Nigeria, May 25 -- Six days after the October 1, 1960 independence of Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa stood before the United Nations, UN. The historical mission of Nigeria, he said, is to develop Africa, the continent which gave birth to humanity and modern civilization. The date was October 7, 1960 in the hallowed chambers of the UN in New York.

Tafawa-Balewa laid out the four cardinal principles of the emergent African giant. First, its desire to be on friendly terms with all countries. In other words, that Nigeria would not inherit the real or imaginary enemies of its former colonial masters.

Secondly, that it has no expansionist intentions. So, Nigeria, unlike expansionist countries l...