In addition, the video went on to reveal that in Botswana, tuition is free, Education is wholly sponsored by the government and each student gets a monthly stipend when studying in the University. Students get between 1.5 million to N1.9 million pula yearly, which is Botswana’s national currency. This policy affects more than 16,000 Botswana students.
The major economic resource of the country is the exploitation, production and sale of diamonds which went on a large-scale from 1970. The country formerly known as Bechuanaland but transmuted into the Republic of Botswana on September 30, 1966 had Seretse Khama as its first president.
Livestock farming and beef production is another strength of the country which amounts to a sizable export activity. Before its independence, it was reputed to be one of the poorest and least developed states in the world. However since independence, the Republic has gained international stature as a peaceful and increasingly prosperous democratic state.
This really got me thinking faster than you can imagine. Botswana by every standard cannot be compared to Nigeria, the popular giant of Africa. For the Southern African country known as ‘Africa’s success story’ or ‘African miracle’, there is much to learn. Looking through its political history, health, education or even socio-economic developments, it is clear that Nigeria has plenty to learn from Botswana.
Though many will argue that the country is very small in size and population when compared to Nigeria, the truth is that Botswana got its acts right, should I say from the very beginning. For education to be free, a sizeable portion of healthcare and plowing, it means those in the helm of affairs in the country with an estimated 2024 population put at 2,521,139 have their eyes on the ball.
Aside from some few states in Nigeria like Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Nasarawa, Kwara, Taraba, Yobe, Gombe, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), that are less populated than Botswana, all others are more populated than the diamond rich country. In terms of size, Nigeria is 59% or 1.6 times larger than Botswana. According to estimates, over 223 million more people live in Nigeria when compared to the 2.6 million people living in Botswana.
In Nigeria, university education is heavily paid for most likely because of the stress in managing education generally in the country. There are myriad problems bedeviling public tertiary education in Nigeria. These include but are not limited to inadequate funding, inadequate facilities, insecurity, brain drain, excessive fees on students and corruption.
Generally from the forgoing, it is clear that the two countries are not equal by every standard. Looking at the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria is expected to reach $374.06 billion by the end of 2024 while Botswana is expected to stand at $20.12 billion by the end of this year. This is according to the Trading Economics global macro models.
The GDP per capita income which is a country’s standard of measuring living and economic well being for Nigeria as at today according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) data, stands at $1,110 while that of Botswana stands at $7,880.
The Republic of Botswana is regarded as an upper-middle income country with an aspiration of becoming a high-income country in the nearest future though with an unemployment rate of 25.4%. Many people have wondered why the country is successful to the level it got to. It is not far-fetched. The country has had good economic policies, investment in its public and human capital development. Other reasons are its rational exploitation of the diamond wealth, comparative advantage in ranching and a stable macroeconomic environment.
On the other hand, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a major country located in the heart of West Africa and the most populous black country in the world can be summed up as a multinational State inhabited by more than 250 ethnic groups, speaking over 500 languages.
Nigeria is a political, economic and demographic key country in Africa. It is a country rich in artistic heritage, beautiful landmarks, delicious cuisine, rich culture and traditions. Most people believe that what slows this giant of Africa down is largely the political class and corruption which pervades virtually every sector.
Though, it is not as if everything is rosy in Botswana as reports have it that in the last 25 years now, developments have slowed down when compared to its post independent years. Social inequality, high unemployment rate and stagnant poverty appear to be the country’s main challenges now.
So coming back home, there appears to be serious similarities between Botswana and Nigeria. Though some people may really not agree to this, looking at the unemployment rate in Nigeria as at the first quarter of 2023, it stood at 4.1% which is quite high going by the estimated population of the country. The current exchange rate has also made the nation’s GDP per capita to dwindle badly.
Economically, Botswana as at 2022 was ranked 91 in the Economic Complexity Index (ECI) and 107 in total exports ($8.65B) while Nigeria was ranked 127 in the ECI and 51 in total exports ($70.7B).
As I wrap this piece up, I cannot but think of university students in Botswana who get monthly allowances for going to school and by extension concentrating on their studies and those in Nigeria who stress themselves to get income to survive while studying in their respective institutions. Funny enough in my days in the university which was in the 1980s, tuition was largely free and other variables including feeding was seriously subsidized. Some students were even receiving government bursaries to augment their studies. How did we get this wrong along the line?
While the Education authorities in Nigeria should have busied themselves on how to get education right, they are largely busy talking about mundane things like debating if students that are not up to 16 years old should be admitted into tertiary institutions in the country or not. Besides, many of those running the public educational institutions in the country often prefer sending their children and wards to foreign universities and at times private universities that have dotted the country in recent time than the public educational institutions they superintend over. What a sad commentary.
Much ado for two African countries, one a giant in the continent and the other a budding star. The difference is that the ‘smaller’ country views education differently by encouraging it in its own way, while the ‘giant’ on the other hand does not see anything bad in the way it runs its own. Now I pray that this trend could be reversed quickly if possible.
