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What Other Countries Can Teach Nigeria About Innovation

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The Role of Technology in Nigeria's Manufacturing Growth

Africa’s economic giant, Nigeria has set the tone toward industrialization with a blind eye to some challenges. Demands for organizations to embrace new technologies in industries for example automation and artificial intelligence AI is a matter of mimicking what is currently being done by developed markets such as China, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland and Germany. However, for a developing economy like Nigeria, such recommendations pose the danger of not hitting important developmental landmarks, particularly the labour-intensive industrialization phase. Much as this article seeks to look at how Nigeria can start using technology and innovations in its industrialisation process, it will need to do so in a manner that sustains its economy and doesn’t render its workforce useless.

 

The Role of Industrialization in Economic Development

Industrialization has always played an important role in being an economic development characteristic in most countries in the world. Collectively, such nations as China, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland and Germany made their nations great by both manufacturing or assembling products and enhancing technology as they progressed. Industrialization is identified to contribute 20-30% to GDP increase in emerging markets mainly in manufacturing and mining and agriculture products.

However, in Nigeria which has a seventy per cent labor participation rate, an early rush to automation exposes millions of workers especially those in manual and semi-skilled positions to job losses. The Nigerian economy highly relies on its informal economy, which is estimated to have more than 80% of the Nation’s labor force as reported by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The idea is that for many of them, such as those implementing broader changes like full-scale automation without moving people into new sectors and occupations – the same process is catastrophic.

 

The Case for Balanced Technological Adoption

Rather than considering technology as a substitute for labor it should be considered as an enabler. This is the core potential of extending current modes of production through polishing existing industries and processes without expunging the workforce. This is how countries like China have successfully employed the incorporation of technologies in their economy. China, on the other hand, has recently encouraged the application of AI and automation technologies, and on the other hand, it does not cease to take advantage of its enormous manpower advantage the attraction of global manufacturing contracts. This approach has made it easy for China to increase production efficiency without compromising employment chances in a big way.

For Nigeria, the challenge is clear: to industrialize without undermining the existence of millions of workers in the factories. Instead of going in for quick robotics adoption, Nigeria should take the more incremental path of technology adoption that will uplift productivity without the risk of leaving its people unemployed. This would enable the economy to grow through advancement that is in equal proportion to the employment status in the market.

 

Technology and Innovation to Support Industrialization

Indeed, there is immense potential for the application and deployment of technology to drive industrialization in Nigeria but needs to be systematic based on the current level of development in Nigeria. Below are some key areas where technology and innovation can be implemented in Nigeria’s industrial sector:

 

1. Refining Existing Manufacturing Processes

However, since it is not feasible for Nigeria to go for full-blown automation, the best thing that the nation can do is to enhance its existing manufacturing industries. This presupposes the introduction of new machinery for production, but in a manner that is supplementary to the efforts of human labor. Here, the experience of China in industrialization may be used as an essential lesson. Currently in China automation is applied to increase the efficiency of some processes while still relying on manpower in the manufacturing line. Nigeria could apply the same approach to other sectors such as the textile manufacturing sector, agriculture and especially the food industry.

 

2. Digital Transformation in Logistics and Supply Chain

There’s one industry where Nigeria will make a lot of profit by implementing different technological solutions while not using them to replace the staff: logistics and supply chains. An analysis of big data and cloud computing helps to enhance the supply chain by giving minimal leakages and making efficient delivery systems. This does not lead to job deletion, though: it optimizes the work in the supply chain, making it quicker and better suited to respond to trends in the market.

Also, McKinsey & Company highlighted that, logistics operations that manage to integrate digital tools in their processes, experience a planned productivity cut of 15-20%. For a country like Nigeria that experiences high operation costs that hamper the growth of the industrial subsector, such innovations would go a long way.

 

3. Technology in Agriculture

The National Bureau of Statistics reveals, that agriculture is still one of the most dominant sectors of the economy in Nigeria with about 70% of the population dependent on this sector for employment. Applying smart irrigation, drones in crop monitoring, and AI-driven tools for soil nutrient analysis will also increase productivity greatly. Nonetheless, rather than fully or partly replacing human factors of production, these technologies should complement the efforts of the farmers. Such an approach has made it possible to maintain the labor force and at the same time accord, it benefits which include increased productivity.

 

4. Small-Scale Manufacturing Hubs

The Nigerian government should follow the examples practiced by China in the establishment of special economic zones SEZs that are mostly proven models for innovative manufacturing and export. The Nigerian government should emulate this by creating similar areas where manual work complements technological one. Such zones could be established to orient the workforce on new technologies so that they acquire the competencies needed for deployment even as these enhance their employability. This will over time help to create Nigeria’s labor market for the future when technology will be more dominant.

 

5. Educational Programs and Skill Development

Industrialization comes with some requirements which are important facets of human capital development. The approach Nigeria is adopting through the use of increased technology in the country has to go hand in hand with education and skill developmental programs. This helps to guarantee that when the transformation is occurring in industries, workers are not left out for the change all the time. The industries should provide vocational training in technology management as well as operations and maintenance of machines so that the workers can be trained to undertake other skilled jobs as industries continue to embrace modern technology.

 

Challenges and Risks of Rapid Technological Adoption

On the one hand, the potential of technology is huge; on the other hand, it is crucial to consider the costs of the premature introduction of automation and the corresponding risks associated with the lack of economic and labor transformations. Oxford Economics’ study indicates that the fast pace of automation could result in over 23 million job losses across the world by 2030. In a country like Nigeria for instance, where today’s unemployment rate is above 33% as defined by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) 2021, the implications are disastrous should they not be well handled.

Moreover, Nigeria’s purchasing power per capita has not been as high as an advanced economy where big-scale automation has been more possible like in the United States. Hence, the Nigerian government requires sensitising itself to the need for a more gradual approach to the use of technology to avoid burdening the affiliated businesses with the costs of improving the use of technology.

 

The Path Forward: Gradual, Inclusive Industrialization

When Nigeria is looking at how it can industrialize and increase the strength of its economy the question should not be how many technologies can be developed to automate different endeavors but how much manpower should be incorporated into these endeavors. Here, the fundamental principle is the optimal combination of the two approaches, skill enhancement and integration of employees. As a result, not only will the jobs be preserved but the industries will improve and turn into more efficient market players on an international level.

For purposes of this discussion, Nigeria may look at examples from other countries and learn that it does not have to tread the same path as others but can create its industrialization that will encourage innovative skills while at the same time creating employment for its citizens. A well-planned and systematic integration of technology into the economy will enable Nigeria to move to the production base without losing its manpower and the possible creation of a two-tier economy.

 

Conclusion

Nigeria is currently in a critical stage of its possible industrial evolution. Even as technology avails monumental opportunities for enhancing productivity and innovativeness, the country has to be very cautious not to plunge headlong into automation at the expense of employment opportunities. Instead, a smooth, dual, integrated approach is required to transform existing processes, adopt technologies and embrace people. By so doing, Nigeria can unlock the productivity factor through technological advancement without losing the much-needed workforce in the industrialization process.

There should shift in the country’s development towards the type of industrialization that should incorporate manpower and technology in the real sense of the discussion in order to nurture and shape a sustainable future for the nation.