Dr Zainab Usman born on February 6 likes to think of herself as an indigene of both Katsina and Kaduna States. Her father, late Justice Usman Muhammed (rtd.) is from Katsina and her mum, Justice Mairo L. Muhammed from Zaria, Kaduna State. She was born in Kaduna and her formative years were split between the cities of Kaduna and Zaria. She has 16 siblings spread across Kaduna, Zaria, Katsina and Abuja. She is the inaugural Director of the Africa Program at Carnegie Endowment. In a chat with Tambari she tells why it is important to always give your best to every endeavour.
Tell us about your new role as the African Program Director at Carnegie Endowment and what it entails?
I took up the position on February 1, 2021. The Africa Program at the Carnegie Endowment is new, and I am the inaugural Director. As you probably know, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is the oldest think-tank in the United States, established in 1910 by one of America’s most well-known industrialists and philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie. In over 100 years, this is the first time the think tank is setting up a program focused on the African continent.
As Director, I will bring my expertise in public policy, global development, and knowledge of Africa to build, manage and run the program. This will entail several things. The first is to design the priorities of the program around the economic, political, technological, and transnational issues shaping Africa’s future. We will produce high-quality analysis to shape policies in these areas. Secondly, I will be building a network of scholars to support this program. These include individuals and institutions (such as think-tanks and universities) in African countries. A third aspect is to use our analyses to engage policymakers. These are policymakers in the United States, in Europe, in African countries and in other parts of the world to shape their engagement with the continent.
How can Nigeria and other African countries benefit from your work?
Nigeria and other African countries can benefit from this work at Carnegie in at least two ways. First, by engaging with the analysis we produce, African countries can better understand how their external partners think of and approach the continent. I find that among scholars and policymakers based in African countries, there is often very little understanding of how external partners – whether in the U.S or Europe or China or the rest of Asia think or what their foreign policy and international economic priorities are with regards to the African continent. A second benefit will be our efforts to amplify and support high-quality initiatives by experts on the ground in African countries. Those interested should go to our web page: Carnegie Africa and sign up to our newsletter to engage with our activities.
What areas are you going to focus on as you settle into the job?
As I settle into the job, my focus areas will revolve around the politics of the issues shaping Africa’s economic future. These include the energy transition at a time of climate change, entrepreneurship and the future of work, and the evolving landscape of investments, technology, and trade relations.
Having co-led a study on ‘The Future of Working Africa: Harnessing the Potential of Digital Technologies’. What potentials does Nigeria have in this field and are we ready as a country to key into the opportunities available in this field?
This study examined three key questions: how is the digital revolution disrupting economies around the world? How is this digital disruption changing the nature of work? What does all this mean for African countries?
With regards to the first question, the digital revolution is disrupting the business model of firms and the skills requirements for their workers. Physical books stores are being upended by Amazon and digital retailers. Air B&B is replacing hotels. Netflix and online streaming platforms like Iroko TV are rendering obsolete physical vendors of movies and music. Uber and ride-hailing apps are displacing taxis. With regards to the second question, digitization is causing rising demand for complex cognitive skills rather than manual skills as business models are changing. The task composition of jobs is changing, and job roles are evolving. Take banks, for example, they are gradually replacing tellers and customer care representatives with machines and automated prompts. Customer care representatives must be more digitally savvy, possess coordination and complex socio-emotional skills. As job roles evolve, digitization is accelerating the shift towards a post-industrial world. The manufacturing sector illustrates this phenomenon. Low-skill jobs that are manual in assembly plants are being automated while higher-skilled jobs around management and coordination are enhanced by digital and other technologies. In advanced economies, there are concerns that jobs in manufacturing industries and clerical roles in services will be completely displaced.
For African countries, where the manufacturing sector is not that large, to begin with, the impacts will be slightly different. There are opportunities and challenges.
The opportunities are that digital and other technologies can enhance the productivity of the millions of micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs). In Nigeria, these are over 41 million MSMEs which account for nearly half of economic activity and provide 7 out of 10 jobs. Most of these MSMEs tend to be micro-scale with less than 10 employees in agriculture, petty trade and low-tech manufacturing or cottage industries. New technologies can increase their productivity by enabling access to markets (think about how entrepreneurs are using Instagram and Whatsapp to reach new customers), providing opportunities to upskill and reskill (think about the number of people who can learn methods and techniques through online courses on YouTube, Coursera etc.) and to increase the efficiency of production processes (using advanced accounting and project management tools to manage an enterprise).
The challenges are that African countries will not have a fully digital-driven economic transformation without investing in the analogue stuff, especially hard infrastructure. Modern, affordable, and reliable electricity access is one. 7 out of 10 people without access to electricity in the world reside in an African country. Only 6 out of 10 Nigerians have access to electricity, much of it from backup generators. Transport infrastructure is another. Its good to see that the government is finally serious about investing in rail infrastructure projects and is cleaning up the ports. Finally, there must be a thorough overhaul of education systems across many countries. They need to align with the nature of African economies, the labour market and what these countries aspire to become. There should also be a heavy investment in research and development capabilities, and history should be made a compulsory subject in primary and secondary schools so that people understand why their countries are where they are. Without this hard stuff, African countries including Nigeria will not experience the digital-driven economic transformation that provides prosperity to all.
Career background
I am grateful for where I am today, but there was nothing smooth about my career journey. There were a few times when catastrophic failure seemed imminent. It was only my family’s support and the grace of the Almighty that saw me through.
The one year of NYSC between 2008 and 2009 was a pivotal moment of my life. After orientation camp in Kubwa, Abuja, I did two interviews and got two offers for my primary assignment posting: one at Access Bank and the other at the ECOWAS Commission. I chose to go to ECOWAS since my background at the time was in International Relations. I had a wonderful experience at ECOWAS. I wanted to stay on after my NYSC, as a staff member. The department I worked with also did all they could to retain me, but things did not quite work out. I am still in touch with former colleagues at ECOWAS given the great relationship we had.
Strangely, towards the end of my NYSC in 2009, my life went on a downward spiral. First, my father passed away in January 2009. Then I just could not find a job after my NYSC from July 2009. I spent nearly 10 months at home submitting dozens of applications, writing aptitude tests, attending interviews, speaking to contacts etc. Nothing was forthcoming. Then my plan to get married at the time collapsed so spectacularly in the most excruciating manner. By early 2010 with all that had happened, I was in a very dark place mentally. I eventually got a good job in May 2010 at a pension management firm in Abuja, where I worked for a few months, but my heart was not in it. Something in me was different – beyond work, I hardly went out in Abuja. It was at this time that my mother finally agreed to allow me to pursue post-graduate studies abroad. She was eventually persuaded by the two scholarship offers I got from the American University of Paris in France and the University of Birmingham in the U.K. I left for the U.K. in 2010 to take up the offer at Birmingham.
I spent six productive years in the U.K. First, I obtained a master’s degree at the University of Birmingham, then a doctorate at the University of Oxford. In between, I lived in Brussels, Belgium for three months for an internship at the International Crisis Group and another three months in the South of France in 2016 for a French language course. The main upskilling element of my post-graduate education was to incorporate economics in my international relations background. This explains my current economic development focus. The story of how I got into Oxford is interesting. I decided to apply to Oxford because I felt I had nothing to lose but deep down I did not believe I would ever get accepted. I literally submitted my application for a PhD at Oxford at 11.54 pm on 20 January 2012, 7 minutes before the deadline expired at midnight on 21 January! When I got the offer in March, with a full scholarship, I was ecstatic! It was a miracle!
In September 2016, I moved to the United States to take up an offer at the World Bank. I got accepted into the Bank’s prestigious Young Professionals Program (YPP), which is a fast-track program for early career professionals to rise to leadership positions in the institution. Despite the name, the YPP is not an entry-level program, as candidates need at least a master’s degree with 5 years work experience or preferably a PhD in a field related to economic development. Again, this marked an exciting chapter in my life. I spent about 4 years at the Bank – working on social sustainability for infrastructure projects in Uzbekistan, energy policy reforms in Zambia, advisory services on mining sector reforms in Cote d’Ivoire, Papua New Guinea, Serbia and Tanzania, and a lot of analytical work. In 2020, my co-authored book on ‘The Future of Work in Africa’ was published and I was co-leading on several exciting projects. Overall, I was doing very well.
So when I resigned at the end of 2020 to take up the offer at the Carnegie Endowment, some people thought I was crazy. “Why are you giving up the chance to become a Manager, Director or even a Vice President at the World Bank?” they asked. I explained that I wanted to try something else. After all, many people do leave the World Bank, to work in government or industry or elsewhere, and then go back later. After a big farewell (virtual) party, I left the Bank. Now I am at the Carnegie Endowment building a new Africa Program from scratch.
What was growing up like?
Most people tend to recall their childhood years with nostalgia. It is the same for me. I remember when Nigeria, and the north, in particular, was peaceful and predictable at the micro-level of everyday life even in the chaotic years of military rule. My earliest memories are of Katsina in the late 1980s. Then in 1991 or so, my parents moved to Kaduna where at least half of my formative years, primary and parts of secondary school, were spent. Kaduna in the 1990s was so vibrant. I also spent several years in Zaria, where I completed senior secondary school. Now, when I read and hear about the violent crime engulfing parts of northern Nigeria, I am horrified – but maybe not so surprised – at how swiftly things have deteriorated.
Over the years, what are your life lessons?
I got many of my life lessons from just observing how my mother managed difficult situations. She, truly, is an amazing human being. I am where I am today because of her strength and support. Lesson one I learnt from her is Optimism. Through any situation, she always stays hopeful and looks for a silver lining. I have never seen her sink into despair. No matter the challenge, she just pulls herself up and swiftly switches to a problem-solving mindset. A second lesson is Patience. I am still trying to imbibe this because I am naturally impatient. But I am learning to slow down a bit and sometimes allow things to play out. A third lesson is Integrity. There are no cutting-corners with my mother. She is highly principled. She constantly reminded us that nothing beats having a good name and that our dignity is invaluable. So for me, the one thing I do not ever compromise on is my dignity. The moment I find myself in an undignified situation where I feel I am being unnecessarily disrespected; I walk away. Lesson Four is Generosity. I cannot count the number of people, especially young women, she has put through school or she has tried to empower. I am trying to find ways to pay it forward as well. A final lesson is Family. Having been away from Nigeria for over a decade, I do not see them often and I realize how important they are. It bothers me that I miss weddings, naming ceremonies, seeing my nieces and nephews grow up etc.
Tell us about your passion for humanitarianism?
I am not sure that I have a passion for humanitarianism. Let us interrogate the term ‘humanitarianism’ and why it exists in the first place. Humanitarianism arises because some are deprived and destitute in society. Many find themselves in such desperate situations because we are yet to create effective systems and inclusive institutions that cater to everyone. This planet has more than enough resources to give every human being a decent quality of life. But we have not built societies with functioning economies that eliminate deprivation. The powerful exploit the weak. The poor are voiceless and then we blame them for their situation and give handouts. Is that humanitarianism? How is it okay for northern Nigeria to have millions of young boys roaming the streets in tattered clothes begging for money and food in the name of Almajiranci? We watch as our human capital wastes away. Will giving handouts in the name of ‘humanitarianism’ address the issue of almajiranci in northern Nigeria? What I am passionate about is building inclusive institutions, sustainable economies and effective systems that prevent people from falling into destitution in the first place and thereby eliminate the need for ‘humanitarianism’.
What is your most cherished gift and who was it from?
My most cherished gift is a blue hairbrush given to me by my mother when I turned 13. She also has an identical one. She has had these two hairbrushes for as long as I can remember. It is medium-sized and sturdy, but the bristles are very soft. It brushes your hair gently without pulling out the strands. I take it with me everywhere I go.
Your favourite kind of music on replay
My favourite genre of music is soft rock. I could listen to Nickelback and Daughtry all day every day. I also love Sade’s genre-bending sound. Rihanna is my favourite artiste, but she is not producing music anymore.
What is the first app you check in the morning and at bedtime?
My email app on my phone
Your favourite fashion items
I love rings.
What wouldn’t you be caught wearing?
I would not be caught dead wearing three things: One, anything asymmetrical like a mono-strap, one-arm dress, or blouse. Two, anything with too many frills, sparkles, sequins etc. Three, super-bright colours like hot pink, yellow or neon green. Ironically, I wore some of these things as a teenager, but now the mere thought of them gives me headaches.
Best travel destination and why?
I have not explored Asia enough. I have only been to Thailand and Uzbekistan in the region. After this pandemic inshaa Allah, I would like to go to other Asian countries, including China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.
How do you relax?
I go to the spa to get a massage and sit in a sauna. If I am not keen on spending money, I just do a bubble bath at home.
Best food
Seafood. Good ol’ masa and taushe. Rice and Stew. Pounded Yam. I also like food from America’s deep south.
Definition of style
You know, I just make sure I wear clothes of decent quality and that I don’t look untidy.
Favourite fashion designer, perfume, designer bag and shoes
I realized about eight years ago that I do not like shopping. So, I don’t really think about designers and what my favourites are. I love perfumes though, especially floral scents. My favourite perfumes are those from perfumeries in France, like Fragonard, because they extract the scents from actual flowers. When I lived in France, I went all the way to the town of Grasse where Fragonard’s main perfumery is located. It was a delight to see how the perfumes are made. I also like the spicy scents of Arabian Oud. I use a lot of incense from Borno in my house. I don’t really think about handbags. I buy two or three at a time, use one every day until the straps start to peel off, and then move on to the next one.
Beauty routine
I shower once or twice a day, and I brush my teeth at least twice a day.
Favourite book
My favourite book is ‘The Autobiography of Malcolm X as Told to Alex Haley’. It is truly one of the most fascinating books I have ever read in my life. It is so unbelievably engrossing, that it reads like fiction, but it is all real life. This is the story of how Malcolm X, one of America’s most prominent civil rights activists, rose from destitution, drugs, petty crime, and despair of the black experience in America to educate himself in prison and become an intellectual firebrand. The book was also my first introduction to the gritty experience of African Americans in the United States. I believe this book should be compulsory reading as part of social studies, history, and civics in every African country. In Nigeria, especially, I believe this book could have easily replaced some of the rather pointless books I was made to read in secondary school. The Nigerian curriculum does such a poor job of educating young people about the experience of other black people in Africa, The Caribbean and especially those in the United States. That is why many Nigerians arrive in America with complete ignorance, insensitivity, and lack of empathy about the African American experience.
Looking back at your life, what would you tell a younger you?
Don’t listen to the people who try to discourage you from doing things differently, and there are many of them. Stay focused and true to yourself so long as you do not violate your spiritual and moral values. Always give your best to every endeavour, but know when to let go of things that do not work out.
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