The President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has advocated for a significant rebranding of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, suggesting the country be renamed ‘The United States of Nigeria.’
The proposal was made public through a statement by his Special Adviser on Industrialisation, Prof. Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, following a lecture Adesina delivered where he received the 2024 Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership.
In his lecture titled ‘Making a New Nigeria: Welfarist Policies and People-Centred Development,’ Adesina articulated his vision for a transformed national identity that reflects a more decentralized governance structure.
He argued that renaming the country would fundamentally shift the perception of the relationship between Nigeria’s states and the central government in Abuja.
According to Adesina, this new nomenclature would position the states as pivotal entities within the federation, with the central government playing a supportive rather than a domineering role.
Adesina reiterated that to get out of the economic quagmire, there is a compelling need for the restructuring of Nigeria, saying restructuring should not be driven by political expediency but by economic and financial viability