By Oludare Akinlaja
“Interdependence is of greater value than independence” so says Stephen R. Covey in his best-selling book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” A culture that supports collaborations and profitable partnerships is another paradigm that must be developed. Culture is a way of life of a people and it takes many years for a culture to be shaped and for it to shape the lives of people born into it. We have always spoken about the need for people to develop a thirst for information, here it is discussed in the light of that thirst becoming a culture shared amongst people.
If interdependence is the way to go, then it must transcend our national borders. Meaningful development is brought about by a culture of knowledge sharing and solid partnerships between individuals, businesses and nations.
Strive Masiyiwa, a renowned and astute businessman and philanthropist from
Zimbabwe said “The most successful Africans in future are those who master the ability to partner with Africans from other African countries.” The benefits of building an all-inclusive culture of collaboration cannot be overemphasized as it bears more benefits than ills. When a culture of inclusiveness and partnership is built it breaks down barriers that exist between nations as people can now find common grounds to interact and solve collective problems.
Looking at the prospects on the African continent for years to come as it relates to business and economy, it will be realized that the only way these future statistics will be brought to fruition is through strong collaborations and knowledge sharing.
The continent of Africa currently has 1.2 Billion people with a Gross Domestic Product of $2.8 Trillion. This compares favourably to India, considered to be the second most populous nation on earth after China. India boasts of a GDP of $2.6 Trillion. The opportunities and development experienced by Africa can be greatly increased through even more collaborations and partnerships of Africans with Africans. A tendency which Strive describes as Africanization.
Walter Rodney once wrote a book titled “How Europe Underdeveloped Africa.” The book gave a critical analysis on the economic depletion and devastation caused by colonial penetration into Africa. It focused on the negative trends colonial rule had on African development. The people of Africa surely had their means of livelihood, technology and governmental systems which were already evolving. Years have passed since this book was released and the core message of Rodney’s argument have been taught in universities over the years. Though elements of what Rodney calls Neo-Colonialism still exist, there is need for Africans to look beyond the geographical boundaries drawn by Europeans centuries ago and begin viable partnerships that will engineer local development and advancement in all areas of human endeavour.
Seeing that we are having an increasingly young population, with two-thirds of Africa’s population under the age of 25, we can equip the young ones with the needed tools, knowledge and trainings to assist them in delivering new and innovative ideas and systems for getting things done. If Africa gives recourse to growing itself from within, for instance, simply increasing our GDP growth by an additional 2% per annum to 7% — and sustain it and manage it well — Africa’s future could be remarkable. When we develop ourselves, we could become self-sustaining and require no need for foreign loans and assistance to fund budgets or to execute capital projects.
