A 3D print of heart with human tissue and vessels unveiled in April at the University of Tel Aviv in Israel, giving hope for transplants. The emphasis on research has helped nations grow. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Children who grow up in an environment where they can ask questions are much more likely to become research minded and by so doing take their nations forward than children who grow up in an environment where the adult is always right, the teacher is always right and the preacher is always right.
Last week we looked at the correlation between research and the growth and development of nations.
We identified the fact that countries that had the highest number of researchers per million people somehow seemed to be the most progressive and were leading in manufacturing. Nations that paid little attention to research were more likely to become consumers of what those who paid attention to research were producing.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
The company with the highest annual spending on research and development in the world is Amazon at $22.6 billion, as per figures released last year. This should not come as a surprise to anyone keen on the company’s growth.
Now let us look at how much other companies invested in research and development according to the global business data platform Statista, and tie them with their nations.
Alphabet (parent company of Google—US) $16.26 billion, Volkswagen (Germany) $15.8 billion, Samsung (South Korea) $15.5 billion, Intel (US) $13.1 billion, Microsoft (US) $12.3 billion, Apple (US) $11.6 billion, Roche (Switzerland) $10.8 billion, Johnson and Johnson (US) $10.6 billion, Merck (US) $10.2 billion, Toyota (Japan) $10 billion, Novartis (Switzerland) $8.5 billion, Ford (US) $8 billion, Facebook (US) $7.8 billion, Pfizer (Switzerland) $7.7 billion, General Motors (US) $7.3 billion, Honda (Japan) $7.1 billion, Daimler (Germany) $7.1 billion, Sanofi (France) $6.6 billion, Siemens (Germany) $6.1 billion.
The impact of companies that place a premium on research and development on their nations is large.
It is interesting that no African company made it to the top lists. Could this be why we never make it to the top lists of innovation and revenue? Research is not a cost. It is an investment and for years, Africa has been satisfied with allowing others to do the research and then we just flow in the results of their research.
A people that do not research will have to live in a world created and run by those who research. No amount of activism can change that fact. Research is the insurance against irrelevance in the future.
RIGHT TO QUESTION
To understand the African dilemma, we need to look back at where we have come from. Across the continent you will discover that we are more similar in the way we think and approach life than we would want to accept.
One common trait in many African societies is the role children play. Children were meant to be seen and not heard. When serious matters were being discussed, children were never expected to be present. Those who dared question authority were punished severely; and so did those who questioned the status quo. We were raised never to ask questions.
I remember as a child when my mother bought me my first wrist watch. She asked me to wear it on my left wrist and I asked why the left wrist. She rebuked me, saying that is how things had always been done and that I should just obey. I put it on my right wrist and half a century later, there have been no consequences. In essence, we were expected to do things just because that is how they have always been done.
Now let us look at a nation like Israel that has 8,250 researchers per million inhabitants. (US has 4,217, Japan has 5,328, South Korea has 6,856, Nigeria has 38, Zambia has 40 while Kenya has 225).
To understand why there are so many Jewish researchers, we would have to go back to the culture. In The Jewish Phenomenon, Stephen Sibilger writes that contrary to other religious persuasions, the Jew is taught to question issues of their religion and faith. The mentality is that if a child can ask questions where faith is concerned, then they can question anything.
To explain the Jewish attitude, he shares a story. A flood is foretold. In five days the rain will be incessant and the world will be wiped out. The Dalai Lama addresses the worlds Buddhists and says, “Meditate and prepare for your next reincarnation.” The Pope holds an audience and tells Catholics, “Confess your sins and pray.” The chief Rabbi of Israel goes on TV and says, “We have five days to learn to live underwater!”
African children raised not to question the status quo will never grow up to become researchers whereas Jewish children who have been raised to question even the law of God will grow up asking questions.
So, it goes back to the home. Children who grow up in an environment where they can ask questions are much more likely to become research minded and by so doing take their nations forward than children who grow up in an environment where the adult is always right, the teacher is always right and the preacher is always right.
Wale Akinyemi is the chief transformation officer, PowerTalks
