Watch this short video clip.
Then think of us in Nigeria, and our engineers, and what they’re really capable of, and whose duty it is to challenge them, and to challenge ourselves.
The Chinese routinely challenge themselves to expand the frontiers of what’s possible for them, and to implement outlandish concepts in real life, and by themselves. To the extent that their overbearing Communist party is actually superintending a capitalist economy that produces millionaires, and has lifted 850 million of their people out of poverty.
We, on our own part, always wait for foreign technology; we’re unashamed consumers of foreign technology, hardly producing any by ourselves. Depriving our local engineers and institutions of even the small challenge of building common airports.
Using oil money to pay salaries across all tiers of government, while progressively deindustrialising. And where’s our iron and steel after how many billions over how many years?
Why can’t we build our railways and trains by ourselves by now?
Our engineers learnt the same things from the same schools in the same countries, but their own country (ours) did not mandate nor them with give them worthwhile challenges.
Rather, we’re being admonished at presidential level, to revive our ancient cattle grazing routes, without a whimper from either leading political party.
We must revive our can do spirit, to raise the bars of what we want to achieve, and start applying ourselves in that progressive direction. And this shouldn’t be in fits and starts between different totally disconnected administrations. There must be consistency and continuity in the right direction, even if speed differs between different regimes.
Both our public and private sectors must rise up to this. Obviously, it won’t be easy. But what’s worthwhile that comes easy?
Let’s dream bigger, more worthwhile dreams. Then put all our hands on deck.