It is a fact indeed that innovation and creativity are the wheels driving development since man left the caves. No people were left behind in such endowment, simply because it is God given gift to selected few in any society. Northern Nigeria was no exception. If I can recall, in the recent past we have seen someone that build a helicopter, solar-powered vehicles, water-powered vehicles, waste recycling machine and most recently the boy that demonstrated his drone technology at Kofar Naisa, Kano that is currently going round social media.
I am sure, like all his predecessors, after the initial euphoria in sharing the feat online for a few days, that would be the end of it. The frustrated boy would keep looking for help to be found nowhere. In the long run his dream will die out and the society lost the potential of its benefits.
For years, through NDF, Kanoleads, legislators, government officials and other contacts, I had been advocating for Kano/Jigawa States to create the Creative Citizen Commission that would keep the flame of innovation and creativity burning among our youths and contributes to the development of our communities, in vain. I have drafted a blue-print that shows the roadmap on how to go about it, including funding, only to have those with the will to implement it.
Recently, the Jigawa State Government bought a private university for a whooping 11 billion. Half of that amount could create the commission and bring out ideas and technologies that could power so much of the economy. In the recent past, Kano State had budgeted 15 billion for the construction of flyovers not much needed. In a society that innovation and creativity are not worthy of being encouraged, would any meaningful thing comes out of there?
Can you imagine the kind of development 26 billion (pooled between Kano and Jigawa) to create such a commission that could fund such endeavors? Take the solar and water powered vehicles innovation against the backdrop of our current prices of petrol and gas (beside being environmentally friendlier).
Kano State generates thousands of tons of waste everyday, imaging developing the technology to recycle this waste and turn it into biogas. The simple technology is cost-effective, involving trunk, tanks, outlet and storage. The waste shoved into those air-tight tanks, decompose the waste which release gas as a byproduct and you harness it in storage tanks.
This drone technology, with little tinkering and finese, could churn out hundreds to be sold locally to security agencies, film and music industry, farmers, etc boosting the economy and cutting imports, as the high exchange rates keep going up.
As I always said, the problem is not only bad leaders that are at the helm of our affairs, but us that put them there and fold our arms as they spend our monies where they want, not where we needed it.
It is as if our society in the north is cursed. We have solution to all of our problems at our fingertips, yet we cannot come together and work as a unit. Enlightened self interest isn’t in our vocabulary as we are so wicked to ourselves that no one wants to see the next person succeed. Envy and jealousy has become our hallmark, the very air we breathe. We also hate the truth, unless it favor us.
Unless we wake up and shed off those evil tendencies in our attitude, wallahi the worst is yet to come by the time our neighbors in the South succeeded in their current plans. I don’t blame them in the least, considering they are strategizing to stand on their feet and shed off the unnecessary baggage we have became, for so long.
