V Mobile sold for US$1bn
Celtel's 65% acquisition of V Mobile for US$1bn (announced at the weekend) is a sign of the increasing seriousness with which foreign investors are taking the Nigerian market. It puts into stark relief the 200 and something million dollars that was bid for NITEL late last year by Orascom. The V Mobile deal is also a sign of the relentless pressure of international capital to seek and open up new markets, with the inevitability of any process found in nature.
The parallels with India and China are clear, just as much are the divergencies. Whereas India and China are focusing on building an advanced technology infrastructure and world-class research capabilities in their universities, Nigeria's infrastructure and education system are nowhere near that of either Egypt or South Africa's, let alone competing globally. There has to be a exponentially stronger focus on building capacity into education and infrastructure in the next few years by whoever forms the next administration for Nigeria to dig itself out of being an import economy of passive consumers of goods produced elsewhere in the future. If this were to take place, Nigeria just might stop being a theological import economy to boot.
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4 comments:
Dearest Jay...I laugh out loud!...Not from humour,more from irony.I can hear the Ibo people shouting in their varying indegenoues lingos...WE TOLD YOU SO!!
If only we Nigerians had the forsight to respect creativity and ingenuitiy when its sitting right on top of our Efo-riro with pounded-yam?!!!...what a wonderful stage we would be.
Like the Japanese, the Ibo's have tried (and still continue) to try to create an econony from making cheaper replicas of imported electrical products, without any support from the government whilst also receiving lots of abuse from the people! Come on...There's not much technology in the
making a mobile phone handset - So why the hell have we still not got a Nigerian brand?
Are you trying to tell me that MR Fat-glo-eba-com is not aware that the talent is in Nigeria...? But of course he's not intereste?
My challenge to the next administration is to build and encourage the formation of more vocational colleges and institutions and less emphasis on the traditonal university degress.
Where are the schools of carpentary, technical engineer, mechanics, plumbers,wood-carvers,
furniture etc. Skills that grow with experience and passed onto generations...?
I swear to you...Ki n se epe..We are a long way from...
"Nigeria just might stop being a theological import economy to boot."
Bo se ri ni yen!!! So it is!
"..My challenge to the next administration is to build and encourage the formation of more vocational colleges and institutions and less emphasis on the traditonal university degress."
I think they exist already and in fact both Mr President and mr vice president have their own institutions, and I agree with J, "nowhere near that of either Egypt or South Africa's". Or am I wrong?
J, this is a problem of mindset and strikes at the core of Nigeria's dysfunction. Technology enables 3 core elements...empowerment,enlightment and freedom. Technology in of itself has little value so the challenge is to peel the layers and evolve a sustainable value proposition that impacts Nigerians at the bottom of the pyramid. Clearly we are not there yet!!
theological export economy you meant to say. am sure the next nation in that regard must come a distant second. really how a whole nation is laid to waste in the sea of ideas and potentials that this world represents. Perhaps one day, however a redemption day would come.
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