‘Nigeria can survive without oil’

Professor Pat Utomi

Professor of Political Economics, Pat Utomi, has said that crude oil is not the only thing Nigeria is blessed with; hence the country can survive effectively without oil.

Utomi spoke in Lagos at a workshop on “Nigeria’s Digital Economy and the Copyright System: Challenges and Opportunities for Strategic Growth in the Information Age,” organised by the African Centre for Civic Education, the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and the Nigerian Communications Commission.

He said, “Nigeria’s economy is actually beyond oil. Strengthening our technological base and assets would help develop our economy at an unprecedented pace. We have the capacity to become a very competitive economy because there is so much potential that we can leverage on to become bigger than we are today.

ADVERTISEMENT

“We live in a period where economies are driven by knowledge and ideas. We cannot continue to confine ourselves in the mould of consumers when we have so much to offer the world.

“The recent explosion of the entertainment industry and entry into the global stage is an eloquent testimony of the authentic Nigerian ‘knowledge’ brand. Nollywood’s rise to the position of the largest African film industry and second largest in the world strongly demonstrates how creativity can contribute to the promotion of cultural heritage as well as economic growth, which has already been validated by the recent rebasing of the economy. “We must however create the framework necessary to protect these intellectual properties.” Also, Nigeria’s former permanent representative to the United Nations in Switzerland, Amb. Umunna Orjiako, said it was time the country tapped into its enormous intellectual well rather than depending so much on oil.

“The protection of intellectual property rights is essential for enhancing the socio-economic and cultural development of nations in the global knowledge economy. Yet Nigeria’s economic growth and development strategy continues to revolve around dependency on oil, gas and solid minerals exploitation with hardly any reference to the abundant intellectual resources it possess.”