African
intellectual endurance could transform idea to wealth
It is commonly observed that there is a strong correlation between poverty and lack of education in our continent Africa. However, it is sometimes questioned whether standard estimates of returns to ideas, education and information in Africa aren't in high. The hypothesis is that standard estimates of returns to education are based on wage differentials but ideas and information may bring benefits not just in raising the wages of those in employment, but also in giving people access to wage employment. To anticipate the findings, there is a strong correlation between poverty and lack of education but standard estimates of returns to ideas, and information are healthy too. Primary education might not have large effects on income via access to wage employment but with creative ideas and vast information it does bring substantial income effects by increasing access to non-agricultural self-employment. Education is a primary target in life helps us manipulate information to accomplish seemingly impossible purposes that define true wisdom.
We should not be struck by the simplicity
“idea and information is wealth,” if forceful our ideas with such mentality
definitely we will start imagining what such power meant for our continent
Africa. I believe the potential for progress and poverty alleviation of our
continent Africa relies on capital generated from the power within our minds,
not only from our ability to pick minerals from the ground, seek debt relief
and foreign assistance. If we agree idea is wealth why we have not invested
more on ideas, information and education. If ideas are indeed capital, then
Africa should stem its people brain and promote the African intellectual
existence, which will lead to the rebirth of the continent. After all,
revitalization is a rebirth of ideas. Knowledge and ideas are the engines that
drive economic and human capital growth.
“The power of intellectual capital is the ability to breed ideas that
ignite value” (J.P. Morgan Chase). This quote is a clarion call to shift
purposefully and deliberately to focus on information; ideas; and from being a
consumer of product to becoming an originator of a product.
The reduction in poverty was driven by
economic growth - if anything, it is the distribution of income particularly a
person with an idea could benefit more from the growth and indeed this is one
factor underlying the rise in income. Growth appears to have been broad-based,
with substantial increases in household earnings from all sources - wages,
farming and non-farm self-employment. Because of its large initial income
share, agriculture was the most important source of growth in our continent
earnings despite growing slowly lack of ideas and information. According to
human capital theory, idea and information could move up incomes by increasing
the productivity of workers. That education should be positively correlated
with poverty in most African countries - conventional estimates of rates of
return appear high. Similarly, the greater fall in poverty for the less
educated people and after allowing for the public cost of funding on ideas and
information the rates of return appear attractive. Post-primary and secondary
education only could not have a particularly high social return unless
associated with bright ideas and information. Yet, in this age of information
and globalization - shamefully, diamonds found in Africa are polished in West
and Asia and re-sold to Africans.
Productivity is the engine that drives
global economic growth. Those who create new ideas are producing wealth, while
those who consume it are breeding poverty that is where most developing
countries plunk temporarily.
Intellectual capital, defined as the collective knowledge of the people,
generates ideas, increases productivity, driving economic growth - ultimately
alleviates poverty, forming capital and increases earning everywhere, even in
Africa. Poor governance, poverty and conflict feed each other and are the root
causes of poor economic retreat, and must be simultaneously managed in the
process of economic reconstruction, recovery and development for the progress
of developing countries. Internally, the greatest obstacle for the economic
collapse has been the failure to establish effective, responsible, transparent,
and accountable systems of governance. A direct consequence of this primary
failure has been the inability to create our own ideas within own cultural
framework.
An important external obstacle is the
inability of the global community to formulate ways of working cooperatively to
help tackle the problem posed by pervasive governance and state inadequacies in
Africa which have a genius minds, knowledge - have big picture, right-brain
thinking; creativity; innovation; and wisdom. Africa's fate lies in the hands
of Africans and the solution to poverty must come from its owners. The future
that lies ahead is for Africans to create, and develop ideas after the people
have outlined their vision. We owe it to our children to build a firm foundation
to enable them go places we only dreamt. For Africa to take center stage in
today's economic world, we have to go out, compete on a global basis, and turn
our ideas to capital or wealth.
There is simply no other way to succeed.
There have been three to four decades of shifting international policy
priorities regarding Africa. The overall impact, given the breadth of resources
applied, has been disappointing. The time has come to stop recycling what has been
tried before. Without progress in ideas and information, all other reforms will
have little impact. Holly wood movies do not reflect African tastes, values and
culture. If we create our own ideas through information technology will enable
African producers to enrich our lives by weaving our glorious history, legend
and tradition into movies.
Dr. Ghirmai T Kefela
Ph.D. (Int. Business)
05/26/2007