You wrote: “Those who have been fortunate enough to benefit from Nigeria as it currently operates must be clear-eyed enough to know that the status quo is suboptimal, unstable, and ultimately self-limiting.”
Fantastic breakdown of why R&D can't be outsourced. The tornado analogy really clicked for me because it shows how location-specific problems need location-specific expertise. I've seen similiar patterns in tech infrastructure where companies think they can just import solutions, but then local network conditions or power grids behave totally different. That IMF finding about the 1% threshold being where stabilization kicks in is kinda wild tho, makes it less about if but when countries commit.
Every time I read a piece from you I am amazed by the depth and quality of the research. Thank you for sharing these articles.
This one hits me personally, I studied soil science in the university and my undergraduate thesis was on the effects of heavy metals on microbial populations. I enjoyed doing research and I was inspired to graduate and do more of it professionally, but the state of research facilities here are just abysmal, there's little to no funding and the faculty had to fight hard to get basic apparatus in the labs.
The universities should be the launchpads for culture defining research but as you said, the people benefitting from the country pay no mind to fragile state of the status quo.
I really hope something changes. Even if conditions weren't right to support my research dreams here, I hope the next person has it easier
Thank you for this yet again wonderful piece. I stumbled across the F.O.O.D series a while back and since then it's been one insightful read after the other.
I especially like how you've distilled the knowledge in the report. The storytelling is remarkable and it's definitely one we need more of - explaining research in simple to understand words.
As it's with most things, the sorry culture of R&D we have now is largely a stand alone issue. Even the students of this sciences that are to contribute to the R&D are largely not aware of the potentials of their contributions. They've almost surrendered to the notion that their course of study has no value (in Nigeria).
Unfortunately we are also guilty of having that confused look (Sometime go as far as making that person change his/her mind) as to why someone is studying a course like Food science or forestry (in the Nigeria of today). We need to do better. Lectures and Professors can do better by actively showing what problems their research are solving. They can also do better by showing students the BIG picture.
And to those in the Industry wondering perhaps how to get started on R&D or collaborate with Academia, one way is by actually offering project themed sponsorships. Basically, this would involve picking a key topic of interest and having a number of students work in this as part of their final year or internship research project.
I absolutely agree with this point you've raised. Students of Food Sciences and Agriculture need to know exactly how relevant and purposeful their work is to the nation.
Lmao! "just having more irrigation, more fertiliser, or more bank loans does not consistently show the same strong “protective” effect across countries." But this is exactly what we do and then wonder why output is still poor. At the end, we simply blame insecurity for poor farm produce.
Thank you for the shout-out, and this was a very strong piece.
The attitude you describe towards R&D is uncomfortably familiar. To me, it's the same way a lot of Nigerians talk about school: “na scam”, not worth the money, better to just hustle and carve a space for yourself where money can flow in "steady steady".
That mindset shows up very clearly in the behaviour of the terrible oil-palm twins: high margins, minimal planting, negligible learning, and no urgency to build real capability because rents arrive regardless.
You would likely have come across the paper eventually, but I’m glad I could help surface it when I did.
Thank you for another illuminating piece.
You wrote: “Those who have been fortunate enough to benefit from Nigeria as it currently operates must be clear-eyed enough to know that the status quo is suboptimal, unstable, and ultimately self-limiting.”
They should!
Fantastic breakdown of why R&D can't be outsourced. The tornado analogy really clicked for me because it shows how location-specific problems need location-specific expertise. I've seen similiar patterns in tech infrastructure where companies think they can just import solutions, but then local network conditions or power grids behave totally different. That IMF finding about the 1% threshold being where stabilization kicks in is kinda wild tho, makes it less about if but when countries commit.
Every time I read a piece from you I am amazed by the depth and quality of the research. Thank you for sharing these articles.
This one hits me personally, I studied soil science in the university and my undergraduate thesis was on the effects of heavy metals on microbial populations. I enjoyed doing research and I was inspired to graduate and do more of it professionally, but the state of research facilities here are just abysmal, there's little to no funding and the faculty had to fight hard to get basic apparatus in the labs.
The universities should be the launchpads for culture defining research but as you said, the people benefitting from the country pay no mind to fragile state of the status quo.
I really hope something changes. Even if conditions weren't right to support my research dreams here, I hope the next person has it easier
Thank you and amen to your prayer
Thank you for this yet again wonderful piece. I stumbled across the F.O.O.D series a while back and since then it's been one insightful read after the other.
I especially like how you've distilled the knowledge in the report. The storytelling is remarkable and it's definitely one we need more of - explaining research in simple to understand words.
As it's with most things, the sorry culture of R&D we have now is largely a stand alone issue. Even the students of this sciences that are to contribute to the R&D are largely not aware of the potentials of their contributions. They've almost surrendered to the notion that their course of study has no value (in Nigeria).
Unfortunately we are also guilty of having that confused look (Sometime go as far as making that person change his/her mind) as to why someone is studying a course like Food science or forestry (in the Nigeria of today). We need to do better. Lectures and Professors can do better by actively showing what problems their research are solving. They can also do better by showing students the BIG picture.
And to those in the Industry wondering perhaps how to get started on R&D or collaborate with Academia, one way is by actually offering project themed sponsorships. Basically, this would involve picking a key topic of interest and having a number of students work in this as part of their final year or internship research project.
I absolutely agree with this point you've raised. Students of Food Sciences and Agriculture need to know exactly how relevant and purposeful their work is to the nation.
Lmao! "just having more irrigation, more fertiliser, or more bank loans does not consistently show the same strong “protective” effect across countries." But this is exactly what we do and then wonder why output is still poor. At the end, we simply blame insecurity for poor farm produce.
Thank you for the shout-out, and this was a very strong piece.
The attitude you describe towards R&D is uncomfortably familiar. To me, it's the same way a lot of Nigerians talk about school: “na scam”, not worth the money, better to just hustle and carve a space for yourself where money can flow in "steady steady".
That mindset shows up very clearly in the behaviour of the terrible oil-palm twins: high margins, minimal planting, negligible learning, and no urgency to build real capability because rents arrive regardless.
You would likely have come across the paper eventually, but I’m glad I could help surface it when I did.
Interesting piece. I did a small research, the richest black man in the world recently announced a (policy) research center in….Granada.