The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Discourse and Contexts Shaping Nigeria’s Participation

Aniedi Daniel Usoro; Caleb Emmanuel Ezekiel; Lucky Obulor Ojobah

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajeit.20210502.17

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The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Discourse and Contexts Shaping Nigeria’s Participation

Aniedi Daniel Usoro, Caleb Emmanuel Ezekiel, Lucky Obulor Ojobah

Published in American Journal of Education and Information Technology (Volume 5, Issue 2)

Received: 16 October 2021 Accepted: 9 November 2021 Published: 7 December 2021

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Abstract

This paper explores the diffusion and spread of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) otherwise known as industry 4.0 in relations to Nigeria. Technology that was once science fiction is now a reality. The real world and the virtual world are merging to create a new reality-actual reality. The core feature of the 4IR is the marriage of physical and digital technologies such as analytics, artificial intelligence, cognitive technologies and the internet of things (IoT). While the 4IR connects the world together, this connectivity is however, hierarchical and asymmetric. The 4IR still follows the social, economic and political patterns of previous industrialization, where countries and individuals at the centre of its invention and application maintain the market leader status. If the threats and opportunities of the 4IR are to be taken adequately into account in industrial policies in Africa, then a thorough understanding of the implications of the 4IR for the continent is required. This paper explores the social impact of 4IR and its implications to Nigeria and in deed Africa, the strategy going forward, the implications on talents, workforce and skills as well as the technological implications of 4IR for Nigeria. This paper concludes that digital and advanced technologies in the 4IR have become essential tools for social and economic development as well as the material well-being of individuals in the emerging digital economy. The benefit of adopting industry 4.0 technologies will be evident in its continuous diffusion and spread, leading to enhanced productivity in the economy. However, the indifference of government has both immediate and long-term negative impacts and accounts for the widening technological gap. The policy recommendation for this study is that Government should as a matter of national security, should focus on research and development and identify key areas of focus in research for product development.

Published in	American Journal of Education and Information Technology (Volume 5, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ajeit.20210502.17
Page(s)	106-112
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Industry 4.0, Digital Economy, Diffusion and Spread of 4IR, Technological Gap

References

[1]	Aikman, D. (2017). The Fourth Industrial Revolution. World economic forum, Davos.
[2]	Bhorat, H., Ravi, K., Christopher, R. & François, S. (2017). Sub-Saharan Africa’s Manufacturing Sector: Building Complexity. African Development Bank Group, Working Paper no. 256. Retrieved from www.afdb.org/en/documents/publications/workingpaper-series/ on 8/8/2019.
[3]	Castels, M. (1999). Information Technology, Globalization and Social Development. United Nations Research Institute for Social Development. UNRISD Discussion Paper No. 114, September 1999. Geneva, Switzerland.
[4]	Daniel, B. (2017). Social Innovation Policy for Industry 4.0. Division for Social and Economic Policies, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Bonn, Germany.
[5]	Newman, C. Jonh, P. John, R., Abebe, S., Mans, S. & Finn, T. (2016). Manufacturing Transformation: Comparative Studies of Industrial Development in Africa and Emerging Asia. UNU-WIDER Studies in Development Economics, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
[6]	International Labour Organisation, ILO (2012). TVET reform: Designing an inclusive skills development program. Retrieved from http://www.skillsforemployment.org/KSP/en/Details/?dn=FM11G_009612 on 10/08/2019.
[7]	Inclusive Growth Forum (2015). The Fourth Industrial Revolution Growth and Inequality. Retrieved from https://inclusivegrowthforum.org/the-fourthindustrial-revolution-economic-growth-and-inequality/, on 19/09/2019.
[8]	Jakkie, C. (2018). Made in Africa Manufacturing and the fourth industrial revolution. Africa In The World Report 8, Institute for Security Studies, South Africa.
[9]	OECD (2015), Measuring Innovation in Education: A New Perspective, OECD Publishing, Paris. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264215696-en.
[10]	OECD (2016). Innovating Education and Educating for Innovation: The Power of Digital Technologies and Skills. OECD Publishing, Paris. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264265097-en.
[11]	Phills, J. A., Deiglmeier, K., & Miller, D. T. (2008). Rediscovering Social Innovation. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 6 (4): 34–43.
[12]	Schwab, K. (2016). The Fourth Industrial Revolution. World Economic Forum: Geneva.
[13]	United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). (2018). Industry 4.0 –the opportunities behind the challenge. Vienna, Austria.

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APA Style

Aniedi Daniel Usoro, Caleb Emmanuel Ezekiel, Lucky Obulor Ojobah. (2021). The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Discourse and Contexts Shaping Nigeria’s Participation. American Journal of Education and Information Technology, 5(2), 106-112. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajeit.20210502.17

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ACS Style

Aniedi Daniel Usoro; Caleb Emmanuel Ezekiel; Lucky Obulor Ojobah. The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Discourse and Contexts Shaping Nigeria’s Participation. Am. J. Educ. Inf. Technol. 2021, 5(2), 106-112. doi: 10.11648/j.ajeit.20210502.17

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AMA Style

Aniedi Daniel Usoro, Caleb Emmanuel Ezekiel, Lucky Obulor Ojobah. The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Discourse and Contexts Shaping Nigeria’s Participation. Am J Educ Inf Technol. 2021;5(2):106-112. doi: 10.11648/j.ajeit.20210502.17

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@article{10.11648/j.ajeit.20210502.17,
  author = {Aniedi Daniel Usoro and Caleb Emmanuel Ezekiel and Lucky Obulor Ojobah},
  title = {The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Discourse and Contexts Shaping Nigeria’s Participation},
  journal = {American Journal of Education and Information Technology},
  volume = {5},
  number = {2},
  pages = {106-112},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajeit.20210502.17},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajeit.20210502.17},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajeit.20210502.17},
  abstract = {This paper explores the diffusion and spread of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) otherwise known as industry 4.0 in relations to Nigeria. Technology that was once science fiction is now a reality. The real world and the virtual world are merging to create a new reality-actual reality. The core feature of the 4IR is the marriage of physical and digital technologies such as analytics, artificial intelligence, cognitive technologies and the internet of things (IoT). While the 4IR connects the world together, this connectivity is however, hierarchical and asymmetric. The 4IR still follows the social, economic and political patterns of previous industrialization, where countries and individuals at the centre of its invention and application maintain the market leader status. If the threats and opportunities of the 4IR are to be taken adequately into account in industrial policies in Africa, then a thorough understanding of the implications of the 4IR for the continent is required. This paper explores the social impact of 4IR and its implications to Nigeria and in deed Africa, the strategy going forward, the implications on talents, workforce and skills as well as the technological implications of 4IR for Nigeria. This paper concludes that digital and advanced technologies in the 4IR have become essential tools for social and economic development as well as the material well-being of individuals in the emerging digital economy. The benefit of adopting industry 4.0 technologies will be evident in its continuous diffusion and spread, leading to enhanced productivity in the economy. However, the indifference of government has both immediate and long-term negative impacts and accounts for the widening technological gap. The policy recommendation for this study is that Government should as a matter of national security, should focus on research and development and identify key areas of focus in research for product development.},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Discourse and Contexts Shaping Nigeria’s Participation
AU  - Aniedi Daniel Usoro
AU  - Caleb Emmanuel Ezekiel
AU  - Lucky Obulor Ojobah
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DO  - 10.11648/j.ajeit.20210502.17
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JF  - American Journal of Education and Information Technology
JO  - American Journal of Education and Information Technology
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PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2994-712X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajeit.20210502.17
AB  - This paper explores the diffusion and spread of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) otherwise known as industry 4.0 in relations to Nigeria. Technology that was once science fiction is now a reality. The real world and the virtual world are merging to create a new reality-actual reality. The core feature of the 4IR is the marriage of physical and digital technologies such as analytics, artificial intelligence, cognitive technologies and the internet of things (IoT). While the 4IR connects the world together, this connectivity is however, hierarchical and asymmetric. The 4IR still follows the social, economic and political patterns of previous industrialization, where countries and individuals at the centre of its invention and application maintain the market leader status. If the threats and opportunities of the 4IR are to be taken adequately into account in industrial policies in Africa, then a thorough understanding of the implications of the 4IR for the continent is required. This paper explores the social impact of 4IR and its implications to Nigeria and in deed Africa, the strategy going forward, the implications on talents, workforce and skills as well as the technological implications of 4IR for Nigeria. This paper concludes that digital and advanced technologies in the 4IR have become essential tools for social and economic development as well as the material well-being of individuals in the emerging digital economy. The benefit of adopting industry 4.0 technologies will be evident in its continuous diffusion and spread, leading to enhanced productivity in the economy. However, the indifference of government has both immediate and long-term negative impacts and accounts for the widening technological gap. The policy recommendation for this study is that Government should as a matter of national security, should focus on research and development and identify key areas of focus in research for product development.
VL  - 5
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Author Information

Aniedi Daniel Usoro

Department of Industrial Technology Education, University of Uyo, Uyo, Nigeria
Caleb Emmanuel Ezekiel

Department of Industrial Technology Education, University of Uyo, Uyo, Nigeria
Lucky Obulor Ojobah

Department of Industrial Technology Education, Ignatius Ajuru University, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

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APA Style

Aniedi Daniel Usoro, Caleb Emmanuel Ezekiel, Lucky Obulor Ojobah. (2021). The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Discourse and Contexts Shaping Nigeria’s Participation. American Journal of Education and Information Technology, 5(2), 106-112. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajeit.20210502.17

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ACS Style

Aniedi Daniel Usoro; Caleb Emmanuel Ezekiel; Lucky Obulor Ojobah. The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Discourse and Contexts Shaping Nigeria’s Participation. Am. J. Educ. Inf. Technol. 2021, 5(2), 106-112. doi: 10.11648/j.ajeit.20210502.17

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AMA Style

Aniedi Daniel Usoro, Caleb Emmanuel Ezekiel, Lucky Obulor Ojobah. The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Discourse and Contexts Shaping Nigeria’s Participation. Am J Educ Inf Technol. 2021;5(2):106-112. doi: 10.11648/j.ajeit.20210502.17

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@article{10.11648/j.ajeit.20210502.17,
  author = {Aniedi Daniel Usoro and Caleb Emmanuel Ezekiel and Lucky Obulor Ojobah},
  title = {The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Discourse and Contexts Shaping Nigeria’s Participation},
  journal = {American Journal of Education and Information Technology},
  volume = {5},
  number = {2},
  pages = {106-112},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajeit.20210502.17},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajeit.20210502.17},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajeit.20210502.17},
  abstract = {This paper explores the diffusion and spread of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) otherwise known as industry 4.0 in relations to Nigeria. Technology that was once science fiction is now a reality. The real world and the virtual world are merging to create a new reality-actual reality. The core feature of the 4IR is the marriage of physical and digital technologies such as analytics, artificial intelligence, cognitive technologies and the internet of things (IoT). While the 4IR connects the world together, this connectivity is however, hierarchical and asymmetric. The 4IR still follows the social, economic and political patterns of previous industrialization, where countries and individuals at the centre of its invention and application maintain the market leader status. If the threats and opportunities of the 4IR are to be taken adequately into account in industrial policies in Africa, then a thorough understanding of the implications of the 4IR for the continent is required. This paper explores the social impact of 4IR and its implications to Nigeria and in deed Africa, the strategy going forward, the implications on talents, workforce and skills as well as the technological implications of 4IR for Nigeria. This paper concludes that digital and advanced technologies in the 4IR have become essential tools for social and economic development as well as the material well-being of individuals in the emerging digital economy. The benefit of adopting industry 4.0 technologies will be evident in its continuous diffusion and spread, leading to enhanced productivity in the economy. However, the indifference of government has both immediate and long-term negative impacts and accounts for the widening technological gap. The policy recommendation for this study is that Government should as a matter of national security, should focus on research and development and identify key areas of focus in research for product development.},
 year = {2021}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Discourse and Contexts Shaping Nigeria’s Participation
AU  - Aniedi Daniel Usoro
AU  - Caleb Emmanuel Ezekiel
AU  - Lucky Obulor Ojobah
Y1  - 2021/12/07
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajeit.20210502.17
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajeit.20210502.17
T2  - American Journal of Education and Information Technology
JF  - American Journal of Education and Information Technology
JO  - American Journal of Education and Information Technology
SP  - 106
EP  - 112
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2994-712X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajeit.20210502.17
AB  - This paper explores the diffusion and spread of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) otherwise known as industry 4.0 in relations to Nigeria. Technology that was once science fiction is now a reality. The real world and the virtual world are merging to create a new reality-actual reality. The core feature of the 4IR is the marriage of physical and digital technologies such as analytics, artificial intelligence, cognitive technologies and the internet of things (IoT). While the 4IR connects the world together, this connectivity is however, hierarchical and asymmetric. The 4IR still follows the social, economic and political patterns of previous industrialization, where countries and individuals at the centre of its invention and application maintain the market leader status. If the threats and opportunities of the 4IR are to be taken adequately into account in industrial policies in Africa, then a thorough understanding of the implications of the 4IR for the continent is required. This paper explores the social impact of 4IR and its implications to Nigeria and in deed Africa, the strategy going forward, the implications on talents, workforce and skills as well as the technological implications of 4IR for Nigeria. This paper concludes that digital and advanced technologies in the 4IR have become essential tools for social and economic development as well as the material well-being of individuals in the emerging digital economy. The benefit of adopting industry 4.0 technologies will be evident in its continuous diffusion and spread, leading to enhanced productivity in the economy. However, the indifference of government has both immediate and long-term negative impacts and accounts for the widening technological gap. The policy recommendation for this study is that Government should as a matter of national security, should focus on research and development and identify key areas of focus in research for product development.
VL  - 5
IS  - 2
ER  -

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