One big problem I have with secessionists is that they fail to realise that Nigeria's greatest potential lies in her size. Balkanisation is tantamount to cutting off your nose to spite your face

Ayo Akinfe

[1] Nigeria's biggest asset is her size. Why do you think Peugeot Automobile came to open a car assembly plant in Kaduna and not any African Francophone country? Our current woes are mainly down to our unitary structure. If we sort that out and make Nigeria a more productive country, 90% of these socio-economic woes we face will vamoose

[2] What I have in mind is a nation of 42 states with each of them generating at least $10bn in wealth annually and Nigeria having a GDP of about $5trn with an annual budget of say $500bn. If we had that, there would be no Fulani herdsmen attacking communities, no almajiris, no religious extremism and none of this mindless corruption

[3] By now, Nigeria should account for about 50% of global animal feed production with cassava and yam serving as the two main ingredients

[4 Do you know that Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon between them account for 80% of global cocoa production? Whether we like it or not, Nigeria has to emerge as the world’s largest chocolate producer

[5] We are the world's largest black nation, so it is inevitable that Nigeria must become have a health service that serves as the world’s undisputed leader of tropical medicine

[6] I want to see all of Nigeria's 774 local government areas linked up by a double gauge railway network. I then want to see at least 12 high speed railway lines linking the major commercial centres

[7] By 2050, it is estimated we will be the third most populous nation on earth. For me, this behoves on us to account for at least 10% of global manufacturing. This has got to include automobiles, aircraft, railway carriages, TV sets, fridge-freezers, washing machines, laptop computers, mobile phones, etc

[8] I envisage a very green nation in which less than 10% of the public used cars. Trains, buses and bicycles were the most common form of transport. The country was littered with green open spaces. It is one reason why I want us to merge with Cameroon, Benin Republic and Niger Republic. Do you know that about 70% of Niger Republic is Sahara Desert? I would turn it into the world's largest solar far, generating about 20% of the planet's electricity

[9] Nigeria should be a global maritime power. As a nation that has an 853km Atlantic coastline, we should have at least six shipbuilding

[10] I envisage a global giant of a nation with a 95% literacy rate with each one of its 774 local government areas having at least one university, polytechnic or technical college. I have in mind a nation at ease with itself where ethnic group, gender, religion, sexual orientation or place of birth play no role in how you are treated.

All this can be done and will be done! Secession is tantamount to cutting off your nose to spite your face!