The Razing or Raising of Nigeria
It’s a familiar story. Experts discover a transmission from an alien fleet and learn that they have bad intentions. They are headed to earth to liquidate it of its resources, while killing anything that gets in the way, before moving on to the next planetary system.
In my opinion it is very bad writing that is unoriginal and wreaks of projection (but it does make for a great action flick sometimes). The bad writing is self evident, but that it is unoriginal and wreaks of projection might not be clear. To gain clarity all one would need to do is look at human history. In that search one would discover story after story of powerful and developed nations razing weaker and underdeveloped nations of the resources that were desirable. From Egypt, to Persia, to Rome, to the vast and terrible history of colonization, to current conquests… apparently the bad intentioned aliens were coming from across the desert or ocean long before we imagined them coming from another galaxy.
I’m concerned that history is ramping up to repeat itself. This time the alien forces, made up of organizations, countries, and businesses, have their eyes of a resource-rich target that is near and dear to my heart: Nigeria.
I was born in Nigeria and had the opportunity to return in January 2019. What I saw was nothing short of staggering! The place is an entrepreneur’s dreamland. Not only are Nigerians incredibly hardworking, children as young as 4 years old were hustling wares in the marketplace, but they are resourceful as well. They make it happen with what they have. So, being entrepreneurial myself, I daydreamed of the transformation the country would experience if these resourceful hardworking people had the time and space to dream, instead of hustling to make ends meet, and the capacity to innovate.
Simplistically and frustratingly I kept on wondering, “Why don’t they just do this or that?” Sanusi Lamido captured the frustration of Nigeria so powerfully in his TEDx talk when he said,
Nigeria is “a country that specializes in exporting what it does not produce and importing what it produces. One of the worlds largest producers of crude oil that does not refine its own petroleum products, but has to import petroleum products. The worlds largest producer of cassava that does not produce starch or ethanol… A large tomato belt, yet the worlds largest importer of tomato paste.”
These are problems that reveal great opportunities! If you have eyes to see the potential in Nigeria, the thoughts of what could be will invade your dreams. I certainly saw it and apparently the entire business world has seen it, too.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY RYAN OLBRYSH; SOURCE IMAGES: GETTY 15
In a Newsweek article from January 2020 they hailed Nigeria as “The World’s Next Superpower.” This is its potential, at least. As governments and organizations consider the growth potential in Nigeria they are also formulating plans to “help” bring Nigeria into superstardom.
This sounds honorable but, as I mentioned above, there is historical precedent that suggests an other than honorable future if outside powers begin influencing Nigeria’s rejuvenation. Indeed, to some there is the potential for a new colonialism at work.
Perhaps that is a bit extreme, but thinking about extreme potentials is not a bad thing. Indeed it may reveal the best way forward because it allows one to consider everything between the extremes. That being said, I think there are two realistic pathways to Nigeria becoming the world’s next superpower.
1) Foreign governments and organizations partnering with a few Nigerians in such a way that any new industry, innovation, or growth will benefit the foreigners and connected Nigerians, but will leave a majority of the country impoverished. This, by the way, is already happening on a smaller scale.
2) If foreign governments and organizations are truly interested in seeing Nigeria become a superpower, they can focus their efforts on helping Nigerians raise the country to a place where it can become a major player on a global level.
In both of these options the world ends up with a prosperous Nigeria, but who benefits from the prosperity is radically different in both of them. Nigerians should be the primary beneficiaries of a prosperous Nigeria. They should be the ones bringing their bounty to the global table.
In the Newsweek article it referred to Nigeria as “Black China.” A few decades ago China was in a similar position as Nigeria is today. They are now one of the major players on the worlds scene, and people see this same potential in Nigeria. However, it is also possible that Nigeria could become “Black India.” With population numbers skyrocketing it is estimated that the population of Nigeria will supersede that of the United States of America by 2050!
If Nigeria continues heading down a direction of option 1 its future will look more like that of present day India, with its very real caste system, than China. What we need are option 2 individuals and organizations who not only see the immense potential in Nigeria, but also see that the best way to realize that potential is by allowing Nigerians to bring it to the world.
Nigerians need to be empowered to work towards their own revitalization. The country needs to be raised by its people, not razed by foreign powers. In other words, if organizations want to benefit from Nigeria they need to take the long approach. See Nigerians as valuable, not only Nigeria. When you see Nigerians as valuable, and invest in them, they will show you the real treasure that is Nigeria.
We do not have the economic might that many players have in the race to make Nigeria a superpower. But we have a God-given vision of a Nigeria that blesses the world. In our own small (at first) way we are creating the kinds of conditions that will allow Nigerians to begin working toward their own revitalization. You can read more about what we’re doing through The Mark43 Development Initiative.
If you want to help us enable Nigerians bring the blessing of Nigeria to the world you can donate here. Thank you for your time, and we’re always interested in any comments you might have.