In 2001, a group of “investors” came together, floated a company with the sole aim of bidding and buying the Nigeria Telecommunications Limited (NITEL).
They approached a first generation bank and secured a whopping loan because of their closeness to the powers that be at that time. It was supposed to be a done deal because their cronies in government were pulling the strings to ensure the deal pulls through.
This was however not to be as the bubble burst. In the drama that ensued thereafter, the MD/CEO of the bank lost his job and had to resort to legal means to clear his name in the botched bid. If the bid had pulled through these fraudsters’ would have bought a national treasure without putting in a dime of their money!
About five years ago, the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) – which really didn’t resonate with the people as they kept referring to it as NEPA, its former acronym – was “unbundled” and partly sold off to Distribution Companies (DISCOs). We were told that our days of darkness would be over in a matter of months as each DISCO reels out “glorious” plans for the future where darkness would be a thing of the past as Eldorado is just by the corner. Is that the situation today?
Most electricity customers who have been burdened by the phenomenon of estimated billings now long for the “good old days of NEPA!” They pay for prepaid meters to curtail estimated billings but these meters are nonexistent. They look to the government for solution but the government says it is “helpless” because its “hands are tied” as a result of clauses’ inserted into contracts signed with the DISCOs!
I can go on. It would appear that our system deliberately creates problems in order for our so-called elites to cash in on. This is the singular reason I commend the fight by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in its quest to ensure that our government appropriately fund the public university system. Their action may be painful, but it is a pain undergraduate have to endure. I endured such pain during my days in the university in the 90s and lost a year in the process.
Sometimes I wonder if there isn’t a deliberate policy to underfund our public varsity system to pave the way for “privatization.” Can you imagine a group of “investors” appearing someday to “buy” a whole city like the University of Ibadan? Do not think this is impossible, it is possible and members of ASUU may have seen this hence their determination to ensure they hold successive government to the social contract they have with Nigerians.
I spoke with a lecturer last week who told me that there are a rising number of undergraduates who are pleading for a “time out” to enable them do menial jobs to be able to pay just N12, 000 fees. If we only have private varsities would such undergraduates not be shut out from acquiring education because of excruciating poverty?
In his book “The 8th Habit” the late Stephen Covey made this important point: “The problem is, managers today are still applying Industrial Age control model to knowledge workers. Because many in positions of authority do not see the true worth and potential of their people and do not possess a complete, accurate understanding of human nature, they manage people as they do things. This lack of understanding also prevents them from tapping into the highest motivations, talents and genius of people. What happens when you treat people like things today? It insults and alienates them, depersonalizes work, and creates low-trust, unionized, litigious cultures.” (emphasis added).
Would it be wrong to assert that those in authority do not realise the age we are in? For the avoidance of doubt we are presently in the “knowledge economy” era. And what propels this era and age? Education does first; so why can they not see the importance of education in the mix? I am glad that despite this Nigerians are going ahead to use the knowledge era to resolve “complex” issues. However, I need to point out that education qualifications are indications of a person’s explicit knowledge and, to some extent, tacit knowledge. But, a large part of the knowledge economy comes from learning by doing and falls outside the scope of traditional education.
For sometimes now the nation has been grappling with farmers/herders clashes which unfortunately have led to loss of precious lives of innocent Nigerians. While some in authority are romanticizing about “cattle tracks” some Nigerians have gone ahead to create mini ranches of their own – since the government proposed ranches are viewed as politically toxic – and encourage investors to invest in the business and make profits in the process. The same goes with other forms of farming. These – and other- innovations were made possible because of knowledge era we are in. This is one of the powers education bestows.
If the mini ranch innovation catches on, and pilot projects succeed, we would have solved a critical social problem through simple knowledge. In the process we may even begin to solve the problems inherent in nomadic education in which hundreds of millions of naira have been sank in the past without visible evidence. If we succeed in keeping the nomads in one location we would kill two birds with one stone – their herds would be healthier, produce more milk and this would give them the elusive education that millions of naira has failed to provide. This is just a tip of the iceberg of how knowledge can help us resolve issues.
In traditional models of economic activity that is being left behind, the main factors of production are Land, labour, capital, entrepreneur. A Knowledge-based economy is however important for widening the scope of labour from producing goods on an assembly line to greater flexibility in design, manufacture and implementation of business ideas. To this end, it taps into explicit knowledge through facts, figures and data. It also enhances tacit knowledge – how things work, experience, judgement, intuition and the way of dealing with people.
Innovation and knowledge have always been important to any economy, but some economists argue that in the past few decades the modern economy is becoming more knowledge-based. This is shown by the rise in high-tech industries, the growth of the service sector, rise in self-employment and an increase in the number of patents.
It is becoming increasing glaring now that knowledge and information are the key drivers of productivity because of growth in high technology investment and industries; this is made possible through growth in knowledge intensive service sectors such as education, communications and information. Knowledge, I must stress, is a non-finite resource. Capital gets used up but knowledge is not limited and can be shared without losing it. In fact, sharing can help boost overall knowledge.
This era is witnessing growth in demand for higher skilled labour/university degrees which Increases the importance of tacit knowledge – the skills and ability to implement codified knowledge. Innovation is driven by both producers and users; knowledge equally spillovers from one industry to another. Knowledge economy and high-tech industry raise scope for increased automation of production processes leading to rapid changes in the labour market.
A knowledge economy is therefore important because it has the ability to help business be more efficient, dynamic and innovative by enabling product innovation and customisation through greater role for human capital.
Like everything in life there is an obverse side. The knowledge economy increases the gap between high skilled and low-skilled workers due to decline in well-paid manual labour. There may be other factors behind increased wage inequality but the knowledge economy is one potential reason. It may create more opportunities for those with high intellectual capacity, but those with lower skills may find work increasingly temporary and low-paid.
But despite the rise of high-tech industries, many jobs don’t require the highest levels of qualifications. For instance, in the US in 2013, 66% of jobs did not require a university degree. If properly handled we can transit toward the knowledge economy and still find rooms for those without degrees.