Technology & Wealth of Nations – Book Launch

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

I welcome you and thank you all for your highly esteemed presence at the Launch of my Book titled Technology and Wealth of Nations (African Experience, 1899-2021).

The Book deals with the challenges of Science and Technology Activities in Nigeria, at building domestic endogenous capability / capacity for Technology production and Industrialization of Nigeria’s Economy, Nigeria being the most populous and very well -endowed Nation in Africa, South of Sahara Desert.  Nigeria at present, 2021, is yet to build sustainable endogenous domestic capability and or capacity to produce and manufacture modern Technologies, and globally competitive Industrial Goods in her Economy, both for domestic use and for Export to the global World Market for foreign Currency and this is in the face of the ongoing Science and Technology Activities for socio-economic development and industrialization of Nigeria’s Economy.

We note that there are now as at 2021, 20 Top World Industrial Economies and Nigeria is not one of them, namely, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Republic of South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States of America and European Union. The only Country, from Africa, is the RSA, because RSA at least exports MTN and DSTV Technologies to the global World Market, thanks to or made possible by the Apartheid Regime that ran RSA up till 1994.

Nigeria, which began agricultural scientific research activities for the development and growth of agricultural commodities, way back in 1899, and in spite of Nigeria’s huge natural resources and investment in science education and scientific research, is not yet able to build and develop the domestic endogenous capability and or capacity for the production and manufacture technologies of production and services in Nigeria’s Economy nor able to manufacture any globally competitive industrial Goods(Capital, Consumer processed Food items and industrial Materials) both for domestic use and for Export to the global World Market for foreign Revenue. That is the reason Nigeria is now plagued by poverty, joblessness, unemployment, and related insecurity. The book is trying to address and resolve the reasons for this.

The only sustainable Export, from Nigeria, consists of Agricultural Commodities such as Cocoa, Cotton, Groundnuts, Rubber, Palm Kernel / Palm Oil etc. and Natural Mineral Commodities such as crude Petroleum and Gas but the Exports of these Natural Commodities have plummeted in World Trade, as modern Technologies have been used to produce their cheap Alternatives.

In 2009, the then Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, now Retired His Royal Highness, the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi raised an Alarm warning Nigeria on the adverse consequences of Nigeria’s inability to produce Technologies and Industrial Goods both for domestic Use and for Export to the Global World Market.  It is important to quote Sanusi’s Statement, herein under, for ease of Reference, *We in Nigeria, produce crude petroleum oil, we have no Refineries, and even the ones constructed for us, are not working and we cannot repair them, we produce Gas, we don’t have Gas processing Plants, we produce Cotton but the Textiles Plants (imported and installed for us) are not working and we cannot rehabilitate them, we produce and export Hides and Skins but we don’t have Leather and Leather Products Industries . We have iron Ore -deposits, we don’t produce Steel (the prime Metal of all moving parts of a Machine). We produce various primary Agricultural Commodities including tomatoes, cassava, maize, etc. but we don’t have tomato processing plants and industries for producing yeast, starch, etc., we have we have abundant natural Minerals, but we don’t have Chemical Industries to produce Industrial Chemicals, etc. in Nigeria’s Economy. We have, to import all these Technologies and industrial Goods in order to sustain the Nigeria’s including the manufacturing Sector of the Economy. In the absence of these Industries, we cannot create jobs in the Manufacturing Sector of the Nigeria’s Economy. Which now contributes very little to the Country’s GDP, then the Economy cannot grow and since We don’t have our own Technologies and Industrial Goods production our Market of over 200 million People is Market for the Fast industrializing and Fast Growing Nations such as China, India, South Korea, and the highly Industrializing Nations of Europe, USA, Russia and Japan, Consequently Nigeria is absent in the highly profitable World Market in Technology and Industrial Goods and Services, and is now the Battle Ground or Markets of Industrial Goods of Industrial Nations*. The Sanusi’s Picture of Nigeria’s Economy is one the main Reasons that made me write this Book, having been involved in these Technology and Industrialization Business, since July 1960, three Months before Nigeria’s Political Independence. Please visit my Website Blog, techngeia.ng (Technology in the Defense of Nations) for information on why, I became passionate following my Physics Education, Research and Technology Development Experience.                

The Book, Technology and Wealth of Nations (African Experience, 1899-2021) is addressing the Nigeria’s domestic capacity for Technology and Industrial Goods Production/ Manufacture of globally competitive Industrial Goods Dilemma / Predicament in Nigeria’s Economy and has provided a Functional Blueprint for addressing Technology Education and Industrial Manufacturing Dilemma in Nigeria’s domestic Economy. See more Details in my Website Blog, technogeria.ng.

The Book describes and informs, on the historical events that brought about modern science in 17^th Century , CE, starting from Pythagoras of Ancient Greece the Father of Ancient Science of Greece of Antiquity stating from 600 BCE, and after twenty three (23)Centuries of Work on Ancient Science was transformed into modern Science by four Great Men of Modern Science in 17^th Century CE, namely the Four Great Men of modern Science namely, Nicolas Copernicus of Poland (1473-1545), Johannes Kepler of Dutch Germany(1573 -1630, Galilei Galileo of Italy (1564-1642), and Isaac Newton of England (1642-1727). These are the Four highly talented and gifted European Mathematicians and Natural Philosophers (Physicists) who transformed the Ancient Science of Greece of Antiquity into what we know today, as “Modern Science” in Europe in 17^th Century CE. Please see More Details in the Book, now being launched today, 2nd September 2021  

Modern Scientific Research Activities for Scientific Knowledge Acquisition, gave Rise to Technologies of Production and Services in the Economy and Technologies gave Rise to Manufacturing Sector of the Economy, following the 18^th and 19^th Century Industrial Revolutions in Europe. The Rest is History. For more information on Technology production domestic capacity Building, you may wish to read the Book by Leona Marshal Libby, the only woman participant in the Nuclear Technology Bomb Story titled, “The Uranium People: The human Story on the Nuclear Technology Bomb Capacity Building” by the USA and allied European Powers, during the 1939-1945 World War. The Book was published in 1979, in the USA by Crane, Russak, and Company Inc.

Thank you all again for your highly esteemed presence, and for honoring my Invitation to my Book Launch. God Bless You All.

Felix N. C. Oragwu, FSAN

Author of the Book, *Technology and Wealth of Nations* (African Experience, 1899-1999).