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Breathing Life Into The Economy: Lessons from Japan and China
Hadiza Wada, DBA
Dateline: September 5, 2009
African nations, as well as Nigeria that I know much better, aught to understand that nations of the world that drastically changed their economies for the better, and within the shortest possible time, did not get there by taking cosmetic measures. They took strong turnaround measures to combat what they rightfully understood to be huge deep rooted problems. They rightfully understood that they were heading somewhere they do not want to go. And that dancing to the tune of every other drummer (nations) to the detriment of its peoples’ immediate and long term needs and interest is not right and cannot be just. So instead of treating the symptoms of a disease, and neglecting the disease itself, they correctly diagnosed the problems that led them to developing that disease, weighed their potentials as a nation, then changed everything including attitude, negative environmental influence, going after what they lack in resources to stay healthy even if from other countries etc.
Take the example of Japan, a nation that arguably, first taught the world in the twentieth century that you do not even have to be endowed with natural resources to become a rich and prosperous nation. Japan literally imports every major resource it needs to keep its industries running. Its geo-physical characteristics are harsh, and unyielding. Its land capacity is also limited. It realized it has a large population to take care of, but it has the knowledge, and capability technologically to compete with any other nation. So it invested in its knowledge and population, then embarked on the art of getting what it needed from others to feed its industries, until it became a worldwide force industrially in some aspects, and beat every other nation in manufacturing the most durable, fuel efficient, and economically viable cars in the whole world. And that was a nation devastated by a world war, and was made a pariah state earlier that same century.
China most recently has surprised the world, including the industrialized nations. It has today taken a seat among the most powerful nations on the planet. Not long ago, China was well behind. It was being bombarded by criticisms of human rights abuses, closing its doors to modernism and capitalism. You do not even sit on the same table and dine with China, without drawing criticisms from the Western Countries. It was also criticized for its monetary as well as economic policies. I was in its capital Beijing in 1995, and the city though modern by some standards, does appear to be struggling with a population beyond its capacity to adequately meet its demand. That was readily apparent from the faces of the people on the street, the polluted air, and the conditions of the high rise apartments, with clothes hanging on balconies and broken windows. A decade later when I returned to the city, Beijing had more than doubled its modernity and affluence. You just cannot compare the two eras. In fact I would confidently say, Beijing today looks more attractive than many major cities the United States is proud of.
The most important lesson to learn from both is that you do not succeed as quickly as those two nations did, without taking the unconventional way. Window dressing and patch-patch solutions employed to maintain the status quo, while expecting different results does not work. Playing the same game, looking for approval from nations competing with you openly in the market is never a wise idea. These two nations realized that. And they were not the only ones out there who dramatically changed for the better, we just mentioned them as an example. They went out of their way to chart original solutions workable to address their original problems. Then they succeeded. They were criticized, sometimes harshly, and sometimes even maneuvers were employed to see them fail, but they dug in hard, and were willing to sweat it through. As Einstein described to the world, the difference between a genius and one who is not, is persistence. When you know what you want and set out to achieve it, failures are only opportunities for learning how not to go about it the next time. And criticisms from your competitors are sometimes reassurances that you are making headway. You just persist and persevere.
One of the most important areas China appeared to have developed is almost similar to that of Japan. It began an aggressive program of putting its vast population to work. It also set out to aggressively acquire the resources it does not have, to feed those industries. It cleared the land, set up industries all over the country, then leases or rents them to its people to produce whatever it is they have the market for. Whether filling some international orders for individual companies or people, where the money was readily available to them, or else loaning the funds to manufacture products and sell them to other countries where markets for them exists; the Chinese have revolutionized their country within a short span of years.
China did not apply bandage to a wound it knows has been growing, gearing towards malignancy. It studied the problem that allowed the wound to develop in the first place, went after it with zeal. Everything now within just about a decade, appears to be in their favor. China today has the highest trade surplus with the United States, the world’s largest economy; including financial sector credit (i.e. makes it the top country US owes in dollar amount). It has long unseated Japan in that regard.
What is glaringly clear from events and actions that continue to grace the pages of Nigeria’s newspapers and media every single day is that, those who control resources, policy, and application of both, tend to neglect or conveniently ignore the seriousness of the condition the country is in. This neglect covers all aspects of existence, be it social, economic, political, cultural and commerce. Those in a position to steer the nation, tend to just play “survival” reacting and consequently just bending to every wind that blows around them, without any regard to serious analysis and application of important industrial and commercial policies. When they ran into problems that crop from their neglect of impending issues, they rush to “fix” it, only for it to emerge again.
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I believe that any nation is able, with the right leadership and citizen attitude change, to change its economy for the better. In the case of Nigeria, I do not believe the nation has a problem of self-esteem, where the policy makers think Nigeria cannot think for itself and chart its course commensurate with its peculiarities. Nigerians are some of the most pragmatic, bold and practical people on the individual level. Take them anywhere in the world, they will learn how to survive in a heart beat. They may not apply that gifted wisdom and intellect the right way all the time, but they will teach everyone a thing or two, including those living on that land for generations.
African Union Meeting
It is the policy makers, and their patrons within the elite, who continue to ignore the issues. They have within their power and influence the command for human as well as financial resources to plan and implement such laudable ventures, but have failed the nation. They have long disconnected themselves from the citizens they were supposed to serve, or the problems those citizens want addressed. Probably, they feel they are comfortable with the status quo, even as they watch all institutions fail one after the other. They have an outlet, because they can send their children abroad for school, or send family members and themselves abroad for medical care, as educational as well as health care facilities continue to fail. They do not receive their electorate in their offices, neither do they set up offices that receive and process genuine complaints from the public. And they do not have the initiative to analyze problems by themselves, even though that is not the best democratic route, and decide what problems are endemic under their jurisdiction so they can eliminate them in the interest of the people.
The leadership mostly, including most of the elite, are at par with most of their counterparts among the well read and intelligent academia in the nation’s universities generally, and some within the general public who know the facts of history and are well versed with current affairs. While the academia and well informed public find such inactions repulsive, the leadership and elite are drunk with the art of mimicking and trying to please foreign countries in all their actions. They yearn for the endorsement and approval, not from the people they serve and are responsible for literally, but approval from foreign governments. This they do furthermore, regardless of policies of such foreign governments towards Nigeria or the continent as a whole. The question is, how far can you improve while trying to be someone you are not and can never be? If you have an ailment called A, and you witness someone with an ailment called B mixing and taking the medicine that was made to cure his ailment called B, because it is an important question of survival, I do not expect you to foolishly buy that same medicine to take while you know you have a different ailment from his.
The problem of misdiagnosis or non interest in credible and serious diagnosis has permeated succeeding administrations in Nigeria and continues to date. And without original diagnosis, and application of original solutions, Nigeria continues to just dance the tune of every drum beater that comes onto its shores. Nigeria will soon celebrate half a century of self government. But to date, Nigeria for the most part just reacts, with no motivation of its own, to build its nation.
Solutions
The first fix in reviving and ensuring a vibrant economy is strong and sustainable industrial policy and implementation. The industrial policy of Nigeria needs drastic fixing. Just as we mentioned before, there are no serious steps by the authorities to address issues of industrialization. No serious studies have been conducted into that sector, as important as it is to general prosperity. In cases where there are, with the result that those industries have survived, there seems to be no coordination between the policy and its practicality to allow them to prosper. The export import policy either scuttles the industries, or else counterproductive policies that strangle the industries are employed and implemented rigorously.
What do other serious nations do? They prioritize where their foreign exchange earnings usually go, one after the other, and go to work on it. If for example the nation is bleeding hard currency into textile to cloth its teaming population, and its agricultural researchers say the nation has enough arable land to produce the cotton needed to run weaving and clothes making industries within the nation, that policy becomes enacted immediately, implemented and defended with all the laws of the land. It is that serious.
It is a serious crime for any government policy to neglect its people, enriching other nations while its population is so frustrated by unemployment. The government becomes the watchdog for public interest at all costs, not personal and self enriching interests. Even, when bad season comes or the farmers overproduce the commodity so much so that the industries could not consume all, thereby lowering the market price and profit for the farmer, the federal government buys off the cotton at a profit for the farmer, then sells it to the industries at regular prices, and exports the surplus abroad even if at a loss. That ensures continuous production of raw martial for the country’s industries. It gives the farmer confidence that there will always be a buyer for his produce, and it also assures a living for the industrial textile worker who will continue to enjoy uninterrupted employment. The United States to date subsidizes cotton farmers as well as other food crops to help self-sufficiency in feeding its population annually and Europe does the same to its cattle farmers.
Industrialization is the key. Growing your own food for consumption, and setting up industries to produce at least some of the most crucial demands from your population is the way forward for any nation serious about development.
(c) The Optimist Voice. All Rights Reserved.
