Here is where Nigeria’s wealth...

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in 2019. To encourage Diaspora remittances inflow through the right channels, the central bank introduced the “CBN Naira 4 Dollar Scheme.

In line with this initiative, all recipients of Diaspora remittances through CBN’S licensed International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOS) would be paid N5 for every $1 received as remittance inflow.

According to a PWC report, the growth of remittances to Nigeria is expected to increase to US$29.8 billion and US$34.8 billion in 2021 and by 2023, respectively.

Export brains not people

Since Diaspora remittance is a huge deal for economic growth, experts say it is possible to export brains without people leaving the country such that they earn foreign exchange while remaining in Nigeria.

“We can also export Nigerian brains without people leaving Nigeria. An excellent example is the outsource global founded by Amal Hassan which outsources back-office functions from multinationals in other countries,” Andrew Nelvin, chief economist at PWC said.

Outsource Global is a leading BPO firm which employs about 850 people with offices in Lagos, Abuja and Kaduna but with international clients in far-flung places like the United Kingdom, Japan and the United States.

“With this, you have educated Nigerians earning foreign exchange for the country without leaving the country and I think we will see more of that,” Nevin said.

Nevin also pointed out that companies like Google and Facebook are setting up more developments in Nigeria because they recognise how talented Nigerians are.

“We have such a large and young population, Nigeria most invest in his young people, in their education and health as well to make sure we are harnessing the incredible human capital potential we have in the country,” he said.

Lessons for Nigeria from the Asian tigers

About 40 years ago, the Asian Tigers were in almost the same conditions as Nigeria, but today their conditions have seen them evolve from third world to first world economies, and they have become amongst the wealthiest economies in the world.

The four countries referred to as the Asian tigers are Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan.

In the early 1960s, the global economy was just starting to recover after the traumas of the Second World War and the Korean War of 1950-1953.

The four ‘tiger’ governments took this opportunity to invest heavily in industrialization, building major industrial estates, offering tax incentives to foreign investors, and implementing compulsory education for its young population in order to secure the future of the workforce.

These four countries focused on investing heavily in their infrastructure as well as education to benefit their country through skilled workers and higher-level jobs such as engineers and doctors.

By 1965, all four nations had achieved universal primary education. South Korea in particular had achieved a secondary education enrolment rate of 88 percent by the end of 1987.

It is no surprise that these countries have the highest human capital index in the world, Singapore (0.88), Hong kong (0.81) and South Korea (0.80) compared to Nigeria with a human capital index of 0.36. Their progresses in education allowed for high levels of literacy and cognitive skills leading to a highly productive labour force. They also made significant investments in science and information technology, this helped to boost their external trade and increased foreign exchange earnings, which are used for further investment. Nigeria already has an advantage of a large population but it needs to invest heavily in their health and education to boost economic growth and increase its wealth.

Another factor that led to the miraculous growth of the Asian tigers was good governance. Each of the four ‘tigers’ has prioritized strong regulation and anti-corruption measures, while conservative economic plans have allowed each country to avoid public debt and build up large reserves of capital and savings. This meant that when a crisis hit, they were only affected on a superficial level, and recovered almost as soon as the markets picked up again.

According to the World Bank, saving is obviously a core aspect of development. Without the creation of a surplus for investment in other forms of wealth like human capital, there is no way for countries to escape low-level subsistence equilibrium.