by Ayo Akinfe
No matter how you cut it, Nigeria is not going to be able to compete effectively on the global stage unless she merges with some of her neighbours to create a regional giant
[1] This here is a picture of Roman Empire at its zenith in 117AD. As you can see, it covered virtually all of Europe apart from Scotland, Scandinavia and Tsarist Russia
[2] It was during this era that Europe prospered, emerging from the ancient world and the Dark Ages with the Period of Enlightenment, the Renaissance and then later modernity. It was only after Europe became relatively prosperous that the empire fragmented into the numerous nation-states we have today
[3] Africa must learn from this because we were enslaved and colonised and are today being exploited because of weakness. There are too many nation-states in Africa to compete on the global stage and Nigeria desperately needs to unveil a foreign policy that will amalgamate most of these nations
[4] For instance, on May 14 1897, Great Britain signed a treaty with Emperor Menelik II of Abyssinia, creating bilateral relationships between Ethiopia and British Somaliland. It guaranteed the rights of the citizens of both territories and opened the door to trade between them. Although not exactly an agreement between equals like say the Anglo-Prussian Pact, this agreement was a far cry from the “protection” treaties signed between Britain and say the Oba of Benin, Sultan of Sokoto, Obong of Calabar or Alaafin of Oyo, which were wholly one-sided
[5] Abyssinia or Ethiopia was one of the few African empires actually respected by Europeans as being inhabited by civilised people. Just like Egypt, Cush and Axum, they were not enslaved as they were regarded as people with a culture, tradition, religion and history. They were certainly not categorised as “natives” like us. In plain language, native meant savage. Today, Ethiopia is making something of a comeback and claiming its place among Africa’s giants
[6] Basically, Africa is centred around Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, DR Congo and Ethiopia. If these big five sort themselves out, the continent will enjoy unprecedented economic growth and global political clout. We have to start asking ourselves how do we compete with the likes of China and India with their populations in excess of 1bn each
[7] One of the biggest tragedies of Africa today is that she is balkanised into over 50 disparate nation states, many of them unviable and forever destined to be weak, poor and uneconomic. Were we back in the 19th century, this big five would just have carved up the continent between them. There is simply no justification for some nation states we see today
[7] When I look at Sudan for instance, my heart bleeds. Khartoum, used to be the last outpost of the Egyptian Empire. In the southwest of the country, the people of Darfur are Bagarra, identical to our own Shuwa Arabs in Borno State, while in South Sudan, the people are East Africans like those of Uganda. Post-1960, Sudan should have been divided between Chad, Egypt and Uganda. One just needs to see how straight the border between Egypt and Sudan is to appreciate the fact that it was drawn with a ruler. Nigeria has to correct these anomalies going forward
[8] We are no longer in the 17th century so Nigeria cannot march her troops across borders but alas, something needs to be done. A situation whereby Africa with its 1.3bn people out of a global total of about 8bn only accounts for 4% of world trade and 1% of world manufacturing output is totally unacceptable. The only antidote to this is a fusion of our nations to create five or six giants that can compete globally
[9] Just to put things into perspective, on May 14 1811, Paraguay gained independence from Spain. Today, Paraguay is nowhere near as developed as Nigeria despite having a 150-year head start. With a tiny population of 7m and a GDP of just $44bn, I question whether the Paraguay is viable. Why the country has not merged with Brazil is totally beyond me
[10] If we want to be honest, it is up to Nigeria to carry on from where Ancient Egypt and Abyssinia left off. To us falls the burden of making the African respected again. That process involves merging many of the continent’s nation states. Is President Tinubu ready for that challenge? The responsibility of being the leader of world’s largest black nation is a huge one!
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