One of the biggest problems Africa faces is the negativity of its own people. Those misguided individuals who think Nigeria can never work or who call for its balkanisation are among our worst enemies

Ayo Akinfe

[1] World War Two is one is my favourite historical topics. I just cannot stop marvelling at the ingenuity it brought to the fore. It was during this conflict that the world made the switch from an agrarian economy into an industrial one. As a specie, mankind showed that we can do anything we want if we want to

[2] Within four years, we were mass-producing battle tanks, fighter planes, submarines, battle ships, bombers, air craft carriers, trucks, etc on an industrial scale. Economies like those of the US and USSR were radically transformed overnight. Planes that would normally take six months to build were rolling off the production line every 10 minutes

[3] It was also World War Two that effectively ended official sexism and misogyny in the workplace. Men had to go to the front, so women became the backbone of the factory. In the Red Army, they went even further as they had female combatants. I cannot believe that some 80 years on we are still debating rape, child brides and the role of women in society

[4] When it comes to D-Day itself, you have to marvel at how 360,000 men were dropped off in an amphibious landing within 24 hours. Some of the planning that went into this project, including making tanks float on water, producing automated mine sweepers, building bombs that stuck to enemy tanks, laying a crude oil pipeline between Britain and France within 24 hours, building two floating docks, etc, just makes you realise that man can do anything he wants to if he puts his mind to it

[5] When I see the way the Soviets for instance moved all their factories to the east of the country and built a whole new city called Tankograd to manufacture the famous T-34 tank, I ask myself why are countries like Nigeria struggling to maintain common oil refineries or to run ordinary steel plants

[6] When I look at how the British built two floating docks and moved them over to France, I ask why the Nigerian Atlantic coastline is not littered with ports. Are we really human? I must confess, the answer to this question can be uncomfortable at times because our behaviour at times does not reflect that of the rest of the human race

[7] As a continent, Africa is now at a crossroads, so she has to decide on what she wants to do. Thanks to coronavirus, nobody wants primary commodities at the moment and thanks to George Floyd, the rest of the world appears now interested in welcoming the negro into the human race. We have to seize both opportunities with both hands, or the moment will soon be gone

[8] As a first step, the African Union should call an emergency meeting and pass a resolution banning all its members from exporting primary products in the post-coronavirus era. Every item exported from the African continent from 2023 onwards must have some value added to it. For me, 50% value addition should be the bare minimum

[9] Africa’s message to the rest of the world should be crystal clear. If you want our petroleum, cocoa, plantain, tin, bauxite, gold, diamonds, rubber, etc, come and open processing plants on our continent. We are no longer prepared to keep being the footmat of the rest of the world

[10] If all we do is supply the rest of the world with raw materials and then spend the proceeds on owambes, elaborate parties in Dubai, SUVs, private jets, magnificent churches and mosques to boost the egos of millionaire clergymen, foreign health trips, etc, we have no moral right to complain when the rest of humanity regards us as sub-human.