Were I in Bola Tinubu’s shoes, my ultimate foreign policy objective would be to create a United Socialist State of West Africa that could rival China, India, the US and the EU on the world stage

Ayo Akinfe

[1] When you only account for just 4% of world trade and only 1% of global manufacturing, despite accounting for 18% of the population, you have a serious crisis on your hands. Africa as a continent needs to do something drastic to address this imbalance

[2] No matter how much we debate the matter, Nigeria simply has to step up to the plate. As the world’s largest black nation, it is up to us to come up with remedies. I would have loved it if Bola Tinubu had used his Independence Day speech to unveil a series of foreign policy initiatives

[3] Maybe to kicks things off he could have launched a West African Customs Service that will check goods coming into West Africa’s main ports like Dakar, Abidjan, Tema, Lome, Cotonou and Apapa. Tag all containers that arrive at our ports so we know which ones are destined for the Nigerian market

[4] As things stand, over 70% of the goods that come into West Africa are ultimately destined for Nigeria. As the biggest worry is Cotonou, I think Nigeria and Benin Republic should reach a deal giving the Nigerian Customs Service full control of the port. Without Nigeria, that port has no function and the Benin economy will eventually collapse

[5] Over the long term, we simply need to merge our nation states. Too many of the countries across West Africa are too small and weak to survive in the global cut-throat economy. Africa currently has 55 nation states when she does not need more than say a dozen

[6] The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) then needs to reach an immediate agreement with the likes of China, India, Pakistan and Thailand that have made West Africa their dumping ground. Maybe we should insist that all their shipments go to one port, so we can monitor them from there

[7] Personally, I would dredge say Calabar and make it the dedicated Asian port. All Asian goods coming into the West African region should go there and from Calabar be distributed to their destined markets

[8] Ecowas only has a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of $675bn compared with India’s $2.5trn. We should demand trade concessions until we grow the Ecowas economy to at least $1trn. For instance, we should ask for the introduction of Worke Trade Organisation (WTO) trade laws that compel any country exporting goods in excess of $1m into any region to open a manufacturing facility there

[9] Ecowas should also demand a one-off Industrial Investment Plan that involves the investment of $10bn in infrastructure across West Africa to create jobs and increase output

[10] All automobile manufacturers should be banned from shipping finished cars into the Ecowas market. If they want to sell their cars there, then they should open local assembly plants. If they want our money, they must be prepared to get their hands dirty