Left behind, almost!

I am writing this from a small corner of the imposing Haeundae Centum Hotel in Busan, South Korea. It is sandwiched between two imperial hotels, the Trump Centum Towers A and B owned by maverick businessman and President of the United States, Donald Trump. This Trump is just everywhere, owns many businesses all over the world yet won’t let the world free access to America. The two Trump hotels are typical of their owner: imposing, big and loud. There is a strong Nigerian contingent in town. They are not here for the fabled Nigerian frolic. They are hear for business, knowledge business. Busan, the enchanting coastal city of South Korea is hosting this year’s edition of the ITU Telecom World, a global festival of telecom organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the telecom arm of the United Nations. It is usually a big show, a flagship annual conference of the UN body.

Busan is hosting the show for the second time in as many years. Thailand has also hosted it twice in the last four years. Between these host nations, Dubai in the UAE and Budapest in Hungary (Europe) have served as hosts. Nigeria has had a good run in telecom since year 2000 and it’s for this reason that she was always accorded respect every year by those who pull the lever of power at the ITU. This year was no different. The Secretary General of ITU, Mr. Houlin Zhao, made allusion to the stature of Nigeria telecom. He was at the opening ceremony of the Nigerian pavilion on Nigeria Day. He was also present at the Nigeria Investment Forum. He did not send a representative. He hardly does this for some other nations. It is an attestation to the respect Nigeria has garnered in global telecom. And why not? Nigeria telecom has grown from a mere $50 million investment in 2000 to over $70 billion investment, much of which is foreign direct investment (FDI).

Out of Africa, it is the biggest and most resilient market. It has defied all bookmakers’ projections in terms of growth and return on investment. Every year, echoes of Nigeria telecom’s robustness resonate around the world wherever telecom buffs, techies and telecom investors gather. This year was no different.  Many people, including ITU officials, ascribe Nigeria’s telecom success story to regulatory excellence. I concur. There is a high sense of competence among those who have superintended the nation’s telecom regulatory body, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).  The incumbent regulator, Professor Umar Danbatta, has even upped the ante. Here at the Busan show, he has been up and about meeting with different groups, investors and original equipment manufacturers, marketing the vast opportunities in the nation’s telecom bourse.

But far beyond showcasing the limitless opportunities in Nigeria telecom, this year’s ITU World has brought to the fore a hard and incontrovertible reality. The world is evolving very fast in ICT and Asians are leading the new charge with China and South Korea as the arrowheads of a brave new world. And they made a huge show of their might at the event. While Nigerian government is doing a Python Dance through its military and intimidating and shooting fellow citizens in a show of force using imported arms, South Korea is showing its force in 5G technology, launching and testing her self-drive cars ( called Autonomous cars), virtual reality (VR) and Artificial Intelligence. In 1960, the GDP per capita of South Korea was way behind that of Nigeria standing at a lowly $944.3. Today, it stands at $37,740 equivalent of 202 percent of the world average while that of Nigeria drags at less than $3000. The best we ever achieved was $5671.90 in 2014. Indeed, it has averaged $1648.26 from 1960. And it is not down to just population. China with her over one billion population overload has managed to grow her GDP per capita from $89.5 in 1960 to about $8,128.3 in 2016. The reason is simple. Nigeria never planned for her future. She has played politics with all the opportunities thrust upon her by Providence. China, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea et al were floundering behind Nigeria in the 60’s. Today, they have left us behind. Their leaders took the trouble and pain to plan for the future. Our leaders never did. They simply wait for the future to come upon them. The danger in waiting for the future rather than creating it is that just anything can be thrown at you; dumped on you and there is nothing you can do about it because you are left with the shortest end of the stick, that is if you even have as much as a toehold in the pie.

At ITU World here in Busan, South Korea rolled out her arsenal for the future. Next year, she will host the ICT Olympics, a digital festival where nerve-racking, adrenaline-pumping and jaw-dropping light-years-ahead technologies would be on showcase. She gave a tip of what to expect at Busan: a sizzling mix of AI and VR. On display were the latest innovations in the fields 5G, IoT (Internet of Things), machine learning, smart solutions plus partners Motion House-VR motion simulator, IRISYS-facial and iris recognition and ISUNG’s IoT powered LED signage. Every technology was tailored to beget a better, happier future. In Nigeria, we still delude ourselves that crude oil, with all the attendant crude roguery, will continue to sustain an already belly-up economy. The world has said they will dump fuel very soon, we are not planning towards that; we simply wait for the uncertainty of the future to hit us. Those who sold billions of dollars in crude oil just like Nigeria are already migrating towards the new oil which is ICT.  Their leaders are singing it into the subconscious of their citizens. Nigerian leaders are not worried. They are planning how to rig elections in 2019; they are holding late night meetings not for reasons of good governance and development but on how to perpetuate themselves in office.

A good 57 years after independence, the nation has no stable electricity at a time other nations are exploring space and using technology to detect the faintest sound and gender of a day-old foetus in the uterus. On the opening day of the event, His Excellency Majed Al Mesmar, Deputy Director General, Telecommunication Regulatory Authority, of the UAE who addressed the audience at the opening ceremony said this: “We in the UAE count on our constant vigilance towards the new trends in order to build a knowledge-based economy that relies on innovation and artificial intelligence to achieve sustainability. Our leadership has clearly instructed us to be prepared for the day when the last barrel of oil is exported. We are working hard and smart to be ready for the post-oil era, recognizing that we are shifting from the black oil to a new kind of oil, composed of big data”.

Back home, the Nigerian government is still carrying on as if it has created another market for the nation’s crude. If Saudi Arabia, the crown prince of crude oil export, is already planning for post-oil era, Nigeria has no reason to stall. The politicians are busy squirming for 2019 election. They are not bothered about the future.

The redemptive grace, however, for telecom is that President Muhammadu Buhari appointed a competent hand in Professor Danbatta as the nation’s regulator. His sure-footed presentations at the event still gives us hope of sustainability in the only sector that has brought Nigeria honour in the global circuit.

By the way, South Africa is hosting next year’s edition, the first African country to do so, eight years after she became the first African nation to host the World Cup. This was the same South Africa that Nigeria fought so hard to liberate from the claws of apartheid. Till date, Nigeria does not have the facility to host the ITU Telecom World or any global event of such magnitude, 57 years after independence. True, this nation has been left behind, almost!