Africa Must Produce or Perish - Nigerian Village Square

May

2008

Imagine that it is May 25, 2063, the 100^th anniversary of Africa Day, a day for reflecting on Africa’s successes and failures. The newspaper headline announces, “Last Remaining Oilfield in West Africa’s American Territory Dries Up.”

The article continues: “The last patch of rainforest will soon be empty land scarred by oil pipelines, pumping stations, and natural gas refineries. Wholesale pollution will be the environmental legacy for future generations.

“Africa’s offshore oil reserves will ebb away. Abandoned oil wells could well become tourist attractions, and oil-boom settlements will be transformed into derelict ghost towns.

“In a world without oil, air travel will disappear, and people will voyage overseas on coal-powered ships. Farmers will use horses instead of tractors, and scythes instead of combine harvesters. As crops diminish and populations soar, famine will grip the globe. With no means to power their vehicles, parents will be housebound, without jobs, and children will walk to school.”

This scenario could become a reality, because we no longer have an abundant oil supply. We know oil exists in limited quantities and that most oil wells dry up after 40 years. It is as certain as death and taxes. Rather than debate the exact year when we will run out of oil, I prefer to imagine that we have already run out. It may come sooner than any of us expect. Our heirs will thank or curse us for how much oil we left for them. Instead of asking, “When will Africa run out of natural resources?” we should ask, “When will Africa be unable to export raw materials, either for lack of our own oil or because foreign markets have themselves dried up?”

A $100 bar of raw iron is worth $200 when forged into drinking cups in Africa, $65,000 when forged into needles in Asia, $5 million when forged into watch springs in Europe. How can this be? European intellectual capital – the collective knowledge of its people – allows a $100 raw iron bar to command a 50,000-fold increase! It could be said, therefore, that a lack of intellectual capital is the root cause of poverty.

Without African intellectual capital, iron excavated in Africa will continue to be manufactured in Europe and exported back to Africa at enormous cost. To alleviate poverty, Africa needs to cultivate creative and intellectual abilities that will allow it to increase the value of its raw materials and to break the continent’s vicious cycle of poverty. Poverty is not an absence of money, Rather, it results from an absence of knowledge.

In oil-exporting African nations, multinationals such as Shell (selling rigs for a 40% royalty on exported oil) are getting rich, while the oil rig workers remain poor. Instead of addressing the underlying causes of poverty – minimal productivity resulting from a lack of intellectual capital – Third World leaders have focused on giving false hope to their people.

We need less talk about poverty and more action to eliminate it. So how do we do this? Education has done more to reduce poverty than all the oil companies in the world. So it is disheartening to realize that few leaders believe that their people’s potential is far more valuable than what lies beneath the soil.

Intellectual capital, not higher wages, will eliminate poverty in Africa. If we all demand higher wages, we will end up paying the higher wages to ourselves. Intellectual capital will result in the creation of new products derived from new technologies. The end result will be not just a redistribution of wealth, but the creation and control of new wealth.

And Africa’s power to reduce poverty will open the floodgates of prosperity for millions of people. One catalyst for such prosperity could be telecommuting. If 300 million Africans could work for companies located in the West (just as millions of Indians do), then both regions would benefit. The strategy would be to recognize the labor needs of the global marketplace, and enable Africa to fulfill those needs.

For example, tax preparation experts living in Africa, where labor is cheaper, could fulfill the needs of US-based accountants. Furthermore, the time difference could allow for a fast turnaround in service. It is clear that knowledge and technology is crucial to alleviate Africa’s poverty.

Africa will perish if it continues to consume what it does not produce, and produce what it does not consume. The result will be a depressing cycle of increasing consumption, decreasing production, and increasing poverty. We are missing a golden opportunity by not using the trillion dollars earned by exporting natural resources to break Africa’s cycle of poverty.

We are at a crossroads where one signpost reads “Produce” and another reads “Perish.” We risk becoming like the driver who stops at an intersection and asks a pedestrian,

“Where does this road lead?”

And the pedestrian replies, “Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t know,” the driver replies.

“Then it obviously doesn’t matter which road you take!” replies the pedestrian.

If we adopt the same attitude as the driver, Africa will have lost its chance to “choose” its future.

For decades, power in post-colonial Africa rested in the hands of those with guns, not those with brains. We were not always at war with our neighbors, but we were always at war with poverty. And we spent more on guns than on books and bread.

Africa’s choice is clear: produce or perish. However, it is important that we do not blindly choose the lesser of two evils – producing what we cannot consume or consuming what we cannot produce. We can avoid this. My wish is that by the end of the 21^st century high-end products in New York City will sport the label: “Made in Africa.”

We cannot look forward to our future until we learn from our past. Five thousand years of recorded history reveal that technology was ancient Africa’s gift to the modern world. Forty and a half centuries ago, geometers in Africa’s Nile Valley region designed the Great Pyramid of Giza, the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. That man-made mountain remains the largest stone building on Earth. It is an icon of engineering, and testifies that Africa was once the world’s most technologically advanced region.

It is absolutely imperative that Africa regain its technological prominence, which will enable it to produce what the world can consume. When we do that, Africa will finally be eating the fruits of its own labor. When Africa has regained its technological prominence, the world’s leaders will seek it out. And, like a rainforest renewed, Africa will flourish again.

Excerpted from a speech delivered by Philip Emeagwali to the African community in Valencia, Spain on May 11, 2008. The entire transcript and video are posted at emeagwali.com.

Philip Emeagwali has been called “a father of the Internet” by CNN and TIME, and extolled as “one of the great minds of the Information Age” by former U.S. President Bill Clinton. He won the 1989 Gordon Bell Prize, the Nobel prize of supercomputing.

Your Comments

Please make The Square an enjoyable experience for everyone by refraining from gratuitous ad-hominem contributions, defamatory comments and off-topic posting. Such posts will be removed.

Robot

# 1 | 24.05.2008 15:52

	...Read the full article.

OMEZIMBA OMEZIMBA is offline

# 2 | 25.05.2008 06:25

	Philip Emeagwali has written well, I have read and heard much of him. Yes, we Africans especially Nigerians are not well utilising our resources , may be due to actions and inactions of our greedy and selfish leaders. Then, to the peasants, we attribute it to the lack of orientation and education. Then, to the numerous educated and successful Nigerians, what would we say that is the problem?, I wonder. Emeagwali should be aware that Africa will neither progress nor produce anything with his likes not rethinking of coming back to Africa. We know what entails in coming back to face the problem of insecurity, poor healthcare and corruption, but we should be aware that it is impossible making an impact in a system when you are not within the system. The great nations are watered through the blood of its matyrs. Offering scholarships to million Nigerians would not solve our problem. He should abhor all the fame in America and come back to hold the bull by the horn. Others before him have done it. Zik of Africa, his kinsman, after his education in America came down to Africa using media to fight colonialism, today Africa is free from the chains of colonial masters, at least today Africans can make their own laws not minding neo-colonialism as preached by Emeagwali. He is only letting us to live his words or write up and not to his actions. Soyinka and Tutu with their noble laurettes are in Africa fighting the bad and corrupt government, Gani with all his wealth and fame in law is staging war for the citizens against our corrupt leaders and injustice. However today, he is a patient of lung cancer which he got from the poor diagnosis in Nigeria healthcare and is presently suffering it with open mind and all happiness and we are celebrating him even in sickness. Peter Obi left United Kingdom with his amazing wealth to weather Obasanjo monumental election rigging and injustice in Nigeria just to show that the system of governance can really work in Anambra state. Oby Ezekwesili came back and helped to institute legislation over our solid minerals. Barth Nnaji is gradual impacting his own technology breakthrough. Need-I-go-on. So Philip Emeagwali should either shut up or bring back all his Internet and computational fluid dynamics innovations, inventions and their patents back home to help educate the less priviledge and contribute in making our mother Africa great.

fxo

# 3 | 25.05.2008 07:02

	Produce or Perish Well said. Maybe we can learn from the Japanese, from the period of the Meiji Restoration, they seem to have put their foot right on all occasions but a couple. Lacking all the so called natural resource that we claim to have and are second only to the US as an industrialized economy. I believe we should also note here that their is a nagging need for a cultural transformation to enable us stop and exit the slippery path of the driver at the crossroad. I find it hard to associate the builders of the pyramid with the 'artisans' of Rwanda(1994), Darfur(Ongoing), Lagos(...), RSA(ongoing), Zimbabwe(ongoing), Somalia(....), Congo (...), Kenya (2008), Liberia/Serria Leon (90s), Kano(....), Ethiopia ( annual starvation for as long as anyone can remember) and so on and on.

denker denker is offline

# 4 | 25.05.2008 07:15

	Without African intellectual capital, iron excavated in Africa will continue to be manufactured in Europe and exported back to Africa at enormous cost. To alleviate poverty, Africa needs to cultivate creative and intellectual abilities that will allow it to increase the value of its raw materials and to break the continent’s vicious cycle of poverty. Poverty is not an absence of money, Rather, it results from an absence of knowledge. ....am mystified and wonder how Obugi and his Guru(Neop) gonna interpret the quote, above..?:p..am waiting!

Dove

# 5 | 25.05.2008 08:50

	I must confess that I am very enthusiastic that we have Philip Emeagwali on NVS. And of course I can't agree more on his clarion call on Africans to rise and take the bull by the horns. But with all respect sir, could you brief us on the part you have played, you are playing, as well as you will still play in ensuring that your dreams for Africa come true. I asked because you can agree with me that this your article will make no sense if no effort has been made on your own part. We have been reading very fine stuffs like this earlier,but my own point of view is that the reason none of these has materialised is because it's all about speeches and no actions. Please I(and others who agree with me) are waiting to hear from you. Thanks.

Bode Eluyera Bode Eluyera is offline

# 6 | 25.05.2008 16:11

	WE ALSO NEED TO DO THE WALKING SIR! Dr. Emeagwali, First, I want to welcome you to the NVS - a market for exchage of ideas and intellectual discussions. It's really a big honour to have you in our midst at last! I had the privilege of visiting your site about 8 or 10 years ago, when very few Nigerians knew very little about you and your scientific achievement. You are one of the rare gems that we have. And, suffice to say, without any exaggeration that you have done a lot not only in the advancement of computation, but in making us Nigerians, and the black man in general to be proud. As you are well aware, there is that belief, or should I say 'stereotype' that blacks are not capable of mastering science. Bot, you have proved a lot of pundists wrong with your unprecedented scientific achievement and the award of the Gordon bell prize, regarded as the equivalent of the Nobe prize in computing, to be awarded to a black man for the first time in history. I was moved to tears when I read about your biography; especially about your Biafra experience and the odds and racism you hade to undergo and overcome in order to achieve hyour goals. Indeed, you are an INSPIRATION to many of us! It's also on record that President Clinton spoke about you during his visit to Niggeria. As a matter of fact, I even made a reference to you in one of my articles titled, "Leadership, Decision making, the north, military and development in Nigeria. (Part 1)" - available on this site. Thank you for your article and the strong admonition. However, with all respect to you Dr. Emeagwali, I must be cofess to you that this message of yours is not new. Many of us are quiet aware of this message. Though, we may not be that talented or gifted in the field of computing, but believe me, many of us are educated and exposed enough to discusss and even argue with you on a number of issues. Therefore, we should not be taken for granted. Dove actually has said quiet a number of things that I also intend to tell you. We all know that Africa needs to produce and that it is only a babana republic like Niggeria that imports everything from pins to planes. You don't really need a ph.D in economics or computer science to fathom that out. The one billion question Dr, is this: "If we all sit in the comfort of our houses in America, Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, Australia, Russia, e.t.c. and limit ourselves to only giving advise on the internet, then who is going to develop Niggeria? I know that you visit ane country every year to deliver lectures and speeches. I've watched a couple of videos on your visit to Jamaica and lother countries. May I ask you sir how many African clountries have you visited to date to deliver such speeches and lectures? How many times have you visited Niggeria, your country of birth, to deliver such speeches and lectures. I was very disappointed when I read in one of your articles on your site when you said that it was not 'feasible' for you to relocate back to Niggeria because the necessary super computers, which cost millions of dollars, for you to carry out your research and your job in general were not available there. This is where the problem lies sir! If we all have to think about the fact that Niggeria lacks the c 'conducise' enviroment to perform, then nobody will go back home. And if nobody goes back home, the country will not develop. You have what I call 'a vicious circle.' If you as a scientist, hhave your reason NOT to go back home and help your people, then, believe me, a doctor, engineeer, journalist, lawyer, banker, economist, taxi driver, dish washer, gate keeper, etc, working in New York, New Jersey, California, Russia, London, Montreal, e.t.c equally have their own IMPORTANT reasons to stay back. This discussion reminds me of the "prisoner's' dilemma" in 'game theory.' Since you are a scientist, I am sure you know what I am talking about, so I don't have to elaborate. Sir, I am sure you must have read "The 7 habits of highly effective people." written by Stephen Covey. Do you remember what chapter 2 is about? It's about thinking about the end. Remember what Covey said about imaginig that you are dead; and all your friends, relatives, are present at your coffin, what would you want them to say about you. Do you want to be remembered as a great American scientist or who did NOTHING for the upliftment of his people, or as a great Niggerian, African and black scientist who did a lot in the advancenment of science and technology in Niggeria and Africa? I can assure you that when you are gone, Americans will refer to you as an American scientist - and not as Niggerian-American scientist. In my objective opinion, a nurse, who is practically unknown, who is saving lives of Niggerians is of much value to us in Niggeria today compared to Philip Emeagwali who came up with a formula that will make multinational oil companies to spend less resources on oil exploration in Africa. May I ask you sir what have you done for Niggeria? How has Niggeria benefitted from your scientific discoveries? May be, you should update us. If I were you sir, instead of saying that Niggeria does not offer a conducive enviroment for you to work, I'll take it as a challenge to overcome all the obstacles, as you did in America, and CREATE the condusive enviroment too in Niggeria. Don't forget that the VISION and SACRIFICE of other people i.e. Americans made it possible for you to carry out your research in America. If Americans had abandoned their country and limit their involvement in nation building to interner expert advise, definitely, America would not be what it is today, and millions of people all ocver the world would not be flocking there. Do you agree with me sir? So, the bottom line is that we all have to sacrifice in order to leave a better society for coming generations. This discussion reminds me of Kennedy Memorial Lecture delivered last month in Boston by the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, titled, "History is not destiny." He said, and I quote: ","It is the sum total of what the individual decides to do, contribute and create to change their society that determine the history of that particular society. Sometimes visions and programs are considered untenable, risky and sometimes suicidal at their onset. The thought of putting a man on the moon and the need to affirm the equal rights of the Negro were once considered untenable. Similarly, untenable was the fact that power, in the international system, should not only embrace negotiations with the enemy, but also, in the exercise of power, nations should show compassion to the poor and to the triage nations of the world. In my opinion, you are not doing enough to promote science in Niggeria and Africa in general. Would you believe that there are millions of Niggerians and Africans who don't really know who is PHILIP EMEAGWALI. You can use your influence and AUTHORITY to do a lot for Niggeria and Africa. Charity should first of all begin at home. Your mere visiting Niggeria on a regular basis delivering speeches and lectures will increase interest in science and technology. You can be a consultant and adviser to the government on many strategic scientific issues. You can help the government to set up world class research centres. Many computing and programming contracts today in Niggeria are awarded to Indian and Pakistanis companies. As you are well aware sir, India, Russia and China today lead in offshore programming. They make billions of dollars every year from this sector alone. In my opinion, this is an area where your help can be useful; helping Niggeria not only to penetrate into this very lucrative market but as well be competitive with Indian, Chinese and Russian companies. Niggeria is a rich country, and with your influence, you can convince the government to release the necessary amount of money for science and technology, and make them understand that in the long run, the huge investment will recoup itself many times over. Your relocating to Niggeria, for example, will make a VERY BIG IMPACT on many Niggerians in disapora from different fields. You don't have to offer your service to the Niggerian govt. for free. You can even set up your own cvompanies in Niggeria and Africa. Just as you know, Niggeria is the hottest telecoms. market in the world today. Since I am a telecoms. engineer, I am abreast with developments. You can help telecoms. companies in Niggeria to develop new and cheaper software systems that will support ATM and Broadband networks. There is a very high demand for this service. Internet penetration or connection in Niggeria is one of the lowest in the world today. Niggeria, with a population of 140 million, excluding diaspora, has the fastest growing telecoms, and internet markets in the world today. There is a high demand for development of telecoms. software that will support new platforms and very high traffic networks for financial transactions. The biggest telecoms. network in Africa today was able to increase its capitalisation thanks to their business in Niggeria. You can set up a big software company that will design and maintain new applications for Niggeria and Africa. Your knowledge can also be very useful in satellite communications and weather forecast. Your knowledge can also be useful in CRYPTOGHRAPHY. This field is practically undeveloped in Niggeria! The awareness is not even there at all! Chinese and India companies are monopolising these contracts in Niggeria. And as you know some software contracts must not be given to foreign companies or foreigners to implement. Arrange a meeting with the Niggerian government and convince them that you and your team can handle these contracts. Convince the government to pass a law that will prohibit telecom. companies from employing foreigners as engineers and technicians. Most of the technical and engineering positions in the telecom. sector are occupied by foreigners. Make the government understand that it's not only a serious threat to man power building but a serious security threat to Niggeria to have foreign technicians and engineeers in charge of telecom. equipments in Niggeria. By moving to Africa, you will be eating your cake and having it at the same time because you will be making a VERY GREAT IMPACT in Niggeria and Africa and making GOOD BUCKS too. Actually, the issue is not about making more money, which I believe you have in abundance. IT'S MORE ABOUT MAKING AN IMPACT AND LEAVING A LEGACY FOR NIGGERIANS AND THE BLACK RACE. HELP NIGGERIA TO PRODUCE MORE EMEGWALIS! THIS IS HOW YOU CAN MAKE A CONTRIBUTION SIR! IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO GIVE ADVISE ON THE CYBER SPACE FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR HOME IN AFRICA! WE ALL KNOW WHAT SHOULD BE DONE. THE MAIN PROBLEM IS :WHO WILL BELL THE CAT?" ARE YOU READY TO VOLUNTEER YOURSELF SIR TO GO TO NIGGERIA AND LEAD BY EXAMPLE? NOT UNTIL WE ARE ALL READY TO GO BACK AND SACRIFICE WILL THINGS START TO CHANGE. THERE IS JUST NO OTHER WAY OUT SIR WE ALSO NEED TO DO THE WALKING SIR! FROM RUSSIA WITH RESPECT AND LOVE. I WISH YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ALL THE BEST IT'S A BIG HONOUR AND PLEASURE TO ENGAGE YOU

depirate depirate is offline

# 7 | 25.05.2008 18:49

	Just to correct some misconceptions 1: Mr. Emeagwali is NOT a father of the internet 2: The Gordon Bell prize is NOT the Nobel prize of computing (that honour will go to the Turing award, besides Mr. Emeagwali did not actually "win" the Gordon Bell prize but, rather was awarded the prize in the lower category (price-performance) having been placed 2nd since no entrant gets more than one prize and the best entry also won in the top category (peak performance)) 3: Mr. Emeagwali does NOT hold a PhD. and thus is not a Dr. I did not read the article and thus can't make any comments regarding it but i have been aware of Mr. Emeagwali's self serving agenda for years (and frankly i'm surprised that his myths - judging from the rejoinders to this article - still persist) and was not disappointed when i saw the bit at the end (cleverly made to look like an update on the writer by the editor) i apologise to all my countrymen who will see me as an uncle tom putting down his own but our fight for a just and great country has no room for conmen and shysters (Abalaka and Godwin Oyibo also come to mind)

draftman draftman is offline

# 8 | 25.05.2008 18:53

	@Bode, very eloquent. You really hit the nail on it's head. Enough talking let's start doing. I am doing my part, I just invested large amount of money that will generate income and employment for people. One by one with our knowledge, experience, big english, and all the degree we have, we can contribute to that country, at the least for the sake of our family. Enough Said.

ILN TOO ILN TOO is offline

# 9 | 26.05.2008 04:33

	=depirate;4295046349>Just to correct some misconceptions 1: Mr. Emeagwali is NOT a father of the internet 2: The Gordon Bell prize is NOT the Nobel prize of computing (that honour will go to the Turing award, besides Mr. Emeagwali did not actually "win" the Gordon Bell prize but, rather was awarded the prize in the lower category (price-performance) having been placed 2nd since no entrant gets more than one prize and the best entry also won in the top category (peak performance)) 3: Mr. Emeagwali does NOT hold a PhD. and thus is not a Dr. I did not read the article and thus can't make any comments regarding it but i have been aware of Mr. Emeagwali's self serving agenda for years (and frankly i'm surprised that his myths - judging from the rejoinders to this article - still persist) and was not disappointed when i saw the bit at the end (cleverly made to look like an update on the writer by the editor) i apologise to all my countrymen who will see me as an uncle tom putting down his own but our fight for a just and great country has no room for conmen and shysters (Abalaka and Godwin Oyibo also come to mind) @Depirate, Thank you very much for your comments. At last, somebody is making sense on this forum, what a relief!!!! Philip Emeagwali is just a conman. Nobody is denying the fact that the man made some contribution to the field of supercomputing, but not anywhere near what the man will have us believe. The great geniuses are not glory seekers; Albert Einstein once used to deny that he was actually Einstein when disturbed on the street by curious members of the public. something is just not right with Philip Emeagwali.

overdryv overdryv is offline

# 10 | 26.05.2008 05:03

	For a couple of years back, I was following the raging exchange between this author and his fellow tribesmen as to the genuineness of his claims. Some went as far as calling him a big fraud. But no matter how one looks at it, Philip Emeagwali is a man who commands respect in the scientific community. But I feel so disappointed that such a great mind fails to diagonize correctly the problems confronting the African nation. His solution to our problems is long term and may not apply in the next 500 years. Before Africa could ever move forward, we must correct the problems created by colonialism. His theory presupposes that Africa is one homogenous entity. But that is far from the reality on the ground. The people who steer the affairs of the African peoples are all puppets of western interests. These are people who work behind the scene to push the agendas of neocolonialism, including enacting policies that call for reduction of African populations. Take a look and tell me one African nation that is totally independent. A typical francophone national does not welcome anyone from an english speaking country. Even in Ghana, the authorities have recently enacted a policy that every foreigner who desires to run a business in Ghana must have $300,000 capital and this is at a time of ECOWAS integration. In Sudan, the government is engaged in ethnic cleansing of the blacks. In North Africa, the people are completely Arab oriented and look down on blacks. It feels good to say Africa gave the world technology but where are we today? Why cant we even build simple things as drainage systems? The issue of blacks building the pyramids has been an over-flogged one. This is one of the lies that fuels fraudulent pan-africanism. If blacks did built the pyramids, they were certainly of a different genetic make-up as us. As recently as 100 years ago, none of our fore fathers in west Africa heard of the country called Egypt. Africa problems mirror that of Nigeria. The Christians would say, seek ye the kingdom of God and all other things would fall in place. We must first of all address the problems created by colonialism before we think of producing. We must as a first step chase away the pseudo leaders who only work for the UN, IMF, WHO to impoverish Africans. We may even have to stop oil production and look for other alternatives of energy. As long as we practice the presidential, parliamentary or other foreign systems of government and tie our fortunes to the dollar, we shall be in a steady free fall as the situation now. It is now the 21st century and technology has not been successfully transferred to Africa. This means the new owners of technology ( the author said we were the original owners) dont want it to happen. To come home, I wonder what the author thinks about our own problems in Nigeria. I wonder what he thinks of MASSOB. No doubt such an intellectual would ave added value to the agitation of the Igbo to free themselves from Nigeria. But one is never sure, some people have more to benefit from the larger Nigerian state.

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