#industrialplan

The Grand Industrial Policy: Road To The Industrial Revolution

To think that we can sidestep the Industrial Revolution and enter an economic, social, and financial boom is wishful thinking and foolishness. No state sidestepped the industrial phase in any manner and is now a 1st world state. The Industrial Revolution will catapult our economy and our state into a bright new horizon, a future that we all want. Right now, there are hardships in Nigeria because of the lack of a plan for the future, and any new industrial plan is not to stimulate growth or boost revenue, but they are to score political points in the short term. These problems are even worrying because we have mostly idle youths whose manpower should drive our industrial aspirations, but no, they’re only good for yahoo yahoo.

While some would argue that this present government is trying to promote industrialisation, well, I see that argument as plain foolishness. Those plans, even if they materialise, cannot move a needle. They’re grossly insufficient and will add no meaningful thing to our economy. Instead, this grand economic plan will pave the way for aggressive and widespread industrialisation based on an export model.

Even while trying to plan, we must look at the world and notice the several variables that will either make or break our situation in the world. Right now, even with President Trump’s approach to his 'Make in America' drive and the tariffs he has imposed on the world, I see a silver lining and hope that we can become an industrial giant even in these times of uncertainty. With the world going increasingly multi-polar, I see something we can benefit from even in these times. While people will want to antagonise the West, I’ve seen that working together with them will be in our very best interest, and we’ll be able to achieve our aims much more easily than if we were to pivot to the East. No matter what happens, every power will fight for its interest, and we as a vassal should try to align with those who will offer us better capital, protection and industry.

While awaiting the outcome of this West-East disagreement, especially with the Ukraine war still ongoing, and a probability of a war between China and Taiwan, our goal of industrialisation seems even more realistic, and we can, in due course, start to replace China in the global supply chain. It will take a lot of work, policies, and determination, but we should be prepared to take our slice of the cake. We’ll go further into that later.

To take this further, this also presents individuals with a great choice; one of being among the new set of wealthy people that will be created to drive our industrial policy. So, everyone stands to benefit hugely from this great plan. Apart from a new class of wealthy individuals that will be created, millions of people will be lifted from their present state of poverty and lack. The overall 5-year plan is to create and supercharge our economy, lift millions from poverty and push millions into the upper middle class. 

One of the major factors that will have to precede the grand industrial plan is the infrastructure needed to jumpstart large-scale industrialisation. Roads, bridges, rail, power plants and others need to exist first before we launch the grand industrial plan. With a largely idle population of youths, we have the manpower; also, funding will be critical. The Infrastructure plan and the funding models will be discussed.

This industrial policy will not be a substitute for the 5-year plans. The 5-year plans will expand upon each, which deadlines, particular industries, sectors, models and others which will be undertaken.

To precede the industrial policy and neglecting the infrastructural needs for now (will be discussed next week), 3-5 special economic zones will be created along with the upgrade of 5-10 cities to serve as open cities. Lagos has been our only financial, economic and minor-industrial centre and is severely burdened and shouldering too many responsibilities. The special economic zones and open cities will unburden Lagos, making it focus on financial responsibilities. 

We have an edge because these policies have been created and tested elsewhere before (China and Korea), so we just have to model the policies to our circumstances. The creation of special industrial zones will boost investment, create opportunities and drive massive growth. Also, the creation of open cities will lead to new opportunities being created, massive migration, which will create new jobs, a service economy, among others.

For the special economic zones, there will be an inaugural 3 special economic zones along our coastline, and the zones will be created solely to drive exports. The regions will be revealed when the time is due during the development of the Grand plan rather than this ideological framework. The special economic zones will function as below:

Special Economic Zone 1 will focus on manufacturing electronics and other high-tech products and will site our technology park. 

Special Economic Zone 2 will focus on textiles and chemical and Pharma manufacturing.

Special Economic Zone 3 will focus on heavy industries.

Industrial Revolution, innovation and cutting-edge technologies cannot be created through auxiliary means alone; education and research institutes need to be well-funded and supercharged to build our researchers and students to drive up the spirit of innovation. All levels of education will be adequately funded so as to compete. Universities will need to be upgraded to enable cutting-edge research. Also, several research centres will be established to focus on the 5-things during the first stage of the 5-year plan, and they are: manufacturing, energy, chemistry, semiconductors, and agriculture. I’m a huge fan of semiconductors, and I envision that microelectronics will play a huge role in human civilisation in the coming century, so positioning ourselves as leaders in that sector is important. All other research, which includes space, quantum, advanced biotech, fusion energy, neurotech, supercomputing and  AI, will get its place after the first 5-years have been completed. 

Also, since not all can or will go to Universities for higher education, technical skills will be prioritised in primary and secondary schools for students, so they can be rapidly integrated into the workforce. In addition, technical schools will be created with an apprenticeship-based model for young people, so they can learn valuable skills and earn while learning various trades. The apprenticeship model can be extended to the professional space upon review when developing the grand plan. With this model, even pre-teen children will be able to benefit and start making income from their young age, reducing this age of dependency and lack we’re facing right now.

Now, taking a look at cities that will be created, the first phase will begin with 10 cities to serve as open cities, to attract investment and grow specific industries and sectors. Since we have lots of cities in Yorubaland, the first phase will focus on major cities which are currently glorified in name only. Such cities will focus on; Semiconductors & Electronics, Biotech, AI, and Pharma R&D, Chemicals, Advanced Materials, Ceramics, Aerospace, Drone Tech, Propulsion, Shipbuilding, Maritime Logistics, Auto Assembly, Agro-processing, Mechanised Farming, Food Exports, Cybersecurity, Software Development, Fintech, Automation, Precision Engineering, Robotics, Banking, Capital Markets, Fintech Regulation. This also puts much focus on local government, as several tech parks, innovation hubs will be created to run alongside the open cities for maximum development.

In the area of metallurgy, mining and mineral processing, industries will be sited close to where the minerals are abundant. Since we’re resource-rich, our domestic industries can mostly function with raw material input from our metallurgical plants. Also, considerable efforts will be made to discover new minerals that may be available in our region, with special focus on rare earth minerals and other important minerals for this digital age.

The goal of the industrial policy, which will be further expanded upon in the 5-year plan, will prioritise steel, petrochemicals, shipbuilding, automotive, machine tools, and electronics industries for export. To cut this short, we’ll be using the China and South Korea model combined, which will be expanded upon in the 5-year plan. The ultimate goal is to create a state that will provide good life and basic amenities for our citizens to live a good life in Yorubaland. 

The Grand Industrial policy, as we can see, encompasses the entire aspects of the Grand Plan, and all the various elements are intertwined and will not move without the other. Our goal for industrialisation is to put us at the forefront of the world, where we can compete favourably, interact as equals and pursue our political interests. Seeping into the future, we need to innovate and industrialise massively and rapidly, and lift our unmotivated working class from their life of penury to an empowered one. The factories will also drive the political agenda and project our power to the Americas. 

The Industrial Revolution will require immense sacrifices from everyone, the Grand Plan will push us to the extreme, but the joy that awaits will be worth more than the pain we’ll experience. Generations will praise us, millions will revere the working class, poverty will be vanquished, millions will get wealthy, corporations will make money, ordinary people will make wealth, children will not suffer, and basic things will no longer be luxury. All these will through the success of the Grand Plan that I see. It’s not even something we must postpone; it’s a matter of urgency.

Developing the grand plan is almost upon us, and we must move swiftly in its development as an alternative to this evil Nigerian system. There’ll be obstacles, but our ingenuity will prevail against all odds. Piecing together these ideological aspects of the grand plan, I’ve been faced with a myriad of problems, tempting me to stop due to the complex nature of how the plan will unfold. But piecing it together is the first step toward the actualisation of the grand plan, and of what use is it to anyone if it remains stuck in my head? Though hard and seemingly impossible, I believe we can do it, and to dream is to dare. Who would’ve thought Stalin would transform the USSR, or Deng would transform China, or General Park would develop South Korea against several odds? 

In following through with this plan on pure hope, faith and our vision of how our future should be, we’ll develop ingenious solutions that will spark similar developments by various groups seeking to emulate our strategy. Our major challenge will be finance, and I believe that we’ll be able to surmount those challenges and set ourselves on the aggressive path to development and industrialisation. 

In addition, we have a mind problem which will be looked at in subsequent excerpts, which will be published weekly; our entire revolution will be to make ourselves whole again. While the Grand Plan will focus on the future, we need to address and solve societal and political problems endemic in our land and that brings us to the Grand Replacement Policy. While several Yoruba conservative groups are advocating for various political parties, I’ve always advocated for replacing the old with the new. The excerpts will be very interesting and will seek to create a new class of people, a new class of servants, a new class of conservatives, a new class of politicians, and a new class of leaders willing and ready to serve.