Nigeria/Japan:Attaining Sustainable Development

The idea of development has always been an appealing one, most especially to developing countries such as Nigeria. There has been aneed and desire by thegovernment and its citizens to attain development ever since its independence. This has been oneof thecore aims of thecountry, but for over 50 years, the country has not still attained a recognisable level of development andis still referred toas a developing country. I can say that Nigeria provides a pain-killer and nota cure for this problem of persistent under-development.

Development, according to the oxford dictionary, is a specified state of growth or advancement. It can be said to be the process of growing, changing and progressing, or an act of improving by expanding, enlarging or refining all aspects of a country.

It could also be said to be a process in which something passes by degrees, to a different stage especially a more advanced or matured stage. Simply put it is a transformation from crudeness to refinement. Sustainable development can be said to be an organising principle for sustaining finite resources necessary to provide for the needs of future generations.

Under-development can therefore be said to be a state of crudeness, retardation or lack of the necessary requirements for development. Some of the determinants of development can be seen in the country’s, GDP, GNP, consumer price index, technology and many more.

Ever since independence, Nigeria has attempted several efforts at achieving development. Some factors however, have limited these efforts. These factors include corruption, lack of diversification of the economy, debt overhang, over-dependence on foreign products, and so many others. There is therefore a need to employ some evolutionary and if possible, revolutionary changes that will eventually lead to sustainable development, which will move Nigeria from its third world identity to a first world developed country.

Using the modernisation theory as propounded in W.W. Rostow’s stages of development, we will be considering relations with Japan as a means to attaining sustainable development. In his theory, Rostow opined five stages of development a nation can pass through before it attains development, including the traditional society:

preconditions for takeoff, takeoff, drive to maturity, age of mass consumption. Though these stages are hypothetical, they could serve as a guide for the country to follow while pursuing its development goals.

The traditional society is characterised by subsistence agriculture or almost a wholly primary sector economy, limited technology and a static or rigid society. Examining Nigeria, it could be classified under this stage as we depend on raw materials from our diverse natural resources without much effort in refining these materials to finished products and even focus on one sector, which is the oil sector; we also have limited technology and technological know how and also a static society with infrastructural challenges. Nigeria as a country is characterised by high level of poverty, unemployment, sickness and diseases, illiteracy, humanitarian disasters, low life expectancy rate and many more negative aspects that underline underdevelopment. There is therefore a need to examine these stages and consider what Nigeria must do to attain sustainable development.

Nigeria has to pass through the remaining stages in order to reach a high level of sustainable development. The age of mass consumption is a stage that portrays sustainable development. Though it is not a necessary prerequisite to pass through all these stages to attain sustainable development, it is necessary to examine the core opinion of this theory, which is external intrusion or simply put learning and following the steps of already developed nations.

Here I will be examining how Nigeria, via its relations with Japan and following the steps of Japan towards development, can attain sustainable development. Japan is a highly developed country and it currently has one of the best economies in the world. Even after the devastating event that took place during the World War II, which was the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan was not deterred in its development plan. After the World War II, Japan opened themselves to the western ideas and influence, which made them experience revolutionary social, political and economic changes and became a world power with carefully developed spheres of influence. Rapid growth and structural changes characterised Japan after the war. Japan made a new start towards economic reconstruction and as a result of its abundant, highly educated labour force and concentration of capital and resources in certain key industries such as electric power and steel; it recovered from the ruins of war and began to achieve industrialisation. It accomplished high economic growth via technological innovations manifested in the manufacturing and sales of consumer durables such as television sets, automobiles, refrigerators, etc. Japanese products are highly reputable and recognised in the global arena for their energy efficient, high quality products, sold at reasonable prices.

Japan followed the modernisation process as it improved its industrial base through technology licensing, patent purchases and limitation, improvement of foreign inventions and eventually began its own inventions and attained the height of development in less than 50 years. This development has proved to be sustainable over the years.