My vision 2050 dream is anchored on the creation of the superpower to be known as the People’s Republic of Songhai

By Ayo Akinfe

(1) I dream that by 2050 we will have created superpower called the People’s Republic of Songhai made up of the current nations of Nigeria, Cameroon, Benin Republic and Niger Republic. With Nigeria set to become the world’s third most populous nation by 2050, we do not really have many other options

(2) Populated by 1bn people, Songhai will have a gross domestic product (GDP) of $70trn and an annual budget of $10trn

(3) Covering a total area of 3m square kilometres, Songhai will be one of the five pillars on which humanity stands. By 2050, the five nations that will dominate global affairs, politics and commerce will be China, India, America, the European Union and Songhai. As has always been the case, the large will dominate the small

(4) Songhai must account for at least one fifth of global trade and one third of all agricultural output

(5) Songhai will have 20m standing troops that provide security across the African continent. We will issue our own Monroe Doctrine which prohibits outsiders from coming to divide our people, especially those using their Abrahamic faiths to foment hatred and wars

(6) Songhai will be a secular state with English as its lingua franca and will adopt a governing style based on subsidiarity whereby local governments run the bulk of its domestic affairs

(7) Songhai must be a global sporting giant. Among our goals will be to top the Olympic Games medals tables regularly and we must win every third Fifa World Cup

(8) One quarter of all automobiles, half of all fridge/freezers, one third of all washing machines and 50% of all laptops and mobile phones must be manufactured in Songhai

(9) Songhai must account for at least one quarter of all tourist holidays worldwide. To achieve this we will radically convert the Sahara Desert which constitutes 80% of Niger Republic into a lush savannah. We will also build the world’s largest wildlife sanctuary in Songhai

(10) I have always believed there are species out there on other planets on other solar systems. Songhai will launch and unprecedented aerospace programme that will enable man to travel at the speed of light. We will build space ships that enable us to travel to these other galaxies and be the ones to make contact with other terrestrials on behalf of the human race

I will never give up on this dream. On my tomb, I will like the epitaph to read: “A man who cared to dream.”