In 1867 the US bought Alaska from Russia. I hope Tinubu realised he will have to negotiate a similar deal with Nigeria’s neighbours as by 2050 we will be the third most populous nation on earth 

Ayo Akinfe 

[1] On March 30, 1867, it was agreed that the US would pay Russia $7.2m for the territory of Alaska. A treaty sealing the deal was concluded in March 30, ratified by the US on May 28, 1867, exchanged on June 20 and proclaimed by the US on June 20

[2] For less that 2 cents an acre, the US acquired nearly 600,000 square miles. Opponents of the Alaska Purchase persisted in calling it Seward’s Folly or Seward’s Icebox until 1896, when the great Klondike Gold Strike convinced even the harshest critics that Alaska was a valuable addition to US territory

[3] Now, Nigeria needs to show this kind of foresight as she is projected to become the third most populous country in the world by the year 2050 after India and China

[4] By 2050, Nigeria’s population is projected to double in size to over 400m. A high population density inevitably leads to controllable yet exasperating factors like pollution and congestion

[5] Today, Nigeria has a landmass of just 923,768 sq, which is wholly inadequate for our anticipated population growth 

[6] Brazil has a population similar to ours but has a landmass of 8.5m sq. We need a territory this size if we are looking to grow economically 

[7] If we fail to start planning for this eventuality now, Frederick Lugard would have been right when he said: “Perhaps the two traits which have impressed me as those most characteristic of the African native are his lack of apprehension and his ability to visualise
the future.”

[8] As a matter of immediate urgency, Nigeria needs to open negotiations about territory merger with her neighbours Niger Republic, Cameroon and Benin Republic 

[9] If you ask me, acquiring the territory of Niger Republic is simply a must. It has a massive 1.26sq km and only has a population of 25m. About 80% of the country lies in the Sahara Desert, making it potentially the world’s largest solar farm 

[10] In 1975, Murtala Mohammed established a committee to get us a new federal capital. They delivered big time by coming up with Abuja. Let us see if Tinubu can show similar foresight on the issue of territorial expansion