Reason why Nigerians should key into Tech world

Last week, I  did a post on top 5 richest people in Nigeria according to Forbes 2016 here, and I couldn't help but notice that Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook had a total net worth of over 50 billion US dollars which is more than the combined net worth of the Top 5 richest people in Nigeria.



What was very interesting to note is that Mark Zuckerberg did not actually graduate from University, in a society like ours in Nigeria where a University degree is seen as a ticket to the after life perhaps or it makes the air you breathe better than that others without University degrees breathe maybe, one thing that is actually surprising is that to hold the highest office in Nigeria, that is to become the President of Nigeria, you don't even need a University degree, the same goes for Senators and those in the House of Representatives, Governors, Local government Chairmen etc so I wonder where all this chest beating came from even in the United States of America Nigerians that have migrated or in the process of migration most of which have degrees , it is on record according to available data that Nigerians are the most educated immigrants in the United States link, immediately you obtain your bachelor's you are immediately encouraged to get a master's, after which you are encouraged to go further to get a PhD not necessarily bothered if that money could have been used productively or maybe you probably have other skills that need to be developed further. Our schools are lacking in their curriculum, there is little room for pupils to express themselves it is one that is very rigid and year in year out, we keep doing the same thing and expecting different results. There is a need to incorporate programming and other relevant courses in our primary and secondary curriculum the need to catch them young is ever so pressing but it is only available for the rich that can send their kids to private schools or pay for special bootcamps for them.

I was privileged enough to have seen a desktop computer in my primary school days in the early 90's in Nigeria, one would think I was able to use it, but no that wasn't the case, it was just an excursion. The computer was in a room. and we had just one in the entire school back then and we had to queue up to see the computer and some lucky pupils were allowed to touch the keyboard and the mouse,  it took over 10 years after that for me to actually get acquainted with a computer and 5 years later for me to own one, but by the time I did, it was probably late my inquisitive nature had died a natural death, I was just a user of the computer and I felt that was all that needed to be done, but my case wasn't peculiar, my younger Sister also had her own encounter but years later, she came back and gave us the most amazing definition of a computer, one that I'll remember all through my life, her teacher told her, " The Computer is an idiot machine" she was a kid then, and computers were already condemned by those hired to teach pupils about it, I need not talk about the strong opposition religious heads, Pastors etc had about the computers back then they advised parents not to own one and that it was part of the devil's plan and that is how the mark of the beast "666" will be spread, this of course was in the 90's in Nigeria, but now these religious organizations rely heavily on computers and the internet today, without apologizing for misleading their followers back then.

There is not a single African in the world's 100 Tech richest according to Forbes , it is necessary to put the methodology behind this list here

"For this list, Forbes excluded telecom and media in our definition of technology. We included people active in hardware, software, social media, online gambling, and high-tech manufacturing".

The reason why Nigeria must key into Technology world is that it can catapault an individual or a nation from 0 net worth to billions of dollars in a matter of years, something that happens only in politics in Africa unfortunately.





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