NIDCOM HOLDS MAIDEN DIASPORA QUARTERLY LECTURE

This comment is to provide some food for thought following the maiden lecture of NIDCOM.While capitalist economies continue to grow with increasing globalization, researchers in econometrics continue to grapple with inequities of market systems for economic development. Thus, econometrics has become a cyclical reasoning of which comes first, grassroot economic development in terms of basic needs or organized capitalist economic growth for various innovative ventures. Developing economies caught in the vicious cycle of reasoning remain disorganized and confused about helpful strategies for social change to improve the living conditions of their various constituencies. This limitation in human reasoning capability is coupled with the historical facts of various mortal human actors who tend to act passionately as if they are immortal. Hence, life, liberty, and the universal pursuit of social justice for safe and happy living conditions remain a pipe dream in every part of the world. Life remains survival of the fittest depending on individual beliefs about the origin and reality of human life! This philosophical underpinning should be carefully considered by NIDCOM in your efforts to harness human capital for social and economic development of Nigeria.

To establish a practical premise for social and economic development of Nigeria, there is wisdom in separating religion and governmental powers. While governmental power has to do with an individual actor and other people, religious belief has to do with every individual personally. Whether one is an atheist or a religious fanatic, every individual lives with some known and unknown about the reality of human life. Hence, one could assert that every individual has unique beneficial potential that the community or society may allow to survive or prevent from surviving. On the other hand, every individual would normally want to survive without any limitation. Governmental powers could be used to harness beneficial potentials and discourage or prevent the individualistic tendencies that are self-destructive and not beneficial for mutual survival. At the same time, religious beliefs evolve with history and cannot be subdued by any governmental power because it is inextricably interwoven with the passionate will of every individual to survive. However, religious beliefs could be suppressed, coerced, manipulated, misguided, discouraged, or corrected depending on every individual. The essence of separating religion and governmental powers is to avoid the political fallacy of controlling people by coercive rules and regulations as opposed to naturally harnessing their beneficial potentials for mutual survival.

Unfortunately, political activities are often propelled by passionate individuals holding on to the political fallacy that people can be coerced, persuaded, or should be manipulated against their will when necessary. Despite being historically proven to be wrong over and over again, people continue holding on to the political fallacy because the passionate human will to individually survive remains indiscernible! Governmental authorities that find ways of harnessing their human capitals are usually more successful in terms of social and economic development. Therefore, educating one another would remain a critical part of progressive political processes. This practical premise is worth considering for the social and economic development of Nigeria.