Guinea’s recent coup just reveals how weak Nigeria’s foreign policy is

Ayo Akinfe 

[1] Mali is currently being ruled by a military junta 

[2] Chad is currently being ruled by a military junta 

[3] Guinea has now followed suit with the army in power

[4] Unless we want Western nations coming into our backyard to tell us how to live, Nigeria needs to get her act together fast 

[5] I sometimes wonder if Nigeria has any foreign policy at all because if she did, it would include immediate regional intervention in any African country where there is a military coup 

[6] Do you also know that 16 of Africa’s 55 countries are landlocked? For me, it is a crime against humanity for a nation to be landlocked and Nigeria’s foreign policy should include eliminating this scourge across Africa 

[7] Only a dishonest person will argue that it is acceptable for 16 of the world’s 44 landlocked countries to be in Africa. Maybe we should start by getting Ethiopia and Djibouti to negotiate a merger. Djibouti is not sustainable as a nation state and at the moment, it serves as Ethiopia’s Apapa anyway 

[8] In West Africa, I see Nigeria merging with Benin Republic, Niger Republic and Cameroon to form the Federal Republic of Songhai. Just imagine what a giant would achieve. I covet Niger Republic’s Sahara Desert landmass, which I want to turn into the world’s largest solar park. Their uranium deposits would also come in handy 

[9] For now, we need to go back to the drawing board and rethink our foreign policy objectives. Before we send Oga Jonah to Guinea, can we please ask him to study the Monroe Doctrine in detail 

[10] One of the reasons why I hate the secession argument with every muscle in my body is because it is myopic. Those who advocate the balkanisation of Nigeria fail to realise that small nations get dictated to. In Guinea, the new military regime will do what Nigeria tells it to do. I would hate to live in such a country where I am at the mercy of my large neighbour