10 things Nigeria should do to get Guinea out of its current predicament to make the point that West Africa is not Afghanistan

Ayo Akinfe

[1] Get someone like Oga Jona or Baba OBJ to mobilise other West African nations to come up with a sub-regional blueprint that will involve the transfer of power over a one-year period

[2] Make it clear to the Guinean junta that their military administration will not be recognised. What they must do is come up with a 12-man interim cabinet of which no more than half will be soldiers. This administration will be headed by a civilian

[3] This hybrid junta must organise elections within one year and hand over to a democratically elected government. Guinea is not Afghanistan

[4] Nigeria will enter into a crude oil supply deal with Guinea once its signs up to its transition plan

[5] Given Sekou Toure's leading role in African independence, Nigeria offers to help the country return to being a stable democracy. This will involve the Nigerian Defence Academy training Guinean military officials

[6] Immediate work will commence on a Conakry-Lagos railway line under an ambitious plan to open up the West African economy

[7] A Nigeria-Guinea Tourist Board will be established. It main aim will be to offer international tourists packages that allow them to visit both countries during one trip

[8] Both countries will sign a contract with freight operators that will allow goods destined for anywhere in West Africa to be delivered to either Conakry or Lagos for inward transit

[9] Nigeria and Guinea will spearhead the amalgamation of our sub-region with the aim to creating the Republic of West Africa. This will be an economic giant with a population of 1bn people, an economy of $10trn, standing army of 10m men and an annual budget of at least $1trn

[10] As an act of faith, both nations will as of today adopt Nkosi si Kelele i'Africa as their national anthems