I was asked "What is really the cause of unemployment in most African countries"? I hope my one bit experience can try to explain.
First and formost we need to disabuse our minds from what we have been made to think employment is. Employment in my sense represents Purpose. Jobs, Contracts, Entrepreneurship, Supplying, Investments are descriptors of paths to making money, it isnt purpose itself. We have a lot of problems and that means one needs to apply themselves.
Politically we don't have a purpose, there is no blue print that we are following ie how do we get there. Our leaders are not educated or wrongly orientated when it comes to development steps but if speaking in business terms, we have all focused on managing the visible natural resources but built very little resembling an industry, even now the companies busy in extraction cant sell their products because there isnt a diversified need in the market, they are also suffering the effects of underdevelopment.
As people and our leaders alike who are a product of us, we have no respect for development process.
These are industries that have been developed in foreign countries.
Advertising- what products and services do we produce for the advertising world to present to the market? We are seeing ads of foreign brands. We have no faith in what we produce in-house, by buying what foreigners make we are giving out our hard cash.
Arts & Crafts- we have no endearing for the works of art of our artists. How lovely it would be to hang a painting with the curves of our women and illustrations of our lands?! We dont study arts anymore in schools and that is a foundation of architects and the works that give us jobs in building stadiums, so it also affects the real-estate industry. A craft is what a profession is. Crafts is the core of any industry, it supports the engineering world. Art is an expression of how one sees life, an edified soul is secure.
Autos/Transportation- If we dont make cars why do we need roads? How do we reach our loved ones when they are far? How do we fly to the moon and improve communication if we don't industrialise?!
Beauty/Personal Care- We have really bad self care, our women are wearing fake hair and copying fashion, we dont promote the african look both for men and women. you may say its easy but in hindsight is it achieving the greater communal good?
Business Services. the business service sector is struggling because our educational sector is based on content developed to orientate us on foreign interests. A for apple can be A for akpu. Our kids dont know how to read or write properly which affects the art of communication and analytics of data found.
Apart from the fact that to actually yield returns in this sector we have to change the structure of how we do business. Most of us are traders, and that is just one sided. We need to improve the tax and its collection polices! There is a difference between a sugarcane seller and sugar producer. Business consultants are complex based, sales consultants how ever are transaction based. We have little respect for consult because we think we know it all. If we all realise that a consultant is a counsellor you will allow them to inform you. the knowledge of Pro and cons is only extracted during discuss, it isnt an actual science. A coach will hold your hand while achieving your goals towards full potential.
Children's Businesses- we are doing ok in this area but thats because women have taken it up. how ever the vastness of this area is huge and indirectly linked with several other industries. Ask your self who dosnt have kids? Who wants to raise them safe and sound?
Computers- as i explained earlier the fact that we have no nepa stops us from industrialising, our kids cant do programming, so software that solve african problems cant be developed.
Education/Instruction- forget about this if we have lecturers who never practised are teaching and sleep with students to give them marks. I resigned from a job at 22 because the employer who had a business in teaching computer literacy advertised and never intended in giving the kids what he said he would. I dont do witch hunting but if adults are riping knowledge out of kids what safety would they have for their pensions not to be rubbed in return.
Family values have disintegrated to supporting kids and adults in the name of survival to steal and cheat. Your kids buy you a car while not having a stable job and you say it is fine? Lawyers have now been labeled as 419.
Entertainment & Events - we like to dance but do we know that the Olympics is an event and must be entertaining? Do we support grass root games? Do we value our cultural heritage? Entertainment is an expression of art.
Financial- what do we produce to have what to regulate or manage? Financial industry isnt responsible for long term loans they are traders of paper. If our businesses are only trade based then we have the banks we have. Finance industry is a bank that supports savings of effort in paper. They are not meant for credit but they can offer it when the business has a well defined revenue generating path.
Food- do we diversify our dishes? We have mamaputs all over, do we belive in chefs? Most of our women cook, thats fine but the agricultural sector has been neglected. We have kids who go to study agriculture yet have never seen a farm or planted a garden seed. Food is a way of bringing people together.
Health Care/Medical - we go to babalawos, self medicate ourselves, drink ogogoro and then we face dealing with heartdeseas, liver failure and we dont have equipments to save lives. Our students dont care for life why should they care for a patient?
Home Products/Services- we dont decorate our homes, it isnt an expression of style, we put things but they dont represent who lives in it. Personally i would prefer to live in a Mud house and it has character than what we see today. The Interior designers are suffering to make business because we dont like to express our individuality through our homes. Our women are still cutting onions with their hands, where are our old day stone grinders, they sure help making better tasting dishes.
Import/Export - what african products do we produce to lure foreigners to buy our products? We have no standards which is why we loose ground to exportation. This industry represents quality. If we are wearing Gucci cant we influence the foreign fashion industry with our african prints? we havnt understood what pallet means "A TASTE of a continent"
Maintenance - do we have a maintenance culture or are we consumers? Anything produced, built, developed needs maintaining, this sector is the highest employer abroad.
Manufacturing- they produce practical tools, the manufacturing sector depends on what other sectors and people need to enhance lives and businesses. In one word they are the hardware to the rest industries which one can call software. They are the Matter to the minds design.
Media/Publishing - Do we read? Do we as people express? Freedom of speech the channels of communication is who they are. We are all each others guardians. If i may use a religeous way to describe them they are the "hopi ghosts" of the business and social world.
Online Businesses - this is just logistics in virtual form. You dont need an office any more, thats if the market can deal with not seeing someone for reassurance of delivery. They reduced the rate at which trees are cut. Post office has lost its value because they invented email. They are the products of the telecom and tech world.
Pet Businesses - which animal do we respect in africa? If we still think cats are witches, forgeting that kids who have no siblings can learn to communicate and care for another through handling animals. This industry was developed by explorers of the physical world and its habitants. We all love discovery channel and ofen times animals teach us better humanity. isn't the film industry supported through the natural world?
Plants/Agriculture - it is about our eco system, survival of which we cant do without. Creams are made of plants, herbs are used in pharmaceuticals, etc
Real Estate - what is the point of owning a land if we build houses face me i face you, fence to fence, no parks for kids to play and kids are arrested infront of the tv? What architecture is there? I personally dont buy a house if my kids need to be driven to the streets.
Recreation - Oambe and burials, thats all we attend. We have made a private family pain into social celebrations. It is changing and this isnt culture it needs to fade out. We dont know the content of our lands hence we trade it for peanuts, fighting for which is pointless later because the truth is "finders is always keepers".
Retail Businesses - we sell what others invent. this we are masters of. What else? we are depending on foreign trends, so if there isn't anything new on the market or a product ceases to exist then there is a hole in the pocket.
Security- Why security? This is handled by churches. Now terrorists have a better job to do barking at the flock to gather. What is security if not a philosophy/ideology in reverse?
Sports - this builds strategic minds, builds psychologically healthy individuals. It is a form of relaxation. Health is among the first needs that existed along side Arts and Agriculture which made it possible for the rest industries to develop. It also affects the sex drive of men in the positive sense.
Travel - the only way you can see a vantage point to a situation is to travel, if you have no comparison you cant see the loopholes. Travel shows opportunities and this as Nigerians we do well but if we believe that it isnt possible to do at home what man has already done given the fact that the bright man lives in a harsher environment we have no excuse that we cant adopt and modify to our needs. South Africa wouldnt be what it is today if they didnt have the influence. We drove the colonialists but we didnt build from there. Creativity is bread through travel.
I could go on but a readable page will not be enough to draw a blue print so enjoy exploring your mind for possible opportunities. Every industry has its value but when we place value on money we cease to have a price. White man has no respect for money but they will demand quality and relax at doing the best in their own area. When someone comes to sell something to us we want it free or show no appreciation for effort. When money is stored it looses its value.
To have a good employment rate we need to have all these industries developed, we have to start and we should realise that during the starting phase there is little technology to leave many out of employment. If given a report, what industry do we know in Nigeria is succeeding or leading?
Employment is about putting minds and matter to good use. If one feels used one will never invest. We have loads of work to do but no one wants to be employed or maybe our politicians are not developers?
This is just a crude way of putting it out. i dont copy others theories but present what i have experienced.
No comments:
Post a Comment