Towards a Knowledge-Based Economy: Challenges and Opportunities for Nigeria

The competitiveness of economies is increasingly dependent on their capability to create, use and diffuse knowledge. The knowledge economy literature identifies four key pillars of the knowledge economy. These pillars, which cover a wide spectrum of factors relevant to knowledge creation and management, include: Human Capital Development, Information and Communications Technology, Effective Governance, and a developed System of Innovation. The global shift towards the development of knowledge economies calls for an increased emphasis on the role of knowledge in developing the Nigerian economy. The knowledge readiness of the Nigerian economy, when compared with other nations, is low. This paper provides strategic implication for policy making for government and for industry, towards developing a knowledge-based Nigerian economy