THINKING CAPS, SKILLFUL HANDS, AND CUTTING THE TAIL THAT WAGS THE DOG

Lately I have been watching "MEGA INDUSTRIES" a program on one of the DSTV channels. I am a car enthusiast and in the series of the last about 2 weeks they have reviewed big car names like the Bentley, Lamborghini, Lexus and how these are built.

I am amazed at the levels and nature of precision that these car builders apply in their trade, and the zero tolerance for even the slightest error and blemish; It is astounding to see what a human being can deliver when the bar is raised high enough. One of the emphases by the way in this car building trade is not so much how many books you have read, or academic qualifications you hold, but what you can deliver onto the counter. Every single one of the staff on those production lines knows that they are very good at what they do and that they are on to something very important, and are proud to be part of this process. In fact the Bentley people philosophy is to build cars that will outlive them; cars that will go for at least a century! imagine that! They even name plate the engine in the car with a signature plate bearing name and insignia of the mechanic that puts that engine together.

Watching this program during this lock-down period, I have realized how much we can do as Africa to change the narrative. It was president Museveni who lately is gang ho about Africa doing her own thing in terms of industrial self-reliance; I say, "go Mr. President, Go !!!!!" Africa needs to know that we have what it takes already. we just need to get up and walk. We can no longer be dependent on our partners from yonder. 

Incidentally if you watch the oil industry and how the west has responded to its strangle hold on the Global economy, you will notice the huge developments in terms of functional solar energy, electric cars, energy storage technologies, hydrogen cells and other options. Last time I checked most of the buses at Schiphol International airport were solar buses and they drove really well! Most houses in the west have solar panels and it is not unusual to find homes actually putting (selling) energy back on to the shared grid. The development of these alternative technologies is not accidental, chance or adhoc innovation, but rather driven by a deliberate agenda to break loose of something; It is all deliberate efforts made to break a stranglehold. Africa too can be deliberate without waiting for another clarion call.

Another key thing I notice is that in these first world countries the vocational skills set is required much and plays a critical role in industrialization and in perfection of the final product. So, artisans and people that have mastered the art of working with their hands are held in high regard. In Africa we have laughed at all these people and trades: seamstresses, leather workers, cobblers, brick layers, woodworkers, mechanics, agricultural instructors, herbal medicine experts, etc. I think every one of us must go back and pick up a set of vocational skills sets and begin to aggressively horn them. A word of advice here; pick a skill that you love, and then go after it. Perfect it. invest in it. There is a host of knowledge sources out there to help you do that. An industrialized economy still needs all those trades.

Thinking is one thing, operationalizing thinking is another. Both have been on pause in Africa but must now be invoked, however the latter is even more critical when one decides to move into this zone. When China started out building her now capitalist economy in a communist political system, things did not move into perfection immediately. There was a lot of “copy catting”, a lot of wobbly beginnings, quality of products was ridiculed in the Western world, but the Chinese kept going at it. They increasingly became less dependent as a nation on the west and moved more to deploying their own Chinese solutions. Soon they got contracts to do things cheaper for the same western world. Now they took over. But it all begun with etiquette and discipline. We cannot continue being casual as Africans and think we can even walk a mile in those shoes. The challenges are real but not insurmountable. The expectations are that we shall fail, but that too is a good challenge.

Second, we must become nationalistic and patriotic. It begins by leaders setting a great example to follow. Nationalism is built when there is a spirit of confidence from the citizenry down stream in their leaders and a firm confidence that these leaders understand them and are walking the journey with them all the way. Things like corruption have no place in this world of such change (it’s only the corrupt keep thinking that everyone else is blind to their greed; it reminds me of the story about the proverbial gullible king that walked naked in public on account of wearing fine golden garb, until a young girl bold enough spoke out that he was naked). China had such zero tolerance to corruption that where people were tried and found wanting, the penalty was irreversible; death by firing squad! 

Now, I am not advocating that option per say, but all I am saying here is that we cannot be second guessing ourselves over monsters like corruption and think we shall make headway. It is kind like trying to breast feed a baby alligator and hope that one day it shall grow up into a loving and obedient child to you. This corruption thing for us is the elephant in the room that we must talk about, and deal conclusively with, before we think we shall make progress. Is it possible to totally remove corruption? I don't think so as human nature is corrupt so there will always be that one that wants to bet their life on it. But it is possible to ensure that the levels of it are so low to affect anything serious. It only takes honesty and resolve, and believe me, most people want to see the back of it.

Evidently Africa has all the resources she needs to survive without anyone’s help right now. We have people (strong and well educated), food, water and we have minerals and other natural resources. I remember reading the story of apartheid south Africa and how it was locked down with sanctions. They had participated in the second world war supporting Britain in some of its endeavors. One of their contributions was providing air force pilots and technicians that supported and flew sorties rather successfully. When the lock down happened, south Africa found herself with a fleet of Aircraft whose parts they could not replace or maintain, as the suppliers could not sell them the parts. Rather than cave in they decided to make those parts themselves! Aircraft parts! this is how the south African aircraft industry was born. Right now, in the military space they have one of the most agile attack Helicopter gunships, the “Denel Rooivalk”. But, how many of you know that to produce reliable aircraft parts you must stimulate a number of other sectors! So, at times adversity requires adverse response for one to ride the wave to success; it is said that necessity is the mother of all invention. Africa for sure must ride her wave now.

When Lee Kwan Yew took led the Peoples Action Party in Singapore into governance of their nation in 1959, the only natural resource they had was People!!! They had no minerals to talk about or any serious national business to depend on. They only had human capital, a lousy one at that from a stock that was not well skilled, lacked trained and poorly resourced. The major mantra the Lee team came on with was "Zero Corruption" and one must read Lee's autobiography to understand how far they stretched this. The fact that everything rises and falls on leadership is embodied in this story. Lee held his own team of cabinet to that same high standard of integrity without relenting. No one was the “Holy grail”, so if you breached the lines, you got hit, no matter who you were. 

The second thing they pushed was national skilling and training. He shows clearly how they deliberately invested in getting Singaporeans trained by their government in the very best of schools worldwide, but also how they insisted that any investors trained the local stock to manage their factories or facilities at the investor’s standard. Third initiative was insistence on quality; they insisted on having the very best win. Meritocracy ruled in selecting who to take on for key roles and who to invest in for training. The fourth tenet for them was growing a disciplined people. Lee took a personal interest on this one and ensured that the culture of Singaporeans was changed towards one of discipline, even at a personal level. It is no wonder that Singapore today is looked at as if they have something special that others cannot access. And by the way, transformation of Singapore did not take an entire lifetime, but in Lee's own lifetime he got to see the fruits of his labours. So, Africa with all that we have working for us, we can do this.

What is clear is that it is time for Africans to get serious about “thinking solutions”. This will require us to drop certain practices that have kept us backward. We must re-invent our schools for the long term to produce thinkers and doers. In the interim we need leaders to drop the populist tendencies that have been so rife and the preferred stance for most African politicians and begin to provide some real leadership. 

I often hear people talk about the good old days when the colonial masters were here. The Uganda Shilling had lots of value. My father tells stories of how my grand uncle in his advanced age could afford a new car from his sales of produce. How did the colonial masters achieve this kind of economy? What most people never tell you is that they enforced discipline in the communities and that discipline produced growth and development. Of course, they used some methods which may not be recommended for now, but most people never complained about it because they could see the value add of this discipline. Plagues are not new to Uganda; even in the colonial times there was a few of them. the difference is that we had a more disciplined stock of people living at the time. For a public leader to generate this kind of dynamic, the populist hat must first go. Populism is the tail that wags the dog in our current leadership dispensation.

So, if you ask me if Africa can make it on her own, I say, YES WE CAN! Let's go do it.