Nigeria Could Emerge as a Leading Super Power in Africa By 2040

The Executive Director of the South Africa-based Institute of Security Studies (ISS), Dr. Jakkie Cilliers, yesterday declared that Nigeria has the capacity to become a lone super power in Africa.

He however said this can only be possible if the country take necessary steps that will see far reaching changes in governance issues and social problems confronting it.

In a keynote address at a seminar issues titled “Power and Influence in Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Ethopia, Nigeria and South Africa” organised by the Gusau Institute for Good Governance and Security, in Kaduna yesterday, Cilliers, a security and development expert explored economic and political.

He also discussed the changing nature of power in Africa, particularly, the capabilities of Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria and South Africa to a time horizon of 2040.

He argued in favour of a conceptualisation of power that goes beyond material capabilities.

According to him, “Africa will remain at the margins of power and influence globally, even by 2040, despite the sustained high levels of growth and an ongoing broad transformation on the continent over the period.

“With the possible exception of Nigeria, African countries will remain minor powers, with associated implications for their influence over issues of global governance.”

He said further that changes in the global distribution of power will affect Africa’s capacity for power projection as well as informal and formal alliance building continentally and globally.

“As for the big five, they will have a significant impact on whether the ‘Africa rising’ story materialises or not regardless of how they project power because of their demographic, economic and military size.

“This is despite these countries’ diversity in terms of their development, governance and power trajectories. Each country is going through at least one significant transition in the political, economic, and/ or social realm” he stated

He maintained that “if Nigeria were able to take necessary steps that could see far reaching changes to governance issues and social challenges that currently beset the country, it could be Africa’s lone super power.”

Also speaking, chairman of the occasion, Gen. Alani Akinrinade (rtd), while commending the former Minister of Defence, Gen. Aliyu Gusau (rtd) for establishing the institute, decried the Boko Haram insurgency which has posed a serious threat to the country.

“Let me say one more word about Boko Haram. I have had a lot of discussions with people on the issue. But I am so lost on the causes of Boko Haram,” he said.

Akinrinade who noted that the military warfare is not the solution to the Boko Haram insurgency, charged the institute to come up with the causes and solution to the problem.

“I want to charge the institute to take the matter seriously. I am not aware of any military doctrine that has been put down that has addressed effectively, guerrilla warfare.

“This kind of resurrection we are having on our hands has never been addressed by any military doctrine successfully.

“I am aware that a military solution is not going to end to Boko Haram. I have no doubt that with the institute, we will have the stark reality of Africa, particularly Nigeria” he said.

He added that he was optimistic that “the institute is going to become one big place where “intellectuals, academics, politicians and captains of industries will find a home to speak frankly among themselves to look at issues in a more direct, more realistic perspective and we are likely to get voices coming from this hall to be very useful for our country and for Africa.”