Knowledge sharing economy is definitely one of the potent ways to improve our current ailing economy.

All that this entails is to start engaging those that have succeeded and established themselves in various fields of endeavor and tap from their wealth of experience. We can then apply these to also achieve success in any area of life.

Knowledge-based economy serves as catalyst for individuals, governments, private and public organizations, to engage in accessing and asking relevant and important questions most pressing to them and getting answers in real-time to assist them in making better decisions that will enhance more productivity and provide the necessary guidance to achievements and success.

Why Knowledge-Based Economy?
Of note, knowledge-based economy has taken roots in countries such as Britain and Russia in Europe; America in the American continent as well as Singapore, Japan, China, India, North, and South Korea in Asia. These powerful economies of the world are distinguished when it comes to knowledge-based economy.

All of these countries have started to reap the benefits, having successfully applied this strategy. They have been able to process convergence, aimed at integrating conventional strategies and leveraging ICT to mass produce and commodify information and their cultures for sale to local and foreign consumers at a profit. These have worked for them, and we should just start kicking off from the fundamentals here in Nigeria.

According to Ogbonnaya Onu, Minister of Science and Technology, it has become clear that nations that desire to develop, modernize her economy and remain competitive, must embrace knowledge, especially scientific and technological knowledge.

Apparently, scholars of various schools of thought agree with several political leaders in recognition of learning as an important instrument necessary to unlock the doors of underdevelopment.

He goes on to posit that the need to move from resource-based economy to knowledge-based economy is needed more than ever before, considering the recent near collapse in crude oil prices that exposed the vulnerability of the Nigerian economy. This has occasioned the important and urgent need for Nigeria to diversify her economy to help her withstand any future shocks arising from the decline in commodity prices in the international market”.

Meanwhile,  If you take a critical look at the concept of globalization, the concentration and conglomeration of mass producing knowledge, you will agree with me that they have taken control of the international market, using mass media such as books, radio, television, newspapers and magazines, digital materials and the Internet to promote international trade and politics.

Knowledge-Based Economy, how do we start?
Nigeria needs to use its oil proceeds to develop other sectors of the economy while also building a knowledge-based economy.

This was the submission of the former Vice- President & Treasurer of the World Bank, Arunma Oteh in an interview with CNBC.

“The reason I am very keen for us to focus on us being a knowledge economy is that I do think that our greatest asset is our people. A knowledge economy has four key elements.

The first pillar is a kind of conducive environment; your institutions, macro-economy, regulatory framework, but the second one focuses on education and skills and it is focused on people.

 The third pillar focuses on innovation which is based on investing in your people and the aspiration to introduce new industries and new ways of doing business. The fourth is leveraging technology.”

Apparently, we can only be citing instances and examples from other countries because we are yet to do what other developed countries are doing.

Studies have shown that the success in the knowledge driven economies of the UK, Singapore and the US have been due in large part to the skilled workforce and human resources.

Virtually across all the sectors of their economy, all of their workers are more highly educated than any other country. In the technology industry, for instance, where everything concerning innovation is happening, the value of a company or its intangible assets resides almost entirely in the knowledge and creativity embodied in its patent and its staff. We can start to heavily invest in our workforce.

More importantly, investing in knowledge, skills and learning for all Nigerians should be a top priority.

With the challenges in the state of our educational system in Nigeria, there is the need to come up with the right policies, so that all its people can have access to high-quality education.

Although, the government had introduced the Universal Compulsory Education (UCE), much more still needs to be done.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the Nigerian educational system had been plagued by issues ranging from perpetual strikes by university lecturers, due in part to the non-regular payment or underpayment of salaries and a lack of adequate funding.

In this regards, a complete overhaul of the higher education system and an acute injection of resources is necessary to ensure that Nigerian universities can produce high quality and well-trained graduates who will be capable of competing with their counterparts around the globe.

The Role of Experts
What should be the responsibility of academics, experts, and professionals in encouraging the knowledge-based economy which we are advocating for?

The truth is that in this information era, millions of people are always seeking the right sources of information to enable them make critical and informed decisions daily. We have seen many websites in developed countries where experts identify themselves and are always ready to render their services to the public sector, private sector, and the government.

Now beaming the searchlight to Nigeria, If, as an expert, you have developed the required proficiency in any field over the years, it is imperative that you start making yourself available on different platforms.  This is a collective responsibility; the experts are essential if Nigeria must adopt the knowledge-based economy.

For instance, we have the Ask an Expert App (www.askanepxert.expert) which is a new initiative, solely focused on enhancing knowledge sharing amongst Africans with a view to driving value-driven productivity starting in Nigeria where all experts in diverse fields could register and conveniently share their insights, knowledge and expertise to discerning members of the general public, the government or private institutions.

This type of platform has been able to successfully combine current successful global technology trends like on-demand and private messaging services as well as micro-blogging and expert network directory to give more value to people via real-time mobile or web live chat sessions.

Just like in other developed countries, it has made it very easy for Nigerians to connect, using technology to start knowledge sharing among communities of novices to experts, experts to experts, people to institutions and breaking geographical boundaries of accessibility nationally to help people solve everyday issues.

Conclusion
Knowledge remains the tool to unlock the impediments associated with underdevelopment. All government agencies and private citizens must seek and promote knowledge. In the same vein, experts in different fields of endeavor must make themselves readily available to support others to also succeed.

CFA is the Founder, www.CFAtech.ng & Co-producer/Presenter,Tech Trends on Channels Television