In a country where we avoid asking tough questions, this is one that must be asked, and to my mind, it leads to another, very important question - "What is #Nigeria's national interest?" https://twitter.com/MeduaIV/status/1252945148947947522

You see, this is where the issue lies. I think it is time for us to stop being afraid and speak the truth.

Let me start with a story which I'm bringing back from here https://bit.ly/34UqzO4  because it applies...

Some years before American independence, there was a boundary dispute between #Maryland, #Pennsylvania & #Delaware over who owned Philadelphia.

After some years, the dispute was resolved, and a line drawn 15 miles south of Philadelphia, putting that city in Pennsylvania.

This boundary was to become important a few years later as Pennsylvania abolished slavery in 1780. Maryland did not abolish slavery until 1864.

Effectively, the Mason-Dixon line had become the boundary between the North, and the South.

Until 1968, the Democrats were almost always guaranteed a victory in elections south of Mason-Dixon, and the Republicans held the north.

Following the Civil Rights Act of 1964 & the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the racists switched, and effectively took over the Republican party.

Till today in American elections, there are some states already known to be “Red” states.

Most of these are south of Mason-Dixon.

The states which are assumed to be “Blue” states, are mostly north of Mason-Dixon.

Is this a bad thing?

Not at all.

In England as another example, until the last elections, you were almost always certain to get the South voting for the Tories, and the North voting for Labour.

#Nigeria, in terms of policy direction, is like a yoyo.

Look at the govts since we returned to civilian rule...

OBJ - small government, capitalist mindset
UMY - big government, socialist mindset
GEJ - small government, capitalist mindset
GMB - big government, socialist mindset.

Now look at the part of the country they are all from.

The South tends to be geared towards the private sector, the North tends to be geared towards the government.

Considering the kind of winner takes all people we are, concentrating all power in the centre is dangerous.

What these policy shifts tell me is that as long as we are doing this zoning thing with a strong centre, the centrifugal forces will be stronger than the centripetal forces, and #Nigeria will not have the ability to go anywhere muchless lead anyone on the continent.

Our best bet is to have a weaker centre and let the regions essentually be able to pursue their own paths, while the centre leads on the big ticket stuff like mutual defence and foreign policy.