The flags used to be very noticeable in Brussels, at the EU headquarters. But the UK has gone and all the flags were brought down. According to the UK Treasury chief Rishi Sunak, the “health emergency is not yet over and our economic emergency has only just begun…largest fall in output for more than 300 years.” In other words, the UK could experience the largest recession in over 300 years! No other country in continental Europe is going through this severe redesign.
Sure, what concerns me with the United Kingdom. My concern is a lesson for Nigeria. More than anytime in human history, there is strength in coming together. Business is nothing but perception; if you are too small, people do not pay much attention. Unlike in the past, if the UK Prime Minister speaks today, you know his only arsenal is the UK. Previously, he could get the EU to hammer you. Simply, his impact has diminished.
As the UK discusses sanctions on Nigeria over the trampling of ENDSARS protesters, few in Abuja have cared. But if the EU is doing that, Nigeria would send emissaries to abort any sanction. In the past, everyone would have thought: if the UK does it, it could influence the EU to follow through. With the UK out of the EU, that risk was gone. London, you can sanction Nigeria, but that should not be a killer!
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Nigerians, let us not go alone. We can reform our economic architecture but staying as one country should not be debatable. An Arewa Republic, Biafra Republic and Oduduwa Republic would be inconsequential at the global arena. Those republics can stay as one country under new economic frameworks that deepen our competitive and comparative advantages. At the end, Team Nigeria wins and thrives.
Today, I shared a roadmap on how that new Nigeria can evolve: abolish “state of origin” and replace it with “state of residence”.
One Policy That Will Change Nigeria For Good – Abolish “State of Origin” for “State of Residence”
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What makes one stay or leave a union is more about personal interest, and never about what pleases outsiders or their interests.
Nigeria hasn’t given its people sufficient reason to stick with it, rather it’s the people that have been searching for reasons to stick around; that’s not how it ought to work.
Big size matters only if it’s meaningful and can bring progress, but when its presence is about draining your energy and reversing your progress; you have to question its continuous existence.
I will prefer to have two good heads who are always ready and willing to punch above their respective weights, rather than ten heads who neither inspire nor have any prospect of becoming productive. Something to think about…