Nigeria is not just any country, she is the largest black nation on earth and it should embarrass all of us that we are not sitting at the high table of humanity in terms of production and inventions

Ayo Akinfe

[1] China - Mankind’s most populous nation and the currently jet setter in terms of innovative and technological development. Before the end of the 21st century, I can see them taking humanity to unimaginable heights

[2] India - Poised to take over from China as the world's most populous nation and although a late comer in the developmental race, is fast making huge strides. Already, all the leading US companies are talking about relocating there. In terms of IT, India is making some unprecedented strides. India also has a double digit GDP growth annually policy

[3] America - Has led humanity throughout most of the 20th century. They took industrialisation to unprecedented heights with the automation of the factory. They also took the manufacture of military hardware beyond known boundaries

[4] Germany - No other country in history has been as innovative as the Germans when it comes to social cohesion. They have somehow managed to merge unprecedented industrial growth with social welfare. Germany took industrialisation to new heights in the 1930s and today remains one of man's most innovative manufacturers

[5] Britain - This is one nation that taught mankind how to master the oceans. The home of the industrial revolution, once Britain mastered the technology of the steam engine, they built machines that took mankind from an agrarian animal into an industrial one. Their innovations with shipping, the compass, radar, etc, meant that continents were no longer strangers to each other

[6] France - The home of liberty, equality and fraternity, France was the first nation on earth to abolish its monarch and introduce what we now know as liberal democracy. With the Paris Commune, they also established the first ever workers republic

[7] Russia - They were the first nation to show how you could use the power of the state to fast-track industrial development. Prior to the Bolshevik revolution, it was not thought possible that a country could achieve 28% GDP growth but alas, Russia did it for 10 years back-to-back

[8] Mexico - Unknown to many people, Mexico is actually, where the previous world ended. In Mexico's Chicxulub crater underneath the Yucatán Peninsula, is where the meteorite that landed on earth and wiped out the dinosaurs landed. The darkness wiped out the whole of life and we started another existence when microscopic organisms crawled out of the sea and a new world began. Gradually making a comeback, Mexico is another nation to look out for in the 22nd century

[9] Brazil - It cannot be by sheer coincidence that a nation has the world's largest tropical rain forest. Brazil's Amazon is arguably the greatest natural feat on the planet Across Brazil, there are so many unique natural features that you have to regard the country as weird. Being the fifth most populous nation in earth, Brazil is a bellweather for developing nations. Another country that needs to be watched in the 22nd century

[10] Egypt - Known as the birthplace of modern humanity, it was in Egypt that homo sapien man first settled. It appears that after crawling out of the sea, we developed into primates but it was in the Nile Valley that we created some form of civilisation and then built the Egyptian Empire. Can anything ever compare with the pyramids of Egypt? For man to have built them in the pre-industrial era is no mean feat

[11] Indonesia - The world's largest island, Indonesia is the fourth most populous nation on earth behind China, India and the USA. For its size and location, this is very unique, which leads one to believe that there is something historic about Indonesia. Fossils and the remains of tools show that the Indonesian archipelago was inhabited by homo erectus, known as Java Man, between 1.5m and 33,000 BC. I often ask why despite being the country with the world's largest number of Muslims, Indonesia does not suffer from the effects of Islamic fundamentalism. Another 22nd century nation to look out for

[12] South Africa - Popularly referred to as the rainbow nation, South Africa was the conscience of humanity for decades because of its apartheid regime. However, we have to ask ourselves what prompted this all and it is due to the unbelievable amounts of resources in this country. South Africa is unique in too many ways as it is where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meets and more importantly, it was also where man hid during the Ice Age. Cold, frost and ice wiped out many species like the mammoth but alas, man survived this drop in temperature by hiding in South Africa caves. Another nation that still has vast potential

[13] Japan - Another island nation that came from nowhere to become one of the giants of the 20th century. After being in total isolation from the rest of the world for about 220 years when they were nothing but another rural backwater carved up by Europeans, Japan came from out of the blue in 1904 to defeat Russia in the Russo-Japanese War. Within 50 years they were building steam ships which they had stood by and marvelled at. Japan has this knack of stealing technology and re-inventing it. Today, the world's largest company Toyota is Japanese. Their problem now is their ageing population

[14] Australia - Isolated from the rest of humanity, Australia has so many unique features that makes you wonder what makes her tick. She has managed to keep up with the industrialised world and enjoys a living standard far higher than that of most of her neighbours. Australia probably has more solid minerals under its soil than any other nation on earth and has managed to make itself a liveable place despite about half of the country being inhabitable. When a nation has unique animals like kangaroos, you have to ask what it is about them

[15] Italy - The home of the Renaissance and period of enlightenment. It was Italy and primarily Florence that took humanity out the Ancient World and into the modern era. Italy also gave us the Roman Empire, which we know as Europe today. Many of the buildings built during the Renaissance are still standing today. During World War Two, Benito Mussolini tried to recreate this old Roman glory but alas, the Italians were not interested

[16] Spain - Another nation that midwifed the modern era. In the early modern period, Spain became the world's first global empire and the most powerful country on the planet, leaving a large cultural and linguistic legacy that includes about 570m Hispanophones, making Spanish the world's second-most spoken native language, after Mandarin Chinese. During the Golden Age there were also many advancements in the arts, with world-famous painters such as Diego Velázquez. Some of the early Iberian architecture which still stands today, set the tone for modern buildings

[17] Turkey - Known historically as the Ottoman Empire, Turkey has always been the border between Europe and Asia. Its historical city of Istanbul is located in both continents. During the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman Empire encompassed much of Southeast Europe, West Asia and North Africa and became a world power

[18] Greece - Greece is considered the cradle of Western civilisation, being the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, literature, historiography, political science, major scientific and mathematical principles, Western drama and notably the Olympic Games. Philip of Macedon united most of the Greek mainland in the fourth century BC, with his son Alexander the Great rapidly conquering much of the ancient world, from the eastern Mediterranean to India

[19] Iran - Home to some of the world’s oldest civilisations, Iran was once known as Persia, which was one of the great historic empires. Today, Iran has 81m people and is a dominant player in the Middle East. Iran was first unified by the Medes in the seventh century and reached its territorial height in the sixth century under Cyrus the Great, whose Achaemenid Empire stretched from Eastern Europe to the Indus Valley. Iran's major contributions to art, philosophy, and science spread throughout the Muslim world and beyond during the Islamic Golden Age. They gave the world mathematics for instance

[20] Nigeria - We are the world's most populous black nation. We are Africa's giant are located in the middle of earth and Nigeria is the one nation that has enabled the negro to believe that he is actually human and not an inferior being. Our cockiness has helped immensely in this regard. Just starting to wake up from her slumber, Nigeria, poised to become the fourth most populous nation on earth by 2050 is going to be the nation of the 22nd century. However, we have to start now by seeking to catch up with the innovators. How many patents do we have in Nigeria for instance?