Just as Nato has a military pact to protect each other, it is time Mint nations signed a treaty compelling them to come to the assistance of each other economically whenever one is in trouble

Ayo Akinfe

[1] In 2014, economist Jim O'Neill, coined the phrase Mint nations. Basically, what he meant was that by 2050, Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey (Mint) would be the dominant global economic powers

[2] He predictions were supported by all economists and it was easy to see why. They have sizeable populations, are key regional hubs, are full of creative youngsters and have a youthful workforce

[3] All four nations have high levels of corruption but former Central Bank of Nigeria governor Lamido Sanusi promptly pointed out that corruption rarely prevents economic development. He made it clear that the growth of the economy, accompanied by improvements in education, will lead to better governance and greater transparency

[4] Of all four countries, Nigeria is the only one whose economy is dependent on one primary commodity. We need to address this urgently if we want to match the others

[5] Nigeria only has a GDP of $400bn compared with Indonesia’s $1trn, Mexico’s $1.2trn and Turkey’s $631bn. We simply need to catch up

[6] Jakarta, Istanbul and Mexico City all have underground metros but Lagos does not. This should shame and embarrass every Nigerian

[7] I think President Buhari should appoint a Mint minister to ensure that we never lag behind these other three countries in terms of GDP, kilometres of tarred road, number of hospital beds, literacy rates, generated power, kilometres of rail network, number of universities, class sizes, etc

[8] If we at least keep in touch with these economies, we cannot go wrong. This is simply because the industrialised world has little room for expansion

[9] Germany, Japan, the US, the UK, France, etc can never get more than 2% GDP growth a year. In contrast China, Brazil and India will always get about 5%. We Mint nations can easily get 20% annual growth

[10] If President Buhari uses his second term to aspire for Indonesia’s GDP figure of $1trn, he will have done well. Just imagine the money that will generate for infrastructural development