Some financial experts and stakeholde rs in the nation’s capital market have said that Nigeria appears to have missed out of the opportunities that came with the first, second and third industrial revolutions.
Speaking on the discussion which was focused on examining the present state of Nigerian’s economy as well as provide perspective on the fourth industrial revolution and its implications for sustainable growth, they said Nigeria’s emergence from volatile economic circles will come from serious planning and devotion to investment in infrastructure, adding that it will be a tragedy to miss the benefit from the fourth industrial revolution.
Specifically, they said, the recent recession has shown that Nigeria’s dependent on natural resources alone provides little or no buffers to help the nation withstand unfavorable shifts in the global appetite for oil, which is its major source of
revenue.
The country manager of Bloomberg, Fikayo Akeredolu, while commenting on the development, said the fourth industrial revolution primarily builds on the third which comprises the digital revolution that has been occurring since the middle of the last century with the use of electronics and information technology to automate production.
“The fourth industrial revolution is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres,” she said.
On the other hand, Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Capital Limited, Jubril Enakele, spoke on the need to catch up with the rest of the world, especially when it comes to financing.
According to him, the first, second and third industrial revolution which had to deal with energy and electricity generation of computers and IT to drive productivity, is quite different from the fourth industrial revolution which he feels is about communication and interconnectivity of these technologies earlier developed.
Enakele noted that, in the wake of massive transactions taking place with Bitcoin and crypto currencies in developing and developed countries around the world, the finance and capital market operators will need to consider imbibing the technology space to further grow finance products.
He said it is possible for Nigeria to benefit from the fourth industrial revolution “but we need to catch up with rest of the world, as it started years ago and for Nigeria, it’s late,” adding “The country must start by providing a policy framework for the era to thrive.”
Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Stock Exchange, Mr. Oscar Onyema, said most of the world’s developed economies have begun to adapt the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which has integrated digital, physical and even biological technologies, with clear impacts on unlocking latent economic value, with far-reaching effects that have led to disruption of certain industries and creation of new
ones.
“At the Exchange, we consider ourselves to be a forward-thinking securities exchange, and have since begun the advancement of our offerings with the assistance of technology. In 2013, we launched X-Gen, our next generation trading platform and catalyst for boosting trading in Africa,” Onyeama said.
