworkable countries by the colonials. Our redemption will come the day we dissolve those unstable unions,and create stable ones built on the spirit of equity, justice and patroitism.

Until then,innate tribalists should continue deceiving themselves here, nobody is fooled.

*grins*

pazienza:

Keep deceiving yourself. Same tribalists are same people masquerading as intellectuals here.
Awo was an intellectual too,and am sure he had good ideas for africa too. But he had no problem starving millions of africans.

The key to africa's economic boom is re-drawing the colonial borders. Groups should exist in the same country,based on mutual understanding and agreements and not forced unity.

The exploitation and decay of africa started with creation of artificial unstable and unworkable countries by the colonials. Our redemption will come the day we dissolve those unstable unions,and create stable ones built on the spirit of equity, justice and patroitism.

Until then,innate tribalists should continue deceiving themselves here, nobody is fooled.

*grins*

PapaBrowne:
I totally agree with you that the foundation must be laid. However, My take is that information has been democratised and the use of knowledge has been made accessible to all with the advent of the internet.

Now I ask you, has india done the basics?? If you check the records, you'll find that Africa is actually in a very similar place with India. But how come India is pretty much taking advantage of the Knowledge sectors? Why is India able to attract 500 million dollars in healthcare costs from Nigeria and the better countries like USA ARE NOT?
How come India is exporting more in software to Europe and America than say Japan or germany which are economies with better basics than India? How come India's bollywood makes more money globally than France's film industry despite France having a better go at the basics?

The next Google could be founded by anybody in any dorm room anywhere on the planet. Nigeria can actually focus on creating knowledge solutions tailored to emerging markets...solutions that make life easier for those at the base of the pyramid. That group is 3 billion in number and are a 6 trillion dollar economy with impressive growth potentials.

Katsumoto: The challenges that Africa must overcome before it can start to grow

1. Improve on election of leaders.

2. Invest in infrastructure and education

3. Eliminate bureaucracy and reduce the cost of business

4. Encourage Pan-Africanism - I mean destroy the borders between African countries. This is particularly important because by keeping trade within Africa, all African countries can grow.

5. Embrace secularism - Religion, especially foreign, is used to enslave Africans

6. Take drastic steps to reduce corruption

I believe Agriculture should be the way forward. Food supplies are dwindling and the world's population is increasing. The battles of the future will be based on food and water. Europeans will sell jewelry to buy bread.

Ihedinobi:

Agreed...unless you mean, literally destroy borders between African countries and thus amalgamate them into a solid political unit.

Not only do I doubt the practicability of such a thing, I also doubt its usefulness.

I hold rather that there should be a strong African bloc that consists of sovereign African nations. The AU could be that.

Such a bloc would be the African voice, face and arm, but within that bloc, each nation respects the other's unique space and policies. Under such circumstances, to the world outside, there is only one African unit with whom anyone may deal, but within, we're all so many clans.

We may even use one currency and agree on one broad policy on issues but we need not give up completely our own individual national identities. We need only redefine them in terms of the broader African identity.

Ihedinobi:
What if I was the one writing this post you made and here at #5, I said, "embrace true Christianity - every other religion or philosophical persuasion keeps Africa in the doldrums"?

I get the feeling a firestorm of debates would break out if that happens, not least because someone would be quite offendes that I'd be trying to impose my opinion or "ignorance" on everybody else.

Needless to say, I unreservedly and very heartily disagree with you. But I'd rather we don't fight over that. Only allow me to advise you to avoid bringing in matters of religious tone in discussions like this if you want the discussion to accomplish anything worthwhile.

There is a time and place for fights over whose religious persuasion is the truth. I'm convinced that it is not here.

Ihedinobi:
A noble objective to attain, but it doesn't fit into what Africa needs to accomplish before she can start to grow. If Africa begins to grow, corruption will start to decline. It is not possible to deal with corruption as a separate thing from economic development.

You see, the whole deal with corruption revolves around the sentiment that the destiny of the whole is going nowhere pretty fast so a part or parts should take what they can and scurry off the ship before it swims with the fishes.

Corruption thrives as such a sentiment spreads. Obviously, with the growth of such a sentiment, there is less and less motivation to develop the whole society. Rather, there is a wilfull impoverishment of the whole society to benefit an individual or interest group.

Therefore, a deliberate effort from an incorruptible part of the whole to develop society will negate the efforts of the failing elements. If such an effort is greater than the sentiment, corruption will be effectively stamped out.

Hence, corruption is the darkness of night that vanishes in the dawn of econonmic growth and societal development. It is not a stand-alone fight that must be won before growth is possible.

mrjingles: Thinkers and Talkers are busy debating and philosophysing while DOERS are making money. The problem with Nigerians is that we TALK TOO MUCH! Can we just Shut up and start DOING?

A-ZeD:

The structure of the country is such that it doesn't encourage creative thinking.

Gbawe:

Honestly, what is wrong with you? You are really sick !!! Take your paranoid crap and get da f**k out of this thread. What confirms folks like you are 'damaged', worthless goods more than this misinformed and offensive intrusion?

It is no accident others of your ilk are not here contributing meritoriously. You have no capacity to do such. You are only capable of the stilted, tiring, offensive and attention-seeking garbage you regurgitate here. Awolowo, Azikiwe, Balewa et al died ages ago. Join with your fellow Africans to discuss, with practical/useful ideas, today and the future or get lost.

senbonzakura_kageyoshi:

Sorry to burst your bubble bro, but if we redraw our borders and expect things to change magically, you're living in lala land. The very same mentality that got Nigeria to where it is now will be carried over into the children states that will result from the redrawn borders and same said mentality will bring said states to the same (if not worse) position. Funny thing is that the very same regional leaders who have brought us no actual development in the current setup, will graduate to national leaders in the new set up and will pursue even more aggressive corruption given that they suddenly find themselves in an elevated position.

What Nigerians need first is a change of mentality and this country will work. If we keep thinking along tribal lines and keep expecting God to come down and do everything for us instead of utilizing the abundant resources we have been provided with, then we wil drift aimlessly, like we are doing now.

pazienza:

Talk about your group,don't include others.

I have no shred of doubt that an igbo republic would be a world beater within half a century.

You don't build something on nothing. While your parents were busy schooling in nigeria and enjoying,mine was running around in the markets and jungles of biafra trying to make a living and escape being bombed by nigeria. The nigerian experience is different for all part of nigeria. So, i understand your optimism about nigeria,but i don't share them