The challenge of transforming Sabo-Yaba into Silicon Valley

WILLIAM Hewlett and David Packard, after graduation from Stanford University in 1935, started-off in a one-car garage which belonged to Packard. On the 1st of January 1939, Hewlett and Packard established HP with an initial capital of 538 U.S. dollars. The duo established their small firm during the period of “The Great Depression,” believed to be the longest, deepest and the most widespread economic depression of the 20th Century. Today, the HP is worth about 55 billion dollars with a workforce of nearly 50,000 and a global presence in 770 sites in 170 countries. Beyond HP, the Silicon Valley is also home to many high-tech corporations such as the headquarters of Facebook, Apple, Google and 36 other blue chip firms and thousands of start-ups. Silicon Valley is responsible for one-third of all of the venture capital investment in the United States. “What we have here in the United States is a grand masterpiece; replicating such in Lagos-Nigeria will obviously require a lot of time,”  US Air-Force Officer, Lieutenant Collins Oladimeji told VON in a chat at the Vandenberg Air-Force Base.

In January this year, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode announced the intention of Lagos State Government to turn the Sabo-Yaba Industrial Estate axes of the state into an ICT hub, using the prototype of the Silicon Valley. The state government premised its decision on the need to encourage up and coming entrepreneurs that would address the challenges confronting the nation in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector.  “I think what the government needs to do to kick-off this initiative is to start a little foundation where science and technology can be harnessed from potential brain-works, especially among fresh college graduates with ingenuity.” Lieutenant Oladimeji said. “Such people can be sent to the United States and other developed countries to further study some STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) courses and have them specialize in the electronic section of silicon technology. When the technical know-how is brought back into Nigeria, this will create a sort of tornado effect that will lead to a lot of activities and attract people into the system, before long, you will be surprised at what you get from it.”

One of the factors that contributed to the success story of the Silicon Valley is the immeasurable contribution of Stanford University. The institution has long been known as one of the world’s leading centers for innovation and a breeding ground for the entrepreneurs who created and continue to shape the Silicon Valley.

A report by two Stanford Professors Charles Eesley and William Miller, revealed that companies formed by Stanford entrepreneurs were responsible for generating world revenues of $2.7 trillion annually and had created 5.4 million jobs since the 1930s. Back home in Lagos-Nigeria, Yaba plays host to prestigious institutions like the Yaba College of Technology (Yabatech) and the University of Lagos (Unilag). The big question is this: Can Yabatech and Unilag be the ‘Stanfords’ for the proposed Silicon Valley project? According to the KCBS’ publication on July 5, 2016, value of properties in the Santa Clara County where the Silicon Valley lies, has inestimably appreciated as a result of building boom. “Silicon Valley’s building boom has pushed assessed property values in Santa Clara County into the stratosphere. Much of the value is in new tech campuses, like the yet to be completed Apple Spaceship campus,”the KCBS stated.

The paper also quoted County’s Assesor Larry Stone saying that the Apple Spaceship under construction added $6.9 billion to the assessment roll. The development however shored up the values of properties in Santa Clara County by 7.9 percent in 2015. “In all, property values in the county jumped 7.9 per cent in 2015 to $419 billion, that all but erases the losses felt during the Great Recession,”said Stone. The appreciation in property value can also be traced to the influx of tech tourists and regular tourists who embark on pilgrimage to the Silicon Valley year in year out, either to meet their tech needs or to just satisfy their curiousity.

Having a whopping 1.87 billion users around the world is no joke at all and I’m really proud to be identified with it,”  Martin Willis, a visitor at the headquarters of Facebook, told VON. While exchanging views with VON, the Commissioner for Science and Technology, Mr Olufemi Odubiyi attested to the fact the new phase of development spreading across Lagos State could not have been without various investments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). In the words of Mr Odubiyi, “ICT remains a vital instrument that is used by governments to enhance service delivery strategy and bring about innovations for the development of the economy. Any country that wants to be at par with the developed society must invest hugely in ICT; Lagos State has been in the vanguard of IT development with the introduction of various portals and applications,” he stressed. On whether the government remained committed to the transformation of Yaba ICT hub into Silicon Valley as said by the Governor, the Commissioner maintained that the ministry had been mandated to enlarge the pool of scientific manpower and attract young people to careers in science and retaining. “The ministry is also saddled with the responsibility to establish globally competitive research facilities for the promotion, research and development in Science and ICT, according to Mr Odubiyi.

Domesticating the Silicon Valley in Nigeria’s economic capital may sound utopian, but it is achievable, at least for the fact that Lagos always walks its talk. The recent oil discovery in Lagos, the coming of Dangote oil refinery and the commercial capital status of the state should be a springboard for the birth of industries that thrive on byproducts of petroleum. Many computer and phone parts, for instance, depend on petroleum by-products. That could make Lagos a hub for manufacturing of tech hardware. These are key areas that the governor and his team must critically examine to further imprint the state’s influence on the global stage.

• Ajayi is a journalist with the Voice of Nigeria.