Africa’s richest man and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has recommended that Nigeria moves from resource-based to knowledge-based economy.
Dangote made the recommendation in a pre-convocation lecture he delivered as part of activities lined up for the 38th convocation of the Bayero University, Kano, at the weekend.
“Given the tremendous benefits that knowledge economy offers, it is vital that Nigeria makes the transition from a resource-based economy to knowledge-based economy. Countries like South Korea, India, China, and the Asian tigers at one time or the other took the decision to institutionalise knowledge economy and are today reaping the
benefits.
“Ismail Radwan and Giulia Pellegrini in a World Bank publication stated that harnessing knowledge for development is not a new concept as it has always been central to development and can mean the difference between poverty and wealth.
They argued that knowledge economy is not just about establishing high-tech industries and creating an innovative and entrepreneurial culture. Simply adopting existing technologies widely available in developed countries can dramatically boost productivity and economic growth,” the business mogul said.
Represented by the Group Executive Director of the Dangote conglomerate, Engineer Mansur Ahmed, Dangote quoted the World Bank as stating that for Nigeria to make the transition to knowledge economy, it must pay attention to the business environment, education & skills, innovation systems and information communication infrastructure.
