Opinion
By Prof. Bart Nnaji
I WOULD like to start by thanking the Governing Council and Management of this University for giving me two honors today. The first honor is by inviting me to give the keynote speech to these graduands at the 5th Graduation ceremony of this University, and the second is by selecting me for an award of Doctor of Science, Honoris Causa.
Olorogun Michael Ibru and Dr. Mrs Cecilia Ibru have done a great service for our humanity. By setting up this University in their hometown of Agbara-Otor, the Ibrus have made a statement of great significance: East or West, North or South, home is the best. They have also thrown a challenge to other wealthy Nigerians: help develop your hometown. Material success does not have much meaning until you begin to touch, in a profound way, the people around you. Businesses throughout the world are no longer preoccupied with just profit maximization. They engage in corporate social responsibility to ensure there is stability and harmony in the larger society. All of us here appreciate the Olorogun Michael Ibru and Dr. Mrs Cecilia Ibru’s family for being their brother’s keeper. I have always believed that education is the most effective way to empower people.
The Ibru family has for decades been conspicuous in their contribution to national development. In my younger days I recall that the famous Ibru frozen fish was a delicacy for most families. Olorogun Michael Ibru’s goal was to provide an affordable source of protein and vitamins to improve the health of all cadres of families in Nigeria. The Ibru family later diversified into agriculture, real estate, printing, publishing, hospitality, banking, automobile distribution, and so on.
When I left Nigeria to study in the United States in 1977, I exchanged 1 US Dollar at 67 kobo. At that time, they would write the exchange rate on the inside back cover of your passport. That record is still there on my first international passport. By 1980, that exchange rate was still in the same range, specifically, by 1980, $1 was exchanged at 80 kobo. So, one would ask why it degenerated so precipitously to where the same US Dollar would require more than N900 to exchange today.
It is all tied to production. If we produce goods and services for export, and we do not import what we should be producing, then the exchange rate would be better. Look at where we were in the 70’s and 80s in terms of production. The country was very serious during this period in creating a thriving domestic production base.
First, we grew and produced major exportable crops such as groundnuts and cotton, hides and skins in the North, cocoa in the West, rubber in the Bendel region (now known as Edo & Delta States), palm produce in the Eastern region. Secondly, we had working refineries and we were a net exporter of petroleum products. Today, we export crude oil and import petroleum products. We had car assembly plants such as Peugeot Assembly in Kaduna and Volkswagen in Lagos; we also produced Mercedes Benz trucks and buses by Anamco in Enugu, Leyland trucks and buses in Ibadan, and Steyr trucks in Bauchi while agricultural trucks and their components were produced by Steyr in Bauchi. Nigerian companies produced car components such as vehicle seats, batteries, windshields, brake pads, and discs. Tyres were produced by Dunlop and Michelin with rubber from Nigerian rubber plantations and carbon black from local refineries. Textile mills in Kaduna and Lagos produced fabrics while finished clothes were made in Aba. Bata produced shoes in Aba, etc. Even pipes for plumbing and water supply, toilet equipment, and electrical cables were produced in Nigeria. Nigerians could travel within and outside the country using Nigeria Airways, thereby growing the economy and reducing foreign currency expenditure.
The Ibrus were a major distributor of Peugeot Assembly of Nigeria (PAN), based in Kaduna. Nigerians took pride in patronizing locally produced goods. Peugeot, for instance, was the official car, and government officials, including the President, State Governors, and other Senior Government officials used Peugeot as their official vehicles. When I served briefly as the Minister of Science and Technology in the early 1990s, the cars assigned to my office were Peugeot 504 and Peugeot 505.
This was the right thing to do. British government officials always drive vehicles manufactured in their country. The same goes for American, Japanese, Malaysian, Italian, South Korean, French, German, and Chinese officials. Even when Indian vehicle brands couldn’t compete with imported brands, the Indian government officers insisted on using their locally manufactured vehicles. Patriotism has a lot to do with rapid economic development. This is why my colleagues and I at the Geometric Power group proudly and enthusiastically patronize locally produced vehicles like Innoson vehicles which we find competitive in terms of comfort, aesthetics, technical quality, and cost. When we support local industries, we not only create jobs and business opportunities for our people, we also conserve foreign exchange.
May I use this opportunity to ask the various levels of Nigerian Government, including Federal, State, and Local Governments to make it mandatory that we buy and use Made-in-Nigeria vehicles as the official vehicles for our Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) except for specialized vehicles which are not available.
The considerable industrial base of the 1970s and 1980s led to quality living standards for our people; there were huge business and employment opportunities for our people. This industrial trajectory was, however, abandoned. It is time to reverse the negative policies of the mid-1980s which have resulted in grave economic consequences. Let’s reset our trajectory positively so that we can leapfrog into the Fourth Revolution.
The whole world is now in the Fourth Industrial Revolution known for Big Data, the Internet of Things, etc. Nigeria, to some extent, joined the First Industrial Revolution, which is the Agricultural Revolution, and some achievements were made in areas such as groundnuts, cotton, rubber, cocoa, palm produce, etc. Many of these were raw materials for value-added products also produced in Nigeria. There were also various Government-led programs such as Operation Feed the Nation in 1976 and the Green Revolution in 1980. However, these Agricultural development programs and policies to support private sector investment in agriculture were not continued by subsequent governments. Because the achievements were not sustained, they have not yielded the desired results for our economy.
We also started the Second Industrial Revolution which focused on Industrialization (i.e., added value). As described earlier, the government established various companies across our nation for this purpose. However, virtually all of them have failed.
Sadly, we have not fared much better with the Third Revolution, which is the Digital Revolution. The good thing about the Third Revolution is that our younger generation has taken this on board, and they are not relying on our generation or the Government to spearhead its development. We are therefore able to reap some rewards. However, we can achieve significantly higher results for our nation if their effort is well harnessed through a collaborative, well-coordinated program.
Now that the Fourth Industrial Revolution which is known for Big Data, the Internet of Things, etc. is here, we need to learn from the past and quickly use it to leapfrog Nigeria into becoming one of the top ten (10) Industrialized countries globally.
One of the most effective things we can do as a nation to participate significantly in the Fourth Industrial Revolution is to embrace relevant education.
One may say that we do not have the infrastructure to catch up with other nations to participate in the educational process that would prepare us for the Fourth Revolution. The National Universities Commission (NUC) recently took a positive step towards ensuring that Nigeria is not left out in the globalization of higher education. The NUC is now allowing partnerships for dual degree programs with reputable International universities. It also now allows the establishment of foreign university campuses in Nigeria. In the case of dual degree programs, the two institutions may jointly award the candidate a degree or the candidate may receive a degree from each of the institutions.
To enter into such a partnership with a major American or European University, the local University must meet the standards of the major University in terms of curriculum development, style of teaching, ethical behavior, and availability of critical facilities. A lot of Asian institutions like the National University of Singapore, a world-class university, have benefitted from the Dual or Joint Degree programmes. It is, therefore, a welcome development that the National Universities Commission (NUC) has since August 2022, embraced the idea, and has consequently issued guidelines on how Nigerian universities can participate in the programmes.
For Nigeria to effectively leapfrog into the Fourth Revolution, we should quickly embrace Artificial Intelligence (AI). As some of you may be aware, I have a long-standing interest in this area. I did my Post-doctoral Fellowship in AI at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US.
When I joined the University of Massachusetts, I became not just a Professor of Engineering, but also the Director of the Automation and Robotics Laboratory which had everything to do with the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI). While our research was for civil application, it sometimes found its way into military and security use. All this was long before AI became known to most people in the world.
With Generative AI becoming the dominant issue among scientists, researchers, and policymakers in the world since last November when Open AI launched ChatGPT4 which has now upended the way we have known the world, it is only natural that we understand what it is as quickly as possible.
Nigeria must embrace AI on an industrial scale. AI is set to transform every aspect of the world—healthcare, research, education, business, etc.– the way no revolution has done instantly. With AI, almost everything will be done much faster, much cheaper, and much more accurately. ChatGPT4, for instance, can generate any text or produce music or video within a jiffy. All you need to do is type a few words and then prompt the words. It can write a novel for you and in your name within a few seconds. It can write an office memo within seconds. It can write a very good advert jingle in a few seconds. Generative Artificial Intelligence answers legal questions easily and diagnoses medical cases effortlessly. Companies have used it to replace their customer service teams because it addresses customers’ queries accurately and instantly. Students and researchers use it to resolve complex mathematical assignments and scientific questions easily.
Though the United States, China, the European Union, the United Kingdom, India, South Korea, and Japan are driving AI’s rapid development right now, there is nothing that stops Nigeria from joining the league of frontline AI developers. The computer and the internet have made it possible for anyone to stay in a room or in any small place and be in touch with developments in the rest of the world, including cutting-edge technology, and perform wonders. All it requires is appropriate education, talent, and the tenacity to pursue development.
The Federal Government has to lead the charge of AI development in Nigeria through appropriate policy adoption and implementation, as well as the creation of the right environment. Tariffs on IT equipment need to be reduced drastically. The training of IT specialists must be taken more seriously. IT institutions must be given pride of place. The Ministry of Communication and Creative Economy should be recognized as a critical Ministry for rapid national development. The same thing goes for the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Nigeria should prioritize Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) just as India did. In the case of India, the whole world is today witnessing tremendous results, from solid food security to advanced manufacturing to sophisticated IT to advanced medical tourism and now to moon and sun exploration!
Still, one is not oblivious to the risks associated with AI. job losses have been reported in various fields. There is no doubt that AI threatens routine tasks just like robotic technology does. A report published last month by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) shows women are more at risk because they perform more clerical and routine tasks. Therefore, the growing use of AI demands reskilling and upskilling of our workforce. The situation now is reminiscent of that of the 1980s when the use of computers was becoming ubiquitous, forcing secretaries, typists, clerical officers, and typewriter manufacturers to adjust. Similarly, the way computers created more wealth for individuals and businesses is the AI Revolution can add to enormous global opportunities and prosperity.
But we should not gloss over the fact that AI aids plagiarism and other grave academic offences. Plagiarism can be checked to some extent by using plagiarism checkers like Turnitin which is popular in British educational institutions and in former British colonies like Nigeria. However, such devices have their limitations. For example, they cannot address the concerns of American actors and screenwriters who have been protesting in the streets that AI is helping to plagiarize their work and they are getting no compensation.
There are many other areas of concern regarding AI, such as misinformation, disinformation, deep fakes, perpetuation of biases and stereotypes, as well as global threats regarding pandemics or nuclear arms. These fears and concerns can, in my opinion, be addressed considerably by the establishment of an international regulatory agency and protocols. I therefore join numerous experts across the globe to call for a world body to coordinate and regulate AI development and AI use, similar to the International Atomic Energy Agency which guides the development and use of atomic energy and so makes the world safer. This regulatory body will provide a governance structure for AI development. Given the awesome rapidity of AI development, the laws and rules governing AI development should be broad rather than too specific. And they should not stifle innovation or the growth of science.
In the meantime, the challenge before Nigeria is to embrace AI fully. It provides immense opportunities in all fields. Recently, I discovered that young people in Nigeria are beginning to take up the challenge (and opportunities) of becoming part of the Fourth Revolution. I was amazed when a highly respected Nigerian celebrity told me about a recent major event in Abuja that was organized by someone close to me who had formed an internet market platform known as “TribeLike”. Apparently, the platform promotes our culture, local brands, and creative producers of music, art, fashion, clothes, food, etc., and their intersections. Nigeria has a lot to offer the world. We should start by promoting and supporting our own local talents.
Many Africans are creating various APPs that address a variety of society’s needs. The majority of them are in the Fintech area, but there are some in other areas too. Many of them have already achieved Unicorn status while others are fast getting there. Examples of the Fintech companies that have become quite successful include Flutterwave, Paystack, Chipper Cash, OPay, and Kuda Bank. There are some innovative companies in other areas such as ReLeaf which is an agri-tech company that uses technology for growing food factories; Autochek which can help you fix your car, buy a car, and get a car loan. There is Andela which describes itself as a global talent network: connecting brilliance with opportunity. There is Jobberman which is perhaps the best job placement company in Africa. There are others such as Jumia and Interswitch. The amazing thing about many of these companies is that they are not even based in Africa. Some are in Europe, and some are in America.
Students and young graduates should not waste their degrees and nature-given acumen by planning to only seek employment and subsequently settle for “desk jobs”. This great university has given you limitless empowerment to aim high, use your minds to create new things, and challenge yourselves to solve problems for the world. You now have the gateway to join the Fourth Revolution and lead Nigeria to greater heights. Remember, patriotism drives rapid economic development.
May Nigeria and the rest of Africa not lose this opportunity of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Rather may the 21st Century be Africa’s Century through you and your generation.
***Convocation Address by Prof Bart Nnaji, CON, NNOM, FAS, FAEng, at the 5th Graduation of Michael & Cecilia Ibru University, Agbara-Otor, Delta State.
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September 13, 2023 @ 10:19 GMT|
Tags: Cecilia Ibru Olorogun Michael Ibru Prof Bart Nnaji
