Were I in Tinubu’s shoes, Niger Republic’s coup would provide me with the opportunity to launch a programme known as the Unification of the Niger Area

Ayo Akinfe

[1] I am a historian and know that the industrialised world would not be where it is today without all the mergers and amalgamations over the centuries. We had the reunification of Germany and Italy, England and Scotland signed a Union Treaty creating Great Britain and then of course we had the 1776 US Declaration of Independence and the subsequent growth of 13 states into 50 with a series of amalgamations

[2] Take it or leave it but the large dominate the small and the strong dominate the weak. Africa remains the world’s punching bag today because most of her nation states are too small, weak and economically unviable

[3] Niger Republic only has 25m people yet it has a landmass of over 1m square kilometres. It is sitting on some of the world’s richest uranium resources and in addition, 80% of the country is in the Sahara Desert, making it potentially the world’s largest solar farm

[4] There is no way that the rest of the world will ever leave Niger Republic be. It will forever be exploited by those with imperialist ambitions. France and the US have made it clear they see the country as a piece of real estate they want. It is time for Nigeria to wake up from her slumber. President Bola Tinubu should open amalgamation talks with the new regime immediately

[5] Were I in President Tinubu’s shoes, I would only recognise this new military junta in Niamey if they agree to an amalgamation plan. We would then set up a joint committee with a mandate to deliver a unified and democratic country within five years

[6] Under this plan, within a year, the Nigerien generals who seized power will be retired and elected officials will replace them in the run-up to the grand unification. We will use the template adopted when East and West Germany merged in the early 1990s

[7] I see this unification of the Niger Area as a prelude to creating the Socialist Republic of Songhai. A West African giant made up of modern Nigeria, Niger Republic, Benin Republic and Cameroon. Populated by 1bn people, Songhai will have a gross domestic product (GDP) of $70trn and an annual budget of about $10trn

[8] 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

[9] Songhai must account for at least one fifth of global trade and one third of all agricultural output. It 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

[10] 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. Also, Songhai must account for at least one quarter of all tourist holidays worldwide