NIGERIA BEWARE: “Real reason Mark Zuckerberg came calling”

Sunday Folayan penned the following in a four part series he titled “Matters arising from Facebook Boy’s visit”.

Part 1

Right in front of our own eyes…

They came for our palm nuts, we now import palm oil but we still have palm nuts in abundance.
They came for our cocoa, we now import chocolate with cocoa still in abundance.
They came for our crude oil and we still import petroleum, with huge subsidy (now shifted to LNG?) while the crude rots in our wells and government destroys the micro-refineries in the creeks.
Then they came for our footballers, European soccer changed pace, we now celebrate bronze after gold, and we still import soccer coaches.
They came for our doctors and nurses, Arabian healthcare became a marvel, nurtured by UCH trained doctors and we can no longer boast of any center of medical excellence.
We have exported people so much, that diaspora remittances can fund all of Nigeria’s Forex needs. But with rent seekers in financial places, those gains go into private pockets and legit needs are not met.

I can go on and on and on…

Smell the coffee. They are coming for our tech start-ups and great ideas that have remained untapped by our successive governments (apart from the tax), even with the dead mantra of seeking other sources of revenue beyond oil.

Soon we will import ideas, and I hope the government will not convince us that we need to import a minister of ICT!

As I have been warned severally by those who think ministers of God should confine their thoughts to prayers and supplications alone…I have spoken, so I shall return to my vocation…praying for Nigeria.

Part 2

El-Zuck is now in Kenya. In the picture below, he is flanked by:

1. Cabinet Secretary (minister) of ICT and Innovation, Joseph Mucheru, ex Google employee who personally maintains his Facebook and Twitter accounts.
2. Permanent Secretary of ICT and Innovation, Victor Kyalo, ex Head of the Kenyan Research and Education Network.

You still wondering why Zuckyboy did not reckon with any Nigerian government official nor hop to Abuja? Wonder not far.

As observed long time ago, by my friend Becky Wanjiku, Mucheru is deep and is the first guy Google hired in Africa.

Both Mucheru and Kyalo were involved in policy advocacy and ICT sector involvement through the Kenya ICT Network (KICTANET) — an online forum that allowed members contribute to government policy — and the Telecommunications Service Providers of Kenya (TESPOK) — a private sector lobby group.

Those guys grew out of the Kenyan ICT ecosystem and are still part of the ecosystem as this picture clearly shows.

Just like Nollywood went ahead to carve itself a niche without any support from Culture and Tourism, just like the Dream Team won bronze without any long thing from Dalung, our techpreneurs have proven that they are not working alone to lift Nigeria higher. Angels Gabriel, Michael and the host of Heaven are with them.

Need I say anymore?