SUNNY CHUBA NWACHUKWU
SunnyNwachukwu (Loyal Sigmite), PhD, Fellow (ICCON, CSN, SM), a pure and applied chemist with an MBA in management, is an Onitsha based industrialist, and former vice president (finance), Onitsha Chamber of Commerce. He can be reached on +234 803 318 2105 (text only) or schubltd@yahoo.com
Global trade instantaneously took a different dimension immediately the Trump administration assumed office on Monday, 20th of January 2025. The United States of America (USA), as a very powerful and influential nation, is a globally acclaimed super power. It is not just a super power by only her military might, but in all ramifications. USA (like other super power countries) is a nation with vast global influence due to her overwhelming economic, political power (inclusive of her military might). The 47th American President, Donald Trump leveraged on the extraordinary ability the economy possesses, to instantly introduce an economic policy of tariff barriers on imported goods, alongside the echo of his political campaign mantra “America first”. The U.S. took up Trump’s message as a policy in the country emphasizing the fundamental expression to put “America first” by generally disregarding global affairs and focusing solely on domestic policy in the U.S. This strategic economic policy (the Trump Trade War) is an ambitious move by the president to rapidly grow and restore the economic glory of the U.S. (on any lost ground in the economy). It clearly sounded selfish but, a capitalist economy would always not see its impact as a global distraction and its obvious disruption in the trade flows, globally.
President Trump’s imposed and threatened tariffs ushered in a trade war and global trade tension between US and major economies, including Canada, Mexico and China (as examples). However this policy is viewed, it is an economic policy that targets economic growth (although the demerits might sound unpopular), which every meaningful economy should aspire to actualize in its course of leadership performance for good governance. Protectionism through international trade methods of tariffs on imported goods, or import quotas, with other government economic rules and regulations shall always be applied by nations. The implementation could vary in diverse shades and degrees of discriminatory bases amongst different economic and regional blocs and trade alienation. Exporting countries of various goods most generally capitalize on exploiting the weaker and poorer economies that are significantly import-oriented characterized as vulnerable that cannot capably function in the export market and effectively protect their annual balance of trade. In international trade, this is what Trump’s tariff policy looks similar to and targets to achieve amongst most weaker, import-oriented nations.
However, there is a strategic approach and way weaker or economically poorer nations could apply this economic policy of protectionism in the educational sector, in nation building. Education and health sectors are two critical areas in every economy planning to have a hopeful, prosperous future that must be sustainable. These are the two sides of a coin every economy must not joke with in national development plans because, human capital development and the health integrity of a nation’s population demography, determines how the nation’s economic growth trajectory for national development could be projected into the future. The reason is that any country that neglects human capacity building or human development has already preplanned for a catastrophic ending in no distant future.
In an African country, Botswana to be precise, they courageously did an extraordinary thing when they applied the principle of “unity of purpose” in national development in their education sector. Right from independence in 1966, they did not have a university. But they realized that education is the key, and very vital in building a sustainable, strong nation for the future. They had no university, economically they are not a rich country with abundant natural resources (a country that is landlocked in the center of Southern Africa) but, what they had was cows as their agricultural/livestock produce. They built their country’s first university with cows. They achieved that feat with cows. Families willingly donated cows (each family brought a cow), money was raised, and they prudently managed the proceeds from the export of the donated cows (without corrupt embezzlement of the funds); and built their only national university. They are contented citizens and patriotic too; a corruption-free nation, where every child enjoys free-education to the university level (even with bursary awards regularly given to every student in the university).
This unique practice of fundraising by the citizens of Botswana speaks volumes about such indigenous, unprecedented best practice of investment at a national level. It is awesome and amazingly extraordinary! Can Nigerians do such? From the exploits in the educational sector, this template presented through the practice of “protectionism” for national economic growth is unique, and highly commendable. Money was not wasted to import knowledge from outside the country but was internally conserved in grooming the youngsters in various areas of human capacity building and development (through training and retraining, making the country progressively and steadily grow all round). The big question is, can Nigerians sincerely, effectively and patriotically grow the nation’s economy by such mode of social and patriotic conscience, where the entire country comes together and the cows are exported to European countries without any atom of corrupt practices and fraudulent acts?
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