Can Nigeria Leapfrog into
the Information Age?

Our 21st century vision should call for the increased funding of science education at the post-graduate level. Nigeria should spearhead the formation of a pan-African Institute of Technology comparable to the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand. This new institute should (1) be operated on a cost-sharing basis by African nations, (2) have campuses in various African countries, and (3) conduct research relevant to Africa and have research hospitals that make it unnecessary to travel to Europe for medical treatment.

Sponsoring students at the pan-African Institute of Technology would conserve foreign exchange, such as the $40 million a year that was paid by the Nigerian government to American universities in the 1970s. If each African nation were to contribute $40 million a year, we would have $2 billion a year to operate a pan-African Institute of Technology that would be as good as the best universities in the United States, Britain and Canada.

In this 40-page speech delivered in August 1997, Philip Emeagwali proposed the African Institute of Science and Technology to reverse the brain drain.

Thousands of Nigerian scholarship recipients, who could not find employment in Nigeria, are making contributions to the United States economy. In 1979, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development estimated that each African professional between ages of 25 and 35 contributes $184,000 each year to the United States economy. Based on United Nations’ estimate, 50,000 Nigerian-American professionals are contributing $9 billion a year to the United States’ economy.

At the same time, 100,000 foreign technical experts are working in Africa. These foreign experts are paid higher salaries than their African counterparts. The foreign coach of the Nigerian Super Eagles was paid $100,000 a year while well trained professionals are paid $600 a year. In other words, “monkey dey work, baboon dey chop.” This low salary is one reason many Nigerian engineers and doctors have fled to countries such as Saudi Arabia and Zimbabwe. No nation in the world has been developed by foreigners.

Nigerians are homesick and would like to return home and use our talents, experience, and expertise to develop Nigeria. However, they would like to be offered a salary that reflects their contributions to the nation. Many Nigerians would even relinquish their permanent residency or U.S. citizenship to return home. In Hakeem Olajuwon’s words: "There's no place like home. I will always be from Nigeria."

The African Institute of Science and Technology was conceived by Philip Emeagwali in a 40-page speech that won critical acclaim.