COP23 Despite Rick Perry

As COP23 (The 23rd Conference Of the Parties) approaches, this absurd episode occurs!  

The United States' Secretary of Energy, Rick Perry, decided to drop a bombshell just a week before the event.(►click here◄) And to be honest, if he hadn't brought Africa into his absurd argument, I would have simply just laughed for a few seconds and let it go.  

The Perry Episode

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will commence in Bonn, Germany on November 6th 2017 and will last until the 17th. 
This meeting of world leaders and leaders in business seeks to continue in its resolve to (at the very least) remind its members about their commitments to take action that will reduce, prevent, and manage the effects of excessive CO2 gases in the earth's atmosphere. 

However, Secretary Perry felt this was the best time to launch his misplaced campaign for fossil fuels, and decided to involve something that is very dear to me in the process.

Now, the funny thing about this is that I normally wouldn't have written anything about this man's absurd comments if he hadn't mentioned "Africa" in his twisted logic.

But in order to let you know why I didn't find it all that funny, here is what he said: And here is a video of him saying it:

"It is gonna take fossil fuels to push power out into those villages in Africa, where a young girl told me to my face...[blah blah blah]....when you have light, it shines the righteousness, if you will, on those acts [the acts of sexual assault.] "

Hold On! Rapists Can Be Repelled By Fossil Fuels???

Well, that is amazing!
So, I really want to talk about why COP23 matters to us in Digital Africa, but let me just quickly unpack this man's depressingly disappointing argument for one moment:

1) Let us even assume that light (produced through electricity) can actually save this "mystery" girl from sexual assault. You know, let's assume that sexual assault cannot happen at noon in any part of the world.....Did she specify that she needs fossil fuel powered light, specifically, to save her?

2) If SHE did not say it was going to take fossil fuels per-se to protect her, but Mr Perry thinks this is the right solution, then how did Mr Perry arrive at this messianic ability of fossil fuels? 
I'm curious. Is it possible that Mr Perry could simply be using this young lady's fear to conjure up an illogical argument for justifying fossil fuels a week before COP23?

3) Which is more likely to penetrate African villages today?  Is it fossil fuels OR solar energy? Ask Akon. 

4) Now.
Please, can somebody tell me this man was joking?
Because if he is serious, then these folks weren't drinking the same schnapps he was. 

You know? I actually find it a bit odd that he choses to repeatedly use the term "fossil fuels" to classify them.
Considering the circumstances, I would imagine it is probably wiser to say, "power from natural gas or coal". I dunno.  

Anyway, back to the more important matter that should be trending at this time:
Why Africa needs to pay attention to COP23.
But quickly, a background.

What is COP23?

The 23rd Conference Of the Parties - a meeting that involves all of the member nations (or parties) that form the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. 
Their purpose is to collectively and individually tackle human-influenced global warming. It is important to note that in the opinion of the parties, a historic milestone was achieved in the 2015 edition - COP 21; the much talked about Paris Agreement.

What Happened At The Paris Agreement?

Although it is widely regarded as a historic success, COP21  features commitments and promises to reduce carbon output and limit global warming to lower than 2%.
It should interest many of you reading this that a lot of the recent announcements by some countries to ban the sale of gasoline-engined cars, while at the same time investing heavily in a cleaner electric grid, can be traced back to their need to honour these commitments.  

What Is Happening Now?

A significant event that was initially expected to have a mostly adverse effect on the COP21 resolutions was US President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the agreement.
However, something else seems to be happening as a result. This. 
In fact, some would argue that Trump's decision is only going to make governors, mayors and corporate leaders in the country more resolved and more fired up to do what they believe is the right thing.

The Renewables Revolution Is Still In Full Swing

Regardless of what Secretary Perry says, the world is embracing this change, and therefore, everyone of us members of Digital Africa must be alert to this. 

Rick Perry's voice is certainly not loud enough to affect this global tide. Therefore, it will not likely be fossil fuels, as he thinks, that will "rescue" African girls from "sexual offences". (tongue-in-cheek btw) 

On a more serious note, the evidence is strongly piled up on the side of solar energy and storage (google the hashtag #StoredSun) having greater penetration in rural areas in Africa. 

But I am, however, going to warn that solar may not easily or quickly overcome the role of fossil fuels in African cities and larger towns that are served by an electricity grid.

We should understand that the revolution in Africa will start outwards and slowly extend inwardly. 

Take Away For Digital Africa?

I keep saying, "Be informed. Stay in the know. pay attention."

Knowing what the leaders of the world are up to is never a waste of your time. Neither is knowing how your leaders in Africa are responding to these policies and changes.
Digital Africa is, among other things, a community of Africans who are future oriented. We do not want to be left behind. We want to know what direction the world is headed. 

So if you have been following the stories from the UNFCCC since COP21, you would know that the major climate policy topic that was found to be the most important to African leaders, was that of "Capacity Building".


Therefore, as many of you that have been listening to my advise; either here on this blog, or in real life, my tip for you (for now) is to tune in to the COP23 Youtube channel.
Also consider doing google searches like, "COP22 Capacity Building in Africa" or "COP22 Capacity Building in Nigeria".
Also consider taking a look at my previous article about Climate Change. 

Always learn to variate your keywords when using Google. Reading one document is never really enough to get the full gist of a topic/idea. Always try to converge information on that topic from several different sources. 

Tell me what you think in the comments section.  
Also link up with me on LinkedIn or on Twitter.
You already know where to find me on GooglePlus.
And click here to keep up with this blog.

Here Comes The Sun

Electricity is the biggest challenge we have in most of Africa. And yet right now, the rest of the world is transitioning into using electricity as the only source of power for everything. Electric cars like Teslas, are quickly becoming the norm.

So what would Africa do when the only cars left to import are electric cars?


Let us start with an illustration that I like to use to explain my case for solar energy to my fellow Christian brothers and sisters.

So, my favorite illustration for renewables is as follows:

Above VS Below

Do you remember when Jesus said the following statement to the Jews who did not believe in Him?

And He said to them", “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world." John 8-23

Now, let's take the two types of energy sources used these days, renewable sources (mainly solar and wind) and fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas). We can also talk about hydroelectricity which still supports my argument, but I'll leave it out for time.

BENEATH:
One type of energy source comes from deep under the ground. 
4000 to 7000 feet.
We dig into the ground in order to extract the dead. 
I meant that literally.

Fossil fuels are actually the remains of dead creatures and plants. Hence "the dead".

Anyway, it turns out that men have been powering the world using the dead for a long time now. 
Men dig up the dead from around 6000 feet beneath the earth, and BURN them to use as energy and transportation.

Wait! Did you catch that? 
We burn them. 
The dead. 
And we get them from way beneath the earth. 

But you never thought of it that way, did you? 
And then how about the evil things that have accompanied oil and gas for all these years?
How about the wars? How about the Niger Delta in Nigeria?
How about all the suffering and poverty that has come out of conflicts related to oil and gas?

No?

Not enough?

Okay, let's move unto the counterparty.

ABOVE:
What is physically above all within the realm of this Earth? 
Good guess. The sun. 
A gigantic ball of blinding light. "Unapproachable light" when you really think about it. 
A "consuming fire" if you will allow (Bible reference: book of Hebrews).

We are talking of a kind of fire that was not "discovered" by men, because it has ALWAYS been there. Hahaha! 

Again, it was put there long before there were men. 

...AND science also tells us that it is the sun's heat that is even responsible for the large winds that also produce another kind of renewable power. (see John 3:8).
The Sun causes the winds to blow. 

Hmmm! Coincidence?

So it gives us light to see, keeps us warm, and also causes the winds to blow the clouds that give us rain. Trifecta! 

And NOW, my brethren, I tell you, it promises us unlimited, sustainable, and somewhat FREE energy.

A photo of the sun as a mighty and giant angel. Picture credit: https://www.guideposts.org/inspiration/angels/angels-escort-a-loved-one-to-heaven

So once again, one power source comes from beneath the Earth, and is made up of the dead that are burned.

The other power source comes from above. (GEN 1:16) It gives light and life freely every day.

I am sure that those of you who are bible-reading Christians understand why I kept emphasizing the words "dead" "below" and "burn") Lol. 

Anyway, let us leave bible class, and look at the global understanding of the problem...

The Scenario

Paleontologists teach us that the crude oil, natural gas and coal, that most of the world uses for energy today, are derived from fossils. Fossils are the remains of dead animals and plants that died millions of years ago. Don't shoot the messenger.

Scientists tell us that when animals die, they very slowly decay,  and as they are exposed to heat, along with plants around them, they are gradually broken down into large deposits of carbon and hydrogen - called hydrocarbons. The stuff that we get from coal, oil and natural gas.

This is why they are called fossil fuels, because the remains of prehistoric living things are burned in order to generate electricity for our use.

However, scientists believe that burning them is causing a dangerous problem known as climate change.
And if you haven't heard about this phenomenon before or have never paid attention to it, they warn that it is really bad!

So here is a big picture intro from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,  along with my own layman's explanation of how climate change is happening:

Illustrating The Problem:

Adaeze is hungry. She decides to start cooking bitter-leaf soup with a kerosene stove. Kerosene is gotten from refined crude oil (a fossil fuel).
As she cooks, Adaeze's room gradually starts to get warmer and warmer.
She quickly opens her two small windows and the door, and the room quickly cools down as a reasonable amount of the heat escapes from the small room, and some cool breeze enter.

Unfortunately, two minutes later, her sister and her 2 cousins enter the room as well. And they are also hungry. So they start to cook their own food with a larger pot and a larger burner.

Despite the fact that the door and windows are open, there is more heat being generated by the larger fire (since it is a larger heat source), and also by 4 people breathing in the remaining cool air in the room and breathing out their warm CO2 in that small room that Adaeze lives in.


This is a caricature of what scientists tell us is happening to the earth through Global Warming. The CO2 that we are pumping into our atmosphere is growing rapidly as more and more people burn more and more fossil fuels to create more and more electricity and to drive more and more cars. There are other generators of CO2 (like belching livestock) but those are not important for this particular article. 

The Solution

Because mankind has finally realized that we cannot go on destroying the earth with excessive CO2 gases, and because we also know that these fossil fuels will eventually run out, mankind is now moving aggressively towards renewable energy generation.

Massive scale use of clean renewable energy to generate electricity, plus a massive shift to people using electric powered vehicles is the revolution that is desired. And there is strong political will around the globe driving this change.

And eventhough a lot of people still erroneously think that renewable energy sources like wind are solar are too expensive, those who are paying full attention to the details are marching on fearlessly into the future. 
I want you, young Africa (Digital Africa), to be a part of that march.

Your Role In The Revolution?

Okay, so now that you are on board, let me tell you what you need to be doing...

As a young woman or man (boy or girl) who subscribes to the Digital Africa way of thinking, who is future oriented, and who is always eager to learn, you need to be actively keeping up with what is happening in the renewable energy industry around the world, in modern energy storage, as well as in the world of electric vehicles.

Whether or not our governments in Africa, or our big businesses are paying adequate attention to these three massive future arenas should not affect your resolve to take this piece of advice.
Because, if you think about it, when has the rest of the world ever asked for Africa's permission or input before it moved on to the future?

So I am asking you to prepare yourself.
Now, some of you that are not yet familiar with my writings may ask, "why should we prepare?" or "prepare ourselves for what?" 

Well, it's not that easy to explain....

Think back to 1990 or thereabouts, when you first heard some people in Lagos going around saying that everybody needed to become computer literate or be left out. 

Or, around 1996, when many people started talking about the internet, the global village, and the "information super highway". Many of those folks never truly understood what they were talking about, because many of them did not actually practice what they were preaching back then. 

But imagine if your parents or older siblings had heeded their call, or if you yourself immediately got up and worked very hard to learn all you could possibly learn about computers and about using the internet. 
Imagine if you applied yourself day and night to the idea that what you were learning then was going to help you get some strategic advantage in that time's future.......i.e. TODAY! 

What if you had already learned HTML and CSS to a competent level by the year 1998? Imagine how good your web design skills would be by now? Most likely, you would have gone way beyond web design to adding other skills like Python, Javascript and SQL to your arsenal by now. And perhaps you would not feel even the least bit intimidated about Machine Learning by now- which is regarded as the highest paid skill in the developed world today.

This would have made you in very high demand all over the world, and a candidate for some of the highest paying jobs on the planet. 

Yes, what if?

So again, I am asking you to prepare yourself. Because what is happening now in the energy and transportation world is similar to what happened with the dawn of the internet.

Revolution simply means change!

How To Key In To The Revolution

Use the free information on the internet to dive into the facts behind the fiction that fashions the future.
Go beyond the superficial layer. Beyond the hype. Learn about what is really happening. I can't stress this enough.
This is one of the reasons why, for those who know me, I am so passionate about Tesla. I have been paying attention! Most other people have not! Especially many of those that you see on TV claiming to be experts.

Don't just be like the majority of people that like to state meaningless cliches like, "Oh, for sure, solar is the future", without actually knowing what they are talking about. 
Be eager and determined to get a clearer picture of what are these things that are supposedly coming. This will, without question, lead you to a massive wealth of entrepreneurial ideas and economic opportunities. 

And even if you are not an engineer (let's say you are a bloody social scientist like myself) you can still discover paths within the coming renewable revolution, that do not require you to have engineering skills. 
It is all about using what you have (your enriched mind) to get what you want (a good seat at the table in the future).

I will include this powerful comment that I came across by a gentleman on Facebook...

Okay, you know what? If that didn't make much sense to you.... Or if you think there cannot be any possible opportunities for you in a future energy related industry, then tell me in the comments section below, and I will prove to you that, even if you are an undergraduate in English Department, you can still learn enough about the future of sustainable energy and transportation to give you opportunities when the time comes.

Conclusion

So, going back to my illustration, the next time you see the sun rise in the morning, remember what I told you about energy from above and energy from below.
If you are a Nigerian, consider how much and for how long you have suffered at the hands of NEPA.
Ask yourself, is it so difficult to see a future where the whole world is powered by the sun and the 4 winds of heaven?

My next article would contain more specifics:
I would talk about the solar energy business in America, I would talk about battery storage, and I will talk about the world changing Tesla electric cars.
Do check back here in about 2 weeks.
But until then, you can go through my old article about a statement from Bill Gates that has created a dangerous mistake made by some Nigerian billionaires, even though Gates himself no longer holds the position. See that here ► Article about Bill Gates And Energy.

Also consider following this blog for monthly updates if you are not already following it. Click here  ► to follow the Digital Africa blog

Also connect with me on:

Google Plus (my office) ► Google.com/+RotimiOrims

Twitter ► RealOrims, 
on Facebook ► Solar Plus Power
and on ► Quora

Use my hashtag to keep up with my renewable energy and electric car related posts on social media = #StoredSun

Enhancing Economic Growth In Africa Through Technology

To be more specific, this article is about 
enhancing economic growth through people using technology that is mostly derived from, or related to, the internet.

I hope this article will help you, if you are a young African, to become a more pro-active and progressive user of the internet. In other words, I want you to finish reading this article and decide that you would drastically reduce the amount of time that you spend on Facebook idolizing Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Also that you would curb the amount of time you spend playing games on your phone, or creating and forwarding unconfirmed information on Whatsapp.

Instead, I need you to think seriously about HOW you can use your devices (your smart phones, your tablets and your laptops) as vehicles that move you faster towards achieving your goals in life.

As a matter of fact, for those of you who know, in your hearts, that you have not set any real goals yet; using your devices properly could actually help you to discover what your goals should be, and continuously help you to refine those goals.

So the natural question that I would expect from you now is for you to ask me, "How?" 

"How can I use my smartphone or my laptop to reach my goals, or to set goals for myself?"

Information Is​ Power:

Answering questions like this one is exactly why Digital Africa was created. So stay with us (follow this blog) as I attempt the answer:

Enhance!

It was actually my friend and favorite blogger, Joy Isa, that asked me to write this article to "change the perceptions of Nigerian youth about the value of digital networking", as she wrote, in a Hangouts' message. 

She confessed that I had successfully changed her mind about the Web, and that I had convinced her that there was some value in networking online. 
I had indeed gotten her to join Google+, and she has been trying since then to be more active on that platform. 
She started her blog, she joined a few G+ communities for bloggers and writers, and she has even overcome some of her online shyness by joining a few conversations with strangers on the g+ platform. Of which live in many different parts of the world.

But, clearly, with this question, she is still not sure of the value in all of this.
So my post here will try to re-address my claims again. But this time I want everyone of you to pay attention.

The Effect Of The Network

In my opinion, the greatest value that the internet brought to us is the ability to communicate with anybody in the world, anywhere in the world, and at anytime of the day.
Seriously, think about it for a few minutes.

Your first reaction may be to think that the telephone did this very well before the internet came along, right?
Yes indeed it did. However, the internet adds two things to that communication miracle that the telephone never could:

1. The ability to instantly discover information from heterogeneous sources. 
2. The ability to recover information from conversations that happened days or years in the past.

Oftentimes this info comes with variety to choose from, can be very timely, and it can often give you the ability to give feedback to the publisher/curator of the information. 

You couldn't just pick up your phone and talk to the President of the US before, right?

No. 

But now you can mention him in a tweet. 

Now, I'm not saying that you have a good chance of getting a response from him. But it is possible. If Your tweet strokes his ego well enough, he could respond or retweet your tweet. And who knows what else could happen from there.

You couldn't pick up your phone and call an astronaut for information about some of the more mundane tasks that they carry out while in space. Today, you can follow Samantha Cristofioretti on Google+ and literally keep up with her minute by minute activities on the international space station.

And get your questions in with a chance to get her reply
All you need is to think of a problem today, and you can probably instantly find a solution to it offered online.  Well not saying that all info online would be correct or truthful. 
Chances are, somebody somewhere else in the world had already thought of solving that problem, and has also shared how they solved it in a blog - or through a social media post that can be discovered through a Google search.


But unfortunately, many of us are seriously underrating the gravity of these things. And that is why we do not really take advantage of them the way we should.

My Networks My Journey

When I began my current journey, I had this strong desire to "get to the future" before most people in the world. The plan was to quickly plant my feet firmly within an industry that had a massive potential globally, but was not yet competitive in Nigeria. 
My friend introduced me to digital print marketing, and a chance to sell the first Kodak Nexpress digital colour printing press in Nigeria.



I wrapped my soul with zeal and flung myself at this opportunity, because I knew that if things did not work out there, digital printing was not far from digital marketing (which I was already "flirting" with - however, from afar).
So after several years of very sluggish growth in the digital printing world, Kodak sent an Italian Nexpress business developer to give us presentations on how to create a market for the Nexpress.

I learnt a ton on that occassion, but most of all, the Italian dude from Kodak (Salvatore Massaro) introduced me to 2 things that would soon become pivotal to my present life:
Search Engine Optimization and Google Plus.
I became flat-out ravenous for all the information I could find SEO, while I constantly followed the conversations of the most popular SEOs that were on Google Plus.
My zeal was able to push me to throw away all reservations and bashfulness, and work myself into the conversations of these experts of SEO. 

I was eventually able to get the attention of the most legendary name in SEO: One of the pioneers of the craft! He is the Black Knight: Sir Ammon Johns. Networking with Ammon Johns got me to connect with many other awesome people from the digital marketing world. These connections extended my reach into the Semantic Web 

The value of this was that I always had easy access to the very latest information in my chosen industry.
The high level of know-how possessed by these people I was now keeping company (keeping virtual company that is) with, boosted my own ability to learn and understand how things worked on the world wide web.

I cannot stress how much you can potentially gain from merely maintaining conversation with the right people (on the right topics) on Google Plus. And I had never found this type of richness from LinkedIn or Facebook.  
   

Marketing is research, research and more research.
A lot of people know that they can do some very powerful research on Google search these days. The kind of research they could not have gotten even by paying lots of money to research consultancy companies a few years ago.

However, many people still do not know how to use free Google search's Advanced Features. Even less know about using search operator functions.   

Paris Agreement Exit: Who Do You Think Is Smarter?

Hey guys, I am still angry about yesterday's news. 

If you know me very well, and you follow some of my articles and posts on social media, then you would know what got me angry. *cough* #ParisAgreement Exit. *cough*.

Anyway, to cool off, I thought I would do some research.
Yes. 
That is how I relax.
By doing research (the life of a Google power user).

Anyway, please let me know what you think about Trump's decision to exit the Paris Agreement? 
Kindly read these tweets from these CEOs of some of the biggest companies in the USA, then consider the decision of the King of Reality TV and Twitter, and tell me which camp is wiser....

Google:-

Disappointed with today’s decision. Google will keep working hard for a cleaner, more prosperous future for all.

— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) June 1, 2017

Apple:-

Decision to withdraw from the #ParisAgreeement was wrong for our planet. Apple is committed to fight climate change and we will never waver.

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) June 2, 2017

Disney:-

As a matter of principle, I've resigned from the President's Council over the #ParisAgreement withdrawal.

— Robert Iger (@RobertIger) June 1, 2017

Tesla/SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Undoubtedly one of the smartest men I know:-

Am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 1, 2017

Under Paris deal, China committed to produce as much clean electricity by 2030 as the US does from all sources today https://t.co/F8Ppr2o7Rl

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 1, 2017

India commits to sell only electric cars by 2030. It is already the largest market for solar power. https://t.co/EGBNTPzmE5

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 1, 2017

General Electric:-

Disappointed with today’s decision on the Paris Agreement. Climate change is real. Industry must now lead and not depend on government.

— Jeff Immelt (@JeffImmelt) June 1, 2017

There were many others.

Car Electronics

With this quick article, I hope to challenge and encourage as many young Africans as possible to consider pursuing careers in the field of electronics, and in its sub-field of car electronics in particular. I also hope that this might somehow get to some African leaders who are in the position to affect policies that encourage these youngsters in those pursuits.

My desire is that our beautiful continent begins to produce more and more young engineers that can help us to reduce our over-dependence on the rest of the world (and especially Asia) for electronic equipment and appliances.

The Curious Social Scientist

I know that I am just a bloody social scientist, and I hated science subjects back in school. So what could I possibly know about electronics?

Well, it turns out, I have somehow gotten really interested in many areas of technology and science these days. It really started with my infatuation with the Semantic Web, then solar energy and future battery technology (which I call #StoredSun). So when I first learned about electric cars needing advanced batteries, I became hooked on the technology behind those as well.

Electronics For The Lay Man

So my current understanding is that electronics is an offspring of both Electrical Engineering, and the science of Physics.  

In electronics, engineers are mainly building devices that exploit and manipulate the power of electricity and electric charges. Please if you have an even simpler definition that even the dumbest social scientist or artist can understand, I would love it if you shared that definition in the comments below. Thank you.

So, when you look into my definition (hopefully it is correct), you can see that the idea is to competently understand how electricity affects various objects so that we can make those objects work for us in a useful and safe way. The more engineers learn about the nature of electricity and the way it affects physical objects, the better they can build gadgets that make our lives easier.

Africa & Electronics

But if these things can be learned, then why aren't we learning them? Or why is the enabling environment seemingly non-existent in most of the African continent? What is our private sector waiting for? Why do our governments not care about stimulating such interests?

There are so many areas where the study and practice of electronics can be applied to generate wealth for our people. Among these are areas such as manufacture of mobile phones, computers, Ultra HD television sets, digital media players, most hospital equipment, and even home appliances like washing machines and microwave ovens.

I am not talking about being proud of watching the news and hearing a report about one solitary African that built one electronic device. Or of hearing of one computer that was completely manufactured in one African country.
No.

Those are good news indeed. But what we want is an entire burgeoning industry.

However, I am going to focus on one particular area that I am certain is going to present a huge opportunity for Africans who will eventually go into this field:

I am talking about car electronics.

Electronics In Cars And Electronic Cars

Statista estimates that there are approximately 1.2 billion cars and commercial vehicles in use around the world today. Practically all of these cars have some form of electronic system or another at work within them.
In fact, as the automobile industry has matured, we have seen that cars are being built with electronic systems increasingly replacing the mechanical systems within them.

By these mechanical systems being replaced, I am referring to most of the cars that we see on our roads, and are typically built with an internal combustion engine.
In these ICE cars, the engine runs by burning a mixture of air and fuel to produce the thrust of the car.
Engineers achieve this by using techniques from smaller divisions of mechanics like Fluid Mechanics, Dynamics and Kinematics (i.e. the area of mechanics that deals with gears and gear boxes)

But like I said already, a lot of these systems are either being replaced by electronic systems, or being enhanced by mixing in electronics with the mechanical aspects.

Car Electronics

Car Electronics range from transmission ( gear shifting) electronics to things like car entertainment systems and electronic braking systems.
Also take note of the current hype around electronic intelligent parking systems and self-driving systems in cars these days.

And with other technologies coming in from the computer and internet world, like artificial intelligence and machine learning, it is easy to see the direction in which the automobile industry is moving.
Things are getting more and more electronic than ever before.

A typical electronic car stereo in a modern car. Image courtesy of https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ct-200h-model-2011-present/656439-loving-the-car-stereo.html

What used to only have its place in the car's stereo system, now features in other parts like seats, the steering, the transmission, the air bag, the doors, even the glass.


Electronic devices first started to appear in the insides of cars, but eventually started to spread outward to underneath the hood, and who knows where else tomorrow. Every component in the future automobile could potentially be completely electronic. 

Therefore if you are young engineering and science student in Africa today, I would strongly encourage you to seriously look into this area as a major goal before, during, and after you even get into the university or before you choose your major.

It is good to consider the number of cars currently in use around the world, as mentioned above. Then consider that this number is expected to increase tremendously as populations continue to grow in third world countries, and the size of their economies grow likewise. But also because more people around the world get educated, gain global access and exposure through the world wide web, and become more sophisticated in their needs as standards of living continue upwards.

Electric Cars

Therefore as cars and buses and trucks have evolved over the years, a lot of the working parts within them have steadily evolved into electronic parts.
But what is more profound is the fact that the actual engines of the cars themselves are now becoming completely electric.

Tesla Model S. Full Electric Vehicle. Seen here plugged into its charging kit that easily works with any AC outlet in your home, office or anywhere. Photo courtesy of Tesla.com 

Many of these electric powered cars today still use a combination of electric and mechanical drive trains - aptly called Hybrid cars.
Yet, recent popular participants like the Nissan Leaf and Tesla cars have come out as purely electric.
The success of Nissan's Leaf, and the huge success of the Tesla brand is pushing automobile manufacturers to look in that direction for the future.

One of the trends that is driving this paradigm shift is the hybrid car phenomenon I already mentioned above.

There are indeed already many hybrid cars in Europe and America that use a combination of an internal combustion engine as well as electric power from a large battery to propel the car and economize fuel. These hybrids have steadily evolved, and modern hybrids are getting better and better at minimizing the need for fuel.

But this evolution is progressive.

From HEV to PHEV to EV

Once upon a time, HEVs or Hybrid Electric Vehicles simply used a large battery that is charged by the power produced by the ICE (internal combustion Engine) engine, and then gives back that power to the car to help reduce the car’s reliance on fuel, and save lots of money on fuel costs.

The next phase saw Plug-In Electric Vehicles or PHEVs, which used larger batteries, and charged these batteries BOTH with power from the ICE engine, and also through charging cables that bring in power from any electric source including the AC outlet of your home.

PHEVs are usually more energy efficient than HEVs. Depending on how far the car is being driven, most PHEVs will go many miles without needing to take power from their ICE engines or burn any fuel.
As a matter of fact, the logic behind a PHEV is that the fuel-based engine should only serve as a backup.

Chevrolet's Volt. A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (or PHEV). Image curtesy of http://www.hybridcars.com/2017-chevy-volt-will-offer-adaptive-cruise-control/ 

These (PHEVs) in my opinion, are the critical bridge to the future. It is why many are convinced that it is only a matter of time that fuel consuming cars will become completely impractical and unappealing to the consumer.

You can watch an ongoing experiment of this PHEV -> EV shift in the following example:

General Motors of America, who had first built the successful Chevrolet Volt (a PHEV), are going a step further with a new all-electric car they call the Bolt (a full-EV car).
The success and popularity of the Volt (which was designed by a Nigerian Jelani Aliyu) is expected to boost the transition of Hybrid electric vehicles (or HEV) into Plug-In Electric Hybrid Vehicles (or PHEV).

So the progression looks like this:
ICE -> HEV -> PHEV -> EV
As you move from left to right, there is a decreasing reliance on fuel, and a greater reliance on plugging into electricity.
But when you think about the ease and comfort of charging your phones and laptops at home or at work, then it begins to become clearer that this progression is almost certainly going to happen.
The question is, "how soon"?

Perhaps the answer is in the fact that there is this new and unprecedented and clearly authentic appeal for electric cars (thanks mostly to Tesla Motors). Plus the fact that battery technology is developing at a fast pace, and batteries are growing in their ability to pack more and more power into smaller spaces, while working on increasing their life-cycles and charging speeds.
Also the fact that self-driving cars are on the horizon (thanks to Tesla, Google, Apple and Uber) and EV technology seems to be the the only suitable match for them.

These scenarios all collaborate to speed up the eventual extinction of gasoline powered cars. So my answer would be, "sooner than you think".

So my question would be; at what point should Africa join this revolution?

Now, for sure!

We need to encourage our kids to acquire skills in electrical engineering, in electronics as a whole, and in car electronics in particular.
There are immediate gains that could come from developing electronic systems and devices within existing ICE cars. But there are even huger rewards that will come from taking part in building the PHEVs and full electric cars (EVs) of the near future.

We need African governments to aggressively incentivize engineering and technology studies to make this happen as quickly as possible. To produce Africans like Jelani Aliyu. a new breed of young Africans that will aspire to not only do auto design, but also electric powertrain engineering and battery charging innovations.

I honestly believe that every time a major technological revolution is about to occur, it potentially gives those who were previously disadvantaged a chance to close the gap a little.
The transition to the new paradigm is expected to prove quite painful for incumbent big car manufacturers like Toyota, Mercedes, Ford, etc.
Therefore we, Africa, who had not been serious participants in then old automotive shindigs, should gleefully march into the new one.
Right?

Please, let us think hard about this!

Conclusion

Finally, if you are a frequent reader of my future-oriented articles here on Digital Africa, you may have noticed that I am a huge fan of Tesla Motors.
Here is an article from the CEO of Tesla that I think may inspire you the way it has inspired an old social scientist like me to become an enthusiastic advocate of science and technology. (>>> see that short article here <<<)
I wrote an article on LinkedIn about Elon Musk that reveals some depth of the vertically integrated empire he is building. (>>> See that one here <<<)

Also if you are a frequent reader of many of my future oriented articles here on Digital Africa, you would quickly understand that I am trying to get you to prepare yourself or your children and grand children for such a time.
Our student engineers should understand the kind of opportunity that could easily await them in this brave new world of electronic devices and electronic transportation systems, if only they make the right choices today.
But also, if we and our leaders make the right choices for them!

Friends, the internet hasn't just changed the world. It is changing it even more still.
And not so many are paying attention to these current changes. There is much to learn, but there is indeed huge incentive for us to learn it. Please let us push our leaders in this direction because whatever wealth we may have from natural resources (like oil) is only a shadow of the past.

Think about it.