A Senator wrote concluding with the word “brilliant”. Yes,  this post  is making impacts and it seems many Nigerians agree with the core thesis. And not just Nigerians, many Africans agree that we have a huge problem on tribal identity which affects allegiance to the nations. If Iceland with a population of less than 400k people could have autonomy, and still participate in the market system at the continental level due to how Europe has structured its political economy, African countries languishing on ethnicism have a model to examine.

Yes, it is really possible that a centralized government we run in Nigeria may not be optimal. And the state-level model is so microcosmic that most states have no capacity to do impactful things. But at a regional level, if banded together, more could be accomplished. Of course, no matter how regional you go, the demon of corruption must still be fixed!

In 2021, I wrote: “The economic structure of North Central Nigeria is totally different from South South Nigeria – and most times, there is no variance on our policy playbooks. A balanced, nuanced policy framework which is regionally incubated and delivered by the states would be more pragmatic in the nation. Today, that economic heterogeneity is not well captured within our policy instruments. That explains why we have many challenges.

“Historically, Nigeria developed faster under a regional-based model. There is a reason for that: policies were more laser-focused on the needs of the regions, and consequently were more impactful.”

Good People, in business, if you have the wrong business model, no matter how hard working you may be, you will FAIL. I will not extend that hypothesis to political economy, but I do think that a political economic restructuring may be catalytic in Nigeria and broad Africa.

(My feed is a classroom; we share ideas here. Do not see them as agenda-based. I am a free-wheeling person who gets liberation when I write.)

Comment on Feed

Comment 1: Nice going Prof… Ndubuisi . I think it is important to retrace the building blocks of Iceland’s success in Europe, since you have used it concurrently as a case in point…

In the global collapse of 2008, The US started bailing out its banks on the failure of its sub-prime market. Many European banks had exposure to US toxic assets.
US bullied European Govts. to pressure them in doing the same with their banks.
Because of this, there was a huge global recession. Big wigs across Europe had money in Icelandic banks, and tried to bully Iceland to do the same.
Iceland, a nation as you rightly said, only 400k people, stood up to the European ‘super-core’ (at that time, the UK, France and Germany) and said no!

What followed later, showed that Icelands decision, and refusal to bow to pressure, deemed it to have acted on the right side of posterity.

So if you indeed want such an example in Africa, then look for that rare species of nation which will pursue its own vision when 53 other nations are trying to bully it into the submission representing the opposite direction.

Such nation will be your Iceland of Africa.

My Response: “So if you indeed want such an example in Africa, then look for that rare species of nation which will pursue its own vision when 53 other nations are trying to bully it into the submission representing the opposite direction.” – that is the opportunity we are asking for here. There are many nations which can do that within Nigeria. The homogenous education policy of Nigeria at the basic level makes no sense since Imo State may have a literary rate of 96% when Yobe may be at 15%. And the agric policy fails because Jigawa can be more advanced by 70%points than Abia on mechanization.  Someone will remind me that states can fix these things. Not really because they’re not autonomous at a deeper level. Unlike Iceland, none has the capacity to make its choices because everything is centralized.

Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, has joined growing voices calling on African countries to address the fundamental issues that have fueled an uptick in coups across the continent in recent years.

In a post shared via his X­ (Twitter) social media account on Thursday, Atiku said African leaders should focus on addressing the causative factors of the coups instead of treating the symptoms.

While he condemned the coups, especially the most recent one in Gabon, he called for collective efforts for the sustainability of democracy in Africa.

“The coup in Gabon stands condemned. Democracy and democratic governance have come to stay as a preferred form of governance, and everything should be done to enthrone, nurture, and sustain it,” he said.

“As I suggested in the case of the Niger Republic, the ECOWAS and African Union authorities should open a window of diplomatic engagement that will pave the way for the soldiers to return to the barracks.”

“The latest coup brings the number of military takeovers in Central and West Africa to 8 since 2020. This is worrisome and calls for introspection.

“We may have to focus on dealing with the disease and not the symptoms that birth coups.”

On Wednesday, Gabon became the latest African country to fall to the grip of the military, escalating the spate which has been widely denounced as a threat to democratic leadership in Africa.

Democratic leadership in Africa is characterized by fraudulent elections, poor economic policies, and corruption – which have plunged the continent into abject poverty.

This leadership situation has been identified as the major cause of coups in Africa. Citizens of Gabon and Niger Republic were seen jubilating in the streets following military takeovers in the respective countries.

Mali, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Chad, Guinea, Niger and Gabon are now under military rule.

Efforts by the African Union and regional bloc – the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) to curtail the trend have failed. ECOWAS is yet to activate military action in Niger – even after the seven-day ultimatum that it issued to the junta to restore constitutional order expires.

The bloc’s ineffectiveness has been attributed to the overwhelming support of the coups by the people, who see no difference between military and democracy.

In its response to the coup in Gabon, the U.S. called for the release of President Ali Bongo and his family, who have been in detention since the coup was executed on Wednesday, but also expressed support for the Gabonese people whose will was subverted during the presidential election.

“We urge those responsible to release and ensure the safety of members of the government and their families and to preserve civilian rule.

“In addition, we call on all actors to show restraint and respect for human rights and to address their concerns peacefully through dialogue following the announcement of election results.

“We also note with concern the lack of transparency and reports of irregularities surrounding the election. The United States stands with the people of Gabon,” the US Department of State spokesperson, Matthew Miller, said in a statement.