A dream of an economic superpower south of the Sahara that will push human ingenuity to its very limits

By Ayo Akinfe

(1) What a hectic 24 hours it has been for Nigeria. At least three different international developments have highlighted the inbuilt problems with our economy. They have brought to the fore the fact that we face long term socio-economic problems that need visionary solutions

(2) First of all, the FBI published a list of 77 Nigerians arrested for fraud in the US. Typical vain men, these guys are the type you see wearing designer clothes, spraying money at parties as if it is confetti and who always have dozens of women on their case. A nation that continues to produce intellectually lightweight humans whose sole purpose in life is flashy dressing, Gucci and Lou Vuitton labels, spraying at parties, big cars, luxury holidays and owambes is forever going to be beggarly and pauperised

(3) Then news came from Japan that detainees in several immigration detention camps have gone on strike after a Nigerian died there. He died from starvation after going on hunger strike to protest his continued and inexplicable detention

(4) Like several other countries, Japan’s immigration detention centres are filled with Nigerians, Indians, Pakistanis, Chinese, Brazilians, Mexicans, Indonesians, etc. Migrants from these large developing nations are a headache the international community needs to address. Deporting them is not always an option as in many cases, they have nowhere in particular to go

(5) Next, we got news from Niger State that a member of the House of Representatives was beaten into a coma by his constituents for not delivering. History has shown us that in Nigeria, once a precedent has been set, it tends to spread quickly. Within the next year, I expect to see the Ekweremadu treatment becoming a daily feature of our national life

(6) Back to the international scene, the only reason why you have so many Nigerian migrants abroad is because of the lack of opportunities back home. Equip people with skills and provide them with jobs in Nigeria and believe you me, the number emigrating will reduce drastically

(7) Do not get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with emigrating. There are millions of Americans, Britons, Germans, Frenchmen, etc all over the world but alas, they do not go and do menial jobs, are not in detention centres and do not need to engage in 419 fraud to make ends meet. They go abroad as highly skilled expatriates and are well respected

(8) You know if we sort Nigeria out and get say 20% annual economic growth per annum over the next 10 years, to sustain it, we will need more land. Bear in mind that by 2050 we are set to become the world’s third most populous nation after India and China. A rapidly growing economy matched with a ballooning population simply means that Nigeria’s landmass of 923,768 km2 will be inadequate, so we need to start formulating contingency plans now

(9) Neighbouring Republic of Benin has 112,622 km2, Cameroon has 475,442 km2 and Niger Republic has a whopping 1,267,000 km2. Whether we like it or not, we need this land to build this economic super power I have in mind. By the time we expand agriculture into Cameroon’s untouched jungles and irrigate Niger Republic’s desert, where over 80% of the land area lies in the Sahara, we are on to a winner

(10) I dream of a nation that will build farming plantations on Mars, that will construct underwater inter-continental railway lines beneath the ocean, that will manufacture planes that travel at the speed of light, that will build artificial islands in the middle of oceans to aid shipping, that will manufacture artificial moons so we no longer need street lights and that will weaponise her soldiers, so we no longer need military hardware to fight wars. Just send in a dozen weaponised humans. To achieve all this, we need landmass, lateral thinking and we need to eschew vanity as it breeds intellectual laziness!