The world needs markets and a large population is strategic. Many centuries ago, India was the world’s most dominant economy. Then, China came on and ruled the earth economically. In the last 10 centuries, China has run the show at least six times. The Tang dynasty. The Song dynasty. All transformed currency and the core principle of mercantilism. That we do not know the dominance of China and India centuries ago is largely because in Africa, Britain and France wrote the books we used in secondary schools!
China made mistakes and lost its global positioning. But later, it reconnected and the rest is history. I have written extensively on China and the lessons for Africa in Harvard Business Review: “In its attempts to industrialize, Africa has looked toward China’s success. China designed and executed a policy that shrank the industrialization process in a mere 25 years — something many economies took at least a century to do. That redesign has brought immense dislocation in global commerce and industry, enabling China to become one of the world’s leading economies. African leaders have been pursuing policies designed to mimic China’s path. But despite these efforts, Africa has yet to advance in its industrialization at the same speed China did. Put simply, the things that worked for China will not work for Africa. Africa must change its focus: …”
But as America re-strategizes for its future, and both Europe and China adjust, one country could make a definitive decision, to become a haven of opportunity. Yes, Nigeria has the population and through “Contract With The World” could offer a destination for markets. That means we must find immediate solutions to the paralysis of insecurity, and deal once and for all with the turbulence of currency depreciation. Get a czar to run that “Contract with the World”, a theme for all nations with Nigeria as the nucleus.
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Get me: if the world loses the US market, companies will seek for new destinations. Nigeria has most of the things they need except purchasing power and some core stable indicators. If our leaders commit right now to reposition the nation via fundamental reforms on platforms of commerce, low flat fee for local manufacturing, etc, a new dawn will emerge. This is our time!
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