Development and Disillusionment: Industrial Progress and Nigerian Realities in Gimba's Letter to the Unborn Child and Oh! Uhud, Thy Haunting Spirit

Abstract

Asia has been one of the most dynamic region with renown rapid economic growth and development in recent times. In the past few decades, several developing economies in Asia have successfully transformed their economies and are acknowledged as newly industrialized economies through conscious technological researches and innovations. Singapore, South-Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Japan, India and other are now acknowledged as the key ‘Giants’ in the global economy with foreign markets in industrialized economies of the world. However, Africa has been marginalized by contemporary industrialization due to self-made socio-political irregularities such as misappropriation of funds, embezzlement and non-implementation of workable policies which are the bedrock of economic development. This unenviable trend has been blamed for the unimaginable escalation of endemic poverty, hardship and stagnant growth and development especially in Nigeria. This study aims at revealing how literature captures the industrial outputs in Africa against their Asian counterparts through Abubakar Gimba's Letter to the Unborn Child and Oh Uhud, bearing in mind the economic and socio-political disparities of India and Nigeria and their recent state of development. The choice of postcolonialism as the theoretical mooring in this study gives an experiential impact of colonial subjugation. This therefore presents a comprehensive framework aimed at scaling-up industrial and developmental policies in Nigeria that will borrow largely from the newly industrialized economies in Asia. In conclusion, inter and Intra-African trade should be encouraged as it is a great agent of development and industrialization. More so, the political leaders should acknowledge the historical depth of Asian, and replicate it in Nigeria and Africa at large.