Dr Charles talks to Godswill Erondu on insecurity, economic, religious and political issues that Nigeria is grappling with and what Nigeria can do to strengthen its competitive advantage.
QUESTION
You are a business man that has traveled to over 90 countries doing business and currently resides in North America, you’ve done quite a lot in the world. What do you think Nigeria should do at this moment to tackle insecurity, bearing in mind that insecurity is something that Nigeria has grappled with over a period of time?
RESPONSE
One of the things to find out about insecurities is that it’s easy to go and attack the people that normally create the problems. But you want to find the root cause; most of these problems have to do with bad economy, bad leadership etc. There are a lot of things that can contribute to this. If you try to attack terrorism without attacking the root cause of it, you’re basically placing the cart before the horse. The real issue is what is causing this young men and young women to go into a situation like that to create chaos and to terrorize people. And part of it can be attributed to number one, bad leadership, number two lack of opportunities. The third is a lack of education. You know, when you have young men and young women that are not educated, and they don’t understand the value of life, they become desperate and whoever can give them an opportunity to either, you know, take care of their families and things like that they will gravitate towards such people.
So to deal with insecurities, you have to go to the root cause of it. And when those root causes are removed, the insecurities are resolved. For example, talk about education. Now, if you have young men and young men being trained in a school, where they are told that lives are not important, that lives do not matter, that if they can blow up themselves, they become martyrs, and they become people that will get a reward in heaven. If they are better educated, they will understand how valuable life is, they will understand what purpose is. And they will realize that those teachers are fraudulent people trying to tell them to kill themselves. But the teachers themselves are not killing themselves.
Most of terrorism is run by ideology, and ideology does not occur in a vacuum, it occurs when somebody is actually there promoting the idea. And so if you can attack the ideology from its core, you can fix most of the other problems. For example, if a person comes to a city, and tries to recruit people, and the people are critical thinkers, I don’t think that they will volunteer or be a part of something that will be self-destructive. They wouldn’t be a part of that. But I believe that to deal with some of the terrorism concerns this is very vital to creating a good progressive society, where there’s peace and security.
Now, another thing about dealing with insecurities in Nigeria, or Africa generally, you think about why young people want to go across the seas and the ocean to other places. Why don’t they come back to their own countries? Is because we have come to a place where people are no longer rewarded for competence. It’s more of a godfatherism and “godmotherism”, you know what that means. So people that are very competent, will look for other ways. Moreover, if you have a very well educated person that is doing nothing, they are more dangerous, because they have time to devise crazy things that are hurtful to other people. So the problem becomes, when people become frustrated with society, they take it on against the society.
Building very good families is another point we have to add. You find out most of the problems we see as adult problems may have started with people not being in the right family settings. In other words, if you want to build a very secure society, you must build very good families. You see, because when you have good families, good family values, it translates to good adults and good citizens and good societies. So, what is being taught now in society about family, is it what sustains a family? Of course, you have people that are taught that you can be a criminal, you can kill other people. Terrorism is not only about religious terrorism, it could be economic terrorism. It could be criminality of all sorts, terror is terror. If a criminal goes shooting up people in the bank, that’s still terrorism. If a person goes, blowing up a thing because of a political ideology, that is still terrorism. But you see, sometimes we reduce terrorism to just religious terrorism. That means you can be an ideologue, whether you are a religious zealot or a political person, doesn’t matter. But the bottom line is, we have to start thinking about building very strong families, good family values.
And of course, that goes without saying that we have to have good law enforcement. We have to have effective policies that involve the citizens of Nigeria that will make significant progress in policing ourselves. So that when you see something that is out of place, you can actually report those things as out of place. You can tell who is new in your community. And if they start doing nefarious things, you know what to do, you should report it.
And the other thing, that’s the great equalizer in dealing with terrorism is also using technology. I mean, if the US can listen to people’s conversation across the globe, Africa can begin to develop itself in the area of technology. Using technology to begin to deal with the situation of terrorism, knowing what plans are being hatched by people, having analysts that can analyze what is being transmitted either by text messaging, or whatever platform that you’re using to plan it. You can stop most of those things before they start. And that can only be effective if we have leaders that are not corrupt. Because when you have corruption, regardless of the technology, regardless of anything you put there, without good leadership, it will not work. It’s about execution and not necessarily just about having those things; execution matters.
QUESTION
In your wisdom, how do you think Nigeria and even other African countries should deal with bad leadership, get good leaders that will lead their countries to the, someone might say, promised land or to a place where people can have faith in their country?
RESPONSE
Well, I think leadership problems in Africa can vary across different countries and regions. But some common issues include corruption, lack of accountability, weak institutions, and we have limited democratic systems that actually do work. You see, having an election does not mean it is the will of the people. Because it might have been manipulated. A lot of times people say, it’s not who votes that matters, it’s who counts the vote that matters. Most times the West has perfected the way of bringing neo-colonialism into Africa. They tell you they’re gonna give you democracy, but then they put stooges that rig elections to keep and maintain the status quo. And now these foreign powers will come to Africa and tell them that the elections were free and fair, because that’s what everyone is expecting to see. So now, they are actually endorsing an election that is rigged. So when they say it’s an election, having an election does not mean it actually happened.
You know the problems of elections across the globe, even in North America. Having an election doesn’t mean it is free and fair. People would do whatever it takes to do. So you have corruption as a significant challenge. With leaders that are often engaged in embezzlement, they engage in bribery and corruption, nepotism. These issues drain the resources of nations meant for the development of these nation’s; it hampers economic growth. And when we are addressing some of the issues that we’re talking about, we require strong anti-corruption measures, independent bodies that can provide oversight to the government and we have to develop a culture of transparency and accountability.
Now, when we talk about accountability, that is one of the problems. Some leaders in Africa have been known to abuse their power and act with impunity. And that’s why you see what happened recently in Gabon, it’s interesting that the former president, that was deposed, he didn’t call his people to rise up, he called his friends outside the continent to make noise. If you have to call foreigners and not citizens of your country, it means you don’t really have the support of your people. That means the election that he was supposed to have won was never really won. And so this is what the problem has been in Africa; we have leaders that are acting with impunity.
And holding leaders accountable through an independent judiciary is a big problem. The judiciary has been corrupted. In fact, going through the judiciary in Africa just basically confirms the biases we already have. Most of them have been brought over, you can really do much with that. You need a totally independent judiciary that cannot be shuffled easily by the president when they come in, when they feel they don’t like them. You need something that is very independent. And another thing you need in a society like that, to hold people accountable, is a free press. Today in Africa, you don’t don’t have an interview with most press people without paying them to come and do an interview with you. Regardless of how brilliant your ideas are, regardless of how important it might be to change everything. It requires you bribing the media to come in. So when you have a media that is already bought over and paid for by the politicians, they will not hold the leaders accountable. But if you have good journalists that understand what journalism is, that will look at everything with a little ounce of skepticism, they will look and see the angle a person is bringing, and they can hold leadership to account, it will help build a viable society and great leadership. Another thing is, having active civil society organizations is crucial to great governance.
Now, let me add on to the subject, we need to have strengthened institutions. In some African countries, a person will bring a court case that will take five years to resolve. Like they say, “Justice delayed is justice denied.” And they’ll spend their whole life trying to fight a court case that is being dragged on by the judiciary that is very weak and cannot execute and adjudicate the cases. So basically they play the waiting game with these people that maybe have their land that have been taken over by some power brokers and things like that, and they have to fight. So we need adequate institutions, systems and structures that can really enhance what the government is doing.
And another thing is about the service delivery in Africa. One of the things we find out in coming to Africa sometimes can be very frustrating. I think Africans have developed the art of being very patient with craziness. Some things that we tolerate in Africa would never be tolerated outside of Africa. You see the institutions are so weak that people are expected to be patient; the service delivery is so lousy, that when you talk to people, they are kind of comfortable with it. In fact, I was recently in Nigeria. And wherever we went, we insisted on excellence. We insisted on excellence, I told them, I will not allow this kind of behavior in my Africa. I said my Africa is supposed to compete with China and the rest of the world. I will not tolerate anyone around me that is allowing these things to become part of it. I could see gaps that can be filled with business strategies; people that can come and deliver the services and make a profit out of it. And this also, because of the weak institution, it has also weakened development.
So, in strengthening these institutions, part of it is capacity building, professional training. We need to train our people afresh again, so that they know exactly how to handle the business. And also, merit based recruitment, regardless of what part of the country you’re from, or what part of Africa you’re from, if we can bring our best and the brightest to the table, we can build a great leadership team that can take Africa to the next 100 years to become the leaders of the world. So we have to learn how to recruit based on merit, that will help address some of these issues.
Now, limited democratic systems and processes contribute to leadership problems. Let me give an example. Some leaders in Africa, it’s a shame to say, are almost like corpses walking the streets, they’re almost dead, but they still hang on to power. What does it mean? They stay in power for extended periods of time suppressing opposition, and limiting political participation. You see presidents who just want to stay in power, because, you know, they have had a taste of what it is and become drunk with it. And now they have suppressed every kind of opposition, and they have limited political participation. When we begin to encourage the real, true democratic principles, ensuring free and fair elections and promoting very inclusive governance, these are important in addressing some of the leadership issues in Africa. In addressing these, it requires the collective effort of every citizen in Africa to do this. Every citizen of Nigeria to do this, that means the civil society organizations, international partners, promoting transparency, strengthening institutions upholding the rule of law. These are keys in fostering accountability, and effective leadership in Africa.
QUESTION
What do you think Nigeria should do to curb corruption that is always involved in the electoral process? If we have good electoral processes, it should be able to give the country good leaders, what do you think Nigeria should do that will aid or help establish a good and effective electoral process that will lead to electing good leaders?
I think part of the problem in Africa and Nigeria, particularly, it’s not elections, per se, by themselves, it’s the institutions that actually plan and execute their elections. An institution is made up of people. If we can put people that cannot be compromised, that’s a good start. And the processes are streamlined and transparent, for example, we’re talking about being able to see the electoral returns immediately. You can bring technology to make that happen. That means, while the votes are being tallied, everything is done electronically, you can see the rssult. Not the type that all of a sudden the server is having a problem, and then all of a sudden there’s a black out for a couple of hours. And then all the electoral results have flipped. And you’re wondering. This happens in the United States. You know, it’s not only in Africa. So I think Africa, we’re learning from the west how to manipulate elections too. So it cannot just be said about Africa, because we’ve seen some things, how they can use technology to manipulate.
But to have a free and fair election, the process must be from the grassroots. In fact, one of the biggest ways to get rid of all of these bad things in election is to get rid of the money. You see, when there is money there is corruption. Because when money comes in and people cannot account for how they got the money and they start buying people and buying votes, guess what happens? You have a problem. So if everybody’s going to contest for an election, let the government give everybody an equal amount of money. And if anybody spends anything extra from it, guess what? They should be disqualified. In other words, let the best ideas win, let them have the debates, let them have everything done instead of a shouting match and just holding rallies, so that the electorate will be well educated in who they need to bring as a leader.
You know, you can be a great debater, but not a great leader. See, a great leader knows how to be very honest. They’re not just thinking about the elections, they are thinking about the generations. You can hear it in their speech, they’re not talking about what they’re gonna do in four years. They’re talking about setting a course, they’re thinking about generations. In fact, most leaders will tell you, I just need to be there one term. And I want to be the difference maker for the next generation. Instead of thinking like a politician, we should have a leader start thinking like a statesman. In other words, we should be thinking about how we can affect a generation.
You think about the late president of Tanzania, he only took one term, and he transformed the nation. He didn’t run for 50 years, he didn’t run for forty years, only one term. Now other African nations are coming to benchmark them. Tanzania used to be the place that everybody will just go and think, Oh, well, nothing is happening in Tanzania. But everyone is running there, because it took just one great leader, and one good election to change it. Remember this. Elections have consequences. Whoever people have as the leaders will determine the fate of their destiny. You cannot wait another generation for a great leader. That’s why when I hear about the Coups in Africa, and people are thinking, well, these people are not elected. And they are taking over. Who told you those that are in office because of “election” that they actually won?
So we have to question all of this institution. So if we’re going to do that, we have to start by cleaning the house. The people that are in charge of the electoral bodies must be very vetted, their assets must be checked. If they have one extra dine come on, they have to say how they got it. Because remember, public service is an honor, it’s a privilege to serve the public. It shouldn’t be considered as a right I have to be there and then to squander and embezzle, it shouldn’t be that way. It should be a thing of honor that you are sacrificing. You don’t make money in public service in the United States, you make money after your public service because you gain connections etc. But when people go into public service, they actually lose money. They don’t make money while they’re serving. They only make money after they’ve served. And that’s when they have the reputation, they have all the things and then they will become people that can leave of the reputation. So we have to make public service something of a sacrifice, not something that you go there and then you embezzle.
In fact, do you know when you take away incentives then give to senators, only the genuine people will show up. Because if you tell a senator, we’re not going to give you all these cars to come and serve. I’m telling you, a lot of people will not want to serve. Then we will see things changing, because if you remove money out of most elections, guess what’s going to happen? It’s going to change. Okay.
Another thing is the vetting process should be done by a totally different body unconnected to the government by any way. Which means we’ll have good accounting companies that can audit and find out the details of those that are running to see whether they really are who they say they are. In the US there are companies that do this very easily. I mean, they do that whenever they’re doing some of the competitions. These are just competitions, but people are doing the vetting processes very well. Like in the Oscars award, you have people not telling you who won until the last minute. And they are very protective about it. But what am I saying? I’m saying that the institutions have to be transformed from the top to the bottom, that means, putting the right kinds of leaders in place. Number two, restructure exactly how the electoral process will take place, making it an even playing field for anybody that wants to come in. And the way you can actually get rid of people is by seeing who has the best ideas and who has a strategy to implement it.
Another thing I really think is, if left to me, not everybody should vote. You see, the United States Constitution actually says. The electorate are people that have understanding of the process, not everybody. See, democracy is only as good as the people that are in it. In other words, if you have a bunch of ignorant people voting because somebody looks nice, you’re gonna get a lot of nice looking people that cannot do anything for anybody. And that’s the problem. If the electorate are not well educated, and not well informed, how are they going to make the right choices? I mean, if somebody can be bought for a bag of rice every four years, they don’t deserve to vote. You can say, well, I’m in the country, I have a right. Yes, but remember that rights were paid for by blood, rights were purchased. So we shouldn’t trivialize the rights because you are there. See, with rights comes responsibility. If you’re not responsible enough to learn about the processes, and understand what it takes, then you don’t have a right to be in the process.
Because when we have educated people that are actually running systems, people that understand the process, that understands what it takes to have the right leaders, I think we can come up with better leaders, because no one can pull or woo over a person that knows the details of how the other person operates. I think Africa needs a rethinking of what we call democratic elections. You know, the thing about Africa, we were built on kingdoms, we knew the people that were supposed to be in place. In the African Kingdom, we won’t put a criminal to be in charge in places, but everything has been corrupt. For somebody to be a leader in a community, that community must agree that you’re going to be there. The Kings has to agree for you to be there. You just can come in there just because we have money. That’s how it used to be until money came into the picture. And now people can have chieftaincy titles without earning anything. But those things have to change.
We have to use better technology to monitor every electoral process, remove the money out of the electoral process, make sure the electorates are well informed, making sure the leaders are well vetted, making sure that those that are counting the votes are as transparent as possible, very independent. Another thing also is I don’t think that the judiciary should not be the ones deciding elections. The Judiciary will tell them this process is wrong, let’s redo the elections. As simple as it is. Take it back to the people, let the people vote again. It shouldn’t just be to declare somebody won or lost and then it’s over.
QUESTION
Do you think that an election in Nigeria should be conducted by the same administration, which is also contested in the same election?
RESPONSE
It’s very interesting, because everywhere you go, you hear that the electoral body is independent, it’s laughable. The government in place always has influence one way or another. In fact, I wouldn’t say the government in place, the establishment, those that have vested interest in the outcomes of elections. There are people that control these things, in the United States, UK, there are people that control all of those things. So when we talk about an Independent Electoral Commission, it’s always interesting. For it to be truly independent, I see that the process of electing those that are in that body has to be done very differently. That means every political party should be represented whether you’re big or small. And that is the genius of the American system when they started out, which was basically, you have the electors, and then you have them vote and later on they vote to elect the president.
See, America is not majority voting, it is the majority of the electorate that are representing even the smallest state that go and vote, that means the smallest state has a voice as the big states. So you have to have a slate of electorates that are basically voted into by the small states that will represent their state. So whoever won in those small states will have the people going to the big meeting where the Congress, they will have to decide how many people actually are going to vote for the president. So, if you’re thinking that everybody that voted will be the key that decides who votes, you’d be mistaken. So they have to make sure the majority of the states, the majority of the people are actually represented in that.
QUESTION
The economy of Nigeria seem to be ebbing further and further, most people would think the same way. Businesses are not finding it funny at the moment. Recently, GlaxoSmithKline stopped it’s operation in Nigeria, because they are unable to get dollars to do the things that they want to do. So what do you think Nigeria should do at this moment to stabilize its economy?
RESPONSE
First thing is we’ve talked about promoting good governance, ensuring accountability, transparency, and inclusive governance and everything we do is essential to attracting investments, fostering economic growth and combating corruption. We talked about strengthening democratic institutions, improving the rule of law, that means if somebody breaks a contract, they should be sued for that and then, promoting citizen participation. It helps in good governance.
The second thing is investing in our human capital. Why is that important? Because the best investment you can make is in your people. We have people with the brightest minds that go out of Africa and really succeed. But when they come to Africa, they’re frustrated. Why? Because our societies, including Nigeria, do not give our people an opportunity or invest in our human capital. Developing the skills, the capabilities of the African workforce is one of the key and crucial thing. Can you imagine if we go to Nigeria, and we’re looking at, let’s say, Cross Rivers State that is supposed to be the tourism capital of Nigeria, and they had the lousiest service. And we’re thinking, these people have not been trained on how to handle tourists coming to their city. So we need to invest in human capital. And that includes investing in education, of course, vocational training, and lifelong learning programs to equip individuals with the knowledge and skills needed for a rapidly evolving global economy.
And that means we have to have people transition, ditching the old ways of doing work, and doing their jobs in the modern ways of doing things. You must train them to be in that space where they can actually learn how to adapt to changing technology.
The third point I want to say about Nigeria and Africa is that we have to enhance our infrastructure. We have to develop robust and very modern infrastructure. That means we should have rail lines going all across Africa, for mass transit, and even within cities for mass transit. That will eliminate a lot of the costs people have tried to work with. Enhancing our infrastructure will including improving the transportation system networks, expanding access to reliable energy, reliable electricity; you cannot develop and become a global power, if you lack the basic thing that can power your companies. And we have to not just develop energy capacity, but also accessibility to reliable electricity. It’s part of what we need to do. Why is that important? It’s important to do that because if the guys in the city have a good electrical grid, and everything’s working, and the guys in the village do not have it, you have a problem, because there’ll be an uneven development amongst the people.
And then we’ll talk about building efficient logistics systems. That means how we transport goods and services across Nigeria, and Africa has to be enhanced. I mean, we have to have more efficient and better logistics for people moving their Cows from the north to the south.
And also, one of the great things you have to do to develop Africa’s economy and Nigeria’s economy is enhancing digital connectivity. You can never compete with the rest of the world, if you’re not connected digitally, it’s not going to happen. And a public private partnership has to be part of the deal. In other words, we have to have people that are working with organizations that are working with governments to bring this connectivity into even the rural areas.
And when you have things like that, they’ll begin to attract foreign investors that can help finance some of these infrastructural projects. The reason most investors do not do that is because of corruption. Most people don’t know that policies can create barriers to accessing funds. If we can change some of our policies, you know, make it such a business friendly environment and people can invest and build our communities and can still take the return on their investment without really leaving our people impoverished. I think that there will be a good balance between having people to take their return on investment and investing in our own infrastructures in Africa. Because the government does not necessarily have to build all the things, the government can create the environment for which we can actually have people build some of these infrastructures.
And another thing is, Nigeria has different regions; you have the northern region south, east and west. There has to be better regional integration. I can say the same thing for Africa too. So when I look at Nigeria, it’s almost like I’m looking at a micro Africa, you can see the divisions amongst people. But I look at it and think about if we can promote original integration, encouraging economic integration, that will create a larger market and also boost trade. What does that mean? It means that one of the things we have to do is get rid of some of these foreign currencies that are in Africa and find a common currency that Africans can trade in.
That way, we don’t have to try to do it through US dollars, or do it in maybe euros or pounds. Let us come together and have a common economic front and have one currency that maybe is tied to gold that the value is consistent. And we can all change our currencies to be in that same flow. And guess what will happen, it will give us a bigger economic voice globally. And that means we have to integrate some of those regional markets together into a larger market, this will boost trade, it will increase investment opportunities. And I tell you, we can actually do a lot more if we can bring some of those things.
So one of the things I find is some of our regional organizations are not very strengthened, that means we have too many trade barriers in Africa. And let’s look at between states in Nigeria, you have different interplay, certain states do not want other states to do certain things, or they are competing on the same playing field. No, you can complement each other. To make Nigeria’s economy better, we can complement each other. For example, Abia state does not have to be the tourism capital of Nigeria, you can give that to Cross River State and Look for something unique to Abia State and enhance it. And that’s how you look for what is unique amongst the different states and make that their crowning glory. So we can build some of those things in Nigeria.
And we have to harmonize some of our regulations and improve our connectivity between the different states and between African countries, these will actually increase and facilitate economic cooperation.
Another thing that we have to do to make Nigeria and I can say Africa, become very powerful is to begin to foster innovation, and entrepreneurship. What made America great? And what is making China great? It’s simply this, they let go of some old ideas to take on new ones. And that’s always the greatest challenge to most leaders, letting go of all ideas that do not work and taking on new ones that do work. And so when we talk to some of the leaders, they’re holding on to this whole idea of this is what we believe in. And I’ve, a lot of time, said to them maybe your doctrine of things that you’re believing in does not really work. It’s okay to change, we’re expected to change. Change is inevitable in life. And change also, for the better is what moves society forward.
Supporting innovation and entrepreneurship is very important and crucial for economic diversification and competitiveness. You know, remember this now, we’re not competing against Ghana. We’re not competing against Kenya. We are going to be competing against China, the United States. We have to foster innovation. I mean, it’s interesting, I think about how amazing India is moving. India has launched a mission to the sun, they did the moon thing last month, this month, they are doing the sun. It’s incredible. They do not wait for the United States. They don’t wait for somebody else. They did that themselves. Interestingly, Nigeria has a space agency. And what they have in front of the office is a NASA spacecraft. It’s called NASA, it’s not Nigeria and I thought we like the show, but we don’t like the realities of production. And so that ‘s one of our problems – we like to feel important, but we lack execution.
So if we are talking about that we have to create an enabling environment for startups, for providing access to financing, and finances. We have to promote research, protect intellectual property. In fact, in one of our business schools, we dealt with protecting intellectual property. These are the things that can foster innovation driven economy.
Another thing is, have you ever noticed that Africa is where the rest of the world comes to get its natural resources? Africa, and Nigeria can harness her natural resources sustainably, we don’t have to dig everything out and send it to China. Africa’s rich in natural resources, Africa is rich in all kinds of things. And we have to be responsible. And we have to look for a sustainable management of those resources for us to be relevant in the coming years. When we encourage value addition, adding value to the raw material, building it up and marketing it to other people. Why should Nigeria, one of the largest producers of crude, import finished products? Why can’t we add value to what we produce and manufacture and do the refining in Nigeria? Why do we have to send it somewhere else? So what am I saying? We have to be able to add value end to end and let the whole world buy our final products.
In fact, if anybody wants to dig anything out of Africa, let them dig it up and build the factory to refine it and sell the final product to the rest of the world. That’s one way we can choose to deal. And do you know that’s exactly what China did? China will not allow any American company in the last four years to come in there and then start building things without the Chinese knowing what you’re building. So the Chinese will take your intellectual property. And in no time, they will begin to duplicate what you’re doing, and begin to compete with you. And before the West knew it, China was already innovating their ideas: you bring an iPhone, they take it, and then they build an iPhone with two SIM cards in it. I mean, Apple is still building one, I mean this, these are the innovations because they’re thinking outside the box. We have to be in a place where we harness our natural resources sustainably.
Another thing is, we have to be promoting environmentally friendly practices like producing power now. We really do not have to go to the old ways of producing power with coal and other things. Technology has changed. One of the companies we’re working with in the DRC, they wanted us to make an investment into a 40 year old coal plant. And I told them, I said the technology has changed, we don’t really need that. All we need to do is look for the latest technology to get the end product unique, which is generating power. And we can do that sustainably and we can actually be very environmentally friendly. Those are some of the practices we have to do. We have to ensure fair and transparent resource extraction. This will lead to long term economic benefits. Those are some of the things we have to do in Africa.
QUESTION
You’ve done businesses across the globe. You have companies in many countries around the globe and so, there are certain things that you’ve learned along the way. What is it that we can do in Africa to stay competitive with the rest of the world? How can we as Africans be very competitive around the globe?
RESPONSE
The first thing to become competitive, we have to focus on quality and innovation. We have to invest in research and development to create high quality products. Because sometimes the quality of product we export to the rest of the world is not up to par. And so we cannot really meet international standards. We have to emphasize innovation to differentiate ourselves from competitors who offer unique values to customers.
So the second thing I want to add quickly as we go down the list is we have to build strong partnerships. See, one of the problems we have in Africa is we do not have good local international companies to collaborate with Suppliers and distributors to access new markets, new technology, expertise and resources. We in Africa, sometimes do not know how to connect with strategic partners that can help us expand our reach and improve some of the operational efficiencies that we need to enhance our competitive advantage.
Now, I will give another point that I had in my mind. If you ask how many quality brands do you have coming from Africa, you can barely hear about five. We have to develop a strong brand. When we say IBM is an American company. When you say, Coke is an American company, they have developed a strong brand. African companies and Africans have to invest in branding and marketing efforts to establish a strong and recognizable brand identity. This means that we have to build a reputation for reliability, we have to build a reputation for being trustworthy, and excellence, attract customers, and investors, both locally and globally. We can win. If we can do this, we will attract the right people.
Number four is, we have to leverage technology. The good thing about technology is, I always say technology is the great equalizer. With technology, a small company can compete with a very large company, when we embrace digital transformation. And we can leverage technology to enhance our operations, it will improve efficiency, and we can reach a wider customer base. When we utilize, for example, ecommerce platforms, one of the big things today is data analytics, and automation, we can streamline the process and it will give us indeed a competitive advantage.
And one biggest mistake I see African leaders do is they want talent to come but they never invest in talent development. If we are going to be competitive around the globe, as Africans, as Nigerians, we have to invest in talent development. This means that we have to build our own skill and diverse workforce by investing in training. You know, it’s interesting how people want to hire well trained people from other companies, but we have to do professional development and talent acquisition. This will foster a culture of continuous learning, innovation and inclusivity to attract and retain the very best and the top talent.
One way of also being competitive is we have to expand into new markets. We were in a place in Nairobi, Kenya. And all I kept hearing them say was, we are trying to create a solution for Africa, for Africa for Africa. And I kept thinking, expand into new markets, don’t just create solutions for Africa, create solutions from Africa to the rest of the world. Africans are talented, they can do anything. If they have opportunity, we should never limit ourselves to the African market. We should expand to new markets, we should learn to explore new opportunities beyond our local market by expanding into regional international markets.
One way to do it is conduct market research. We have to adapt our products and services to suit different markets and different market needs and establish a strong distribution network. And the other thing I think about is focused on customer experience. Well, well, well, that’s the big one in Africa. Sometimes customer experience is so lacking, that you almost think that it’s a crime to be African. We were actually in Nigeria. And I wanted to see the pricing of some of the technologies. And the people were saying, Oh, we have to keep our bags here, we have to do this. And I was thinking, wow, if I live in that place, I’ll never shop in that store anymore. Why am I treated as a criminal before I even come in to buy. But they don’t treat the non Africans like that, we have to focus on customer experience.
In other words, we have to prioritize customer satisfaction, we have to provide excellent customer service, we understand the needs and the preferences of our target market, we are not going to market to everybody, we have to target our market, we have to adapt our offerings accordingly, and build a long term relationship with customers. You see, most people in Africa sometimes don’t care about who comes back. Because they don’t understand that it costs more to acquire a new customer than to retain an old customer.
Another thing is to ensure financial stability. We have to maintain sound financial management practices, including prudent budgeting. In Africa, the budget goes depending on the feeling of that day. And then we have to understand better cash flow management. And one thing Africans sometimes don’t think about is the risk assessment. We have to secure appropriate financing options to support business growth, and expansion. We have to think about all of those things.
And I think the final two things are embracing sustainability. We have to think about that in our business practices, like environmental conservation, social responsibility, ethical sourcing, we have to meet the international system civility standards, and this can enhance our reputation, and attract environmentally conscious customers and investors across the globe.
The final thing I want to say is this. The Bible says in Proverbs twenty four, verses three and four, it says, “By wisdom is a house built, but by understanding it is established, and by knowledge shall your house be filled with all the good and pleasant riches.” That’s why I am saying, we have to stay informed. The last point is to stay informed and to adapt. We have to monitor the industry trends, global market dynamics, emerging technologies, we have to stay agile and adaptable. Like we say in business, if you do not innovate, you die.
In other words, we have to come to the place where we are adjusting our strategies and offerings to meet changing customer demands and market conditions. Now, when we implement these as Africans, I’m telling you, we will compete with the rest of the world. These are the things we have trained people in the West to do. When we come to Africa, we want to teach them the same things, how to build their businesses, to make them global players.
QUESTION
Like you know, Nigeria has different religions and most times these different sects find it difficult to live together and work together and all of that; there is this division. What role should religion play in the development of a country if there’s any? And how can these different sects accommodate one another, live together and work together for the development of their countries in Africa?
RESPONSE
Well, when we talk about the subject of religion, I have to be very candid with you, I am not religious. Religion is the opiate of the society. One thing about having a relationship with your maker is that it keeps you centered on your life’s purpose, to understand that the mission is not to live a life of penury, and a life that is irrelevant on Earth, and then later on, you become relevant in heaven. It has never been the idea of God, to have people be in a place where they’re heavenly minded but no earthly good. Any religion, or any system of belief that does not impact us while we’re here for the better, is irrelevant in my world. In other words, Jesus said, occupied till I come. That word occupy means do business until I come. In other words, I want you to take charge, and improve and increase and prosper while I am gone until I come.
And Jesus also made another statement. He said to them very close to him, “My meat is to do the will of my father.” He said, “I must be about my Father’s business,” He called the Ministry, Business. In business, you’re supposed to be profitable. And Jesus said, Let Your kingdom come, let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The mission of Christianity is not to get people to heaven. The mission of Christianity is to bring heaven to the people. It is for the people to experience the culture of heaven, the benefits of heaven while on earth, so that when we leave and go to be with Jesus, will come back to rule and to reign in this life. So those are the things we have to understand. If the church, if any religion is irrelevant to our victory today, that religion is irrelevant to our living today. It’s as simple as this.
So how do we work together? Let’s understand that we are in the brotherhood, and sisterhood of mankind. We are supposed to be brothers and sisters, we have God as the Father of all families. He has an agenda and a mission. It says be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it. It tells you what to do. The mission of a person is to be productive, have an idea, multiply. Churches, Mosques, and different religions should be teaching this in their gatherings, to make the world a better place, not take from the people, impoverished the people and never help the people to become successful in life.
And most people say we’re just praying to God, that God will make this happen. When I hear people say, God blessed me with a car, he blessed me with 10 cars. And I’m thinking, but that’s not God’s idea for them. God’s idea for them is not to be blessed with a car is to own a car manufacturing company that can give out cars. You become the blesser not waiting for God to bless you with a car. The idea was for us, even as ministers, to be in a place where we are never begging the church or the people for sustenance. We should be in a place where as ministers we own several companies. And you do ministry because you love to help the people.
Are we against tithes and offering? You cannot change the world on Tithes and offerings. You change the world by making an impact in building companies within the kingdom, birthing industries. I mean, we should have our own power plants, we should have our own manufacturing companies. Now some Christian groups do that very well. But when you come to Africa, for most of us the greatest achievement as ministers is to build a building called a church that we use three times a week. It’s a waste of real estate. And the people come and they carry their prayer requests for a job into church to go and pray. Why are you going to carry your prayer requests to the church, when you can have within the church, people that are developing companies? You don’t need prayers when you have an execution. You will go there and there are people in the church that actually have companies that can hire the very best. So we should be thinking differently.
The church should be a place where when we come we have a clear agenda of what the king’s mission is. Which is to occupy till he comes. In other words, we, the believers, should be the ones with the new innovation, with the new companies, with new ideas to make the world better. Let us be the ones that can build the tallest skyscrapers, let the believers be the ones that can create jobs. I mean, one of our goals is to be able to come and bail out some governments economically. And if they want to find out why we do it, we just tell them that our God is good. And we want you to see the goodness of our God. I’m telling you see, I’m not religious, when I present this message, the Muslims that love it, when we go to the Hindus, they love it. Nobody hates to reign as a king in life. Nobody hates to see life become better.
But when you start talking about religion, where people are more sin focused instead of right standing focus, understanding the price paid to make them a success, the price paid to make sure they never lose in life. When all the negative stuff that religion brings and promotes it’s meant to keep people in fear and poverty. But when the good news comes, it breaks through that and people can hear something that relieves the stress, that takes away the depression, that takes away all the frustration. And we can begin to dream again.
How can churches work together? Simple. We can best work together when we complement not compete. In other words, if I see, one of the things we did in the United States was we used to have a food pantry, a food bank, and people will come and we will feed about 250 families every single week. We did it for years. And when I came to ask my team doing that I said, of the people that you’ve been feeding all these years, how many of them have transitioned to the church? Only one, only one person. You know what I said to them? Shut it down. I’m a practical person. I said, I would rather support the other ministry that their focus is on feeding the poor. That is not our focus, our focus is to raise up world changers, to raise up people to make an impact. That is our focus.
So what we did was we gave away all of the things that we were using for the food pantry, and the food bank, gave it out to another ministry, and released the person that was in charge of working in our food bank to that other ministry to go and work there. Because they are experts in it. We don’t have to deal with it.
The same thing too, when I come to a place and I see a ministry that is very good with television, we just come and compliment them. We bring our expertise and teach them how to do it better. And guess what, we are thinking like a family, we are thinking like a kingdom, we don’t compete with Christianity. See, the problem with Christianity and religion is the moment they see somebody doing something, even though it’s not their assignment, they want to do it too, because they want to attract people they just copy. You know, you never become successful by becoming a jack of all trades. You become successful when you attain mastery in your assignment.
I find it very, very crazy, because it seems like religion, especially Christians are the ones that like to kill their wounded and that’s a result of this competitive spirit. Somebody makes a mistake instead of coming around them and bringing healing to them. We disqualify them immediately. And these are people that are trained soldiers, they are in the kingdom, we need to just restore them, refocus them and get them in the field. Those are the things we should be doing.
The religious organizations have to think differently. Let us not have orphanages, let us have training schools where we give them dignity and give them a nice place. You say but you don’t have parents, they’re orphans. No, put somebody that actually loves them and treats them like their parents. And don’t call it an orphanage, call it a palace, give it a different name, semantics matters. Let them not feel that they’re just being helped by people. The worst thing you can do is when you give somebody help and take away their dignity. We shouldn’t do that.
The gospel that we preach brings dignity to people. The Gospel that we’re bringing brings vitality to people, the gospel we preach brings hope to people and gives them a renewed vision and a sense of worth. That’s what we preach. When I come to a place, I open my arms and I’m ready to work with anybody. But I find that not everyone is willing to work with us. Because in their minds, they’re thinking, “O, he’s coming to take over.” Now we’ve been to 92 countries, and we have a few more countries this year. And wherever we go, we want to work with everybody. But you see, sometimes people tell us Oh, we are the biggest church, we are this. And I ask them the question, are you willing to work with others? It’s not about your church, it’s about the city and about the nation. We’re looking to see a national transformation, not your church growth, we’re looking for a change in your nation. That is where we come in.