The pertinent questions of who gets what,when and how have often formed an issue of contention the economic man always seek to address. To do justice to this seemingly innocuous question we have developed multivariated answers in the form of theories,models and other economic construct, prominent of which are the free market economy and the controlled economy. The debate ever since has been which of the two economic models offer the plausible answer to the aforementioned question, while the free market preaches an economic system built on freedom of ideas,initiatives and the power of individual creativity and genius, the controlled economy on the other hand is hinged on the philosophy of government controlled system where a central planning committee do the thinking for the whole. However, the arrival of the 20th century provided the world a theatre to view the strengths and weakness of the two rival ideologies spearheaded by the united states and the defunct united soviet states republic( USSR). While the former was a free market economy the latter was a state controlled economy, weighed side by side and with the collapse of the soviet states the long standing question of who gets what, when and how was finally answered. In the incarnation of a free market.
Virtually every country in the world has hopped on to the fast moving train of the free market and the reason is not far fetched. First, the free market gives room for creativity and offers the veritable environment to groom ideas. This is evident in the economy of countries like the united states where the economy has been built around ideas, nutured from the yolk into large corporations with influences outside the shores of America. Organizations like McDonalds, Walmart, Facebook, Microsoft, google, wikipedia, apple, general motors, ford motors amongst others are testimonies of the free market. Wikipedia for example, was borne out the idea of creating an accessible online encyclopedia instead of turning to large out of date books for answers. LinkedIn was set up in 2003 to help professionals connect with each other creating a reality in an online world. Similarly, Microsoft was hinged on the idea of making computers available on everydesks in the world. With the free market, ideas when convieved can be brought to reality.
The free market apart from creating a thriving environment for ideas, allows for individuals to get rewards based on their level of creativity, hard work and commitment. As opposed to the controlled market that put citizens at the mercy of government, people are propelled to the top as a result of their hard work without any limitations whatsoever being placed. According to Forbes, individuals like bill gates, warren buffet,mark zuckeberg, aliko dangote, folorunsho alakija etc have carved a niche for themselves as some of the richest men in the world. Similarly talented sportsmen, musicians, and other individuals through creativity and hard work have distinguished themselves. The free market in fact is a depiction of a popular saying which goes thus "The sky is large enough for birds to fly without collision" , since it always have a space for every hardworking person to carve a space for himself in a world that keeps getting richer.
Nigeria, has also been caught up in the tentacles of the free market. Increasingly, people are beginning to put their ideas to use instead of excessive dependence on government. Small and medium enterprises (SMES) are forming the backbone of the economy gradually, with incentives from governments private enterprises are sprouting in every corner of the company. Opportunities are created for employment and younger entrepreneurs are venturing into uncharted territories such as information technology, networking, and other enterprises. Without iota of doubt, the free market has put Nigerians on the world map today, the richest black nation in the world is Nigeria, the richest African is a Nigerian, the largest economy in Africa is the Nigerian economy. Today we hold and enviable position in the 21st century world with prospects of being one of the largest economies in the world, which leads to the question who do we have to thank? The answer is not far-fetched it is the free market.
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WRITTEN BY
Uwakwe uche chukwu
Uwakweuchechukwu@yahoo. Com
08099862463