Dr. Max Amuchie’s proposed sovereignty index gives equal influence to economic extraction, territorial control and public behavior, creating a three-part measure of how state authority is exercised in practice.
Amuchie set out the Decoupling Sovereignty Index (DSI) in an Oct. 25 column for BusinessDay. The proposal groups 19 measures into Money, Land and Mind: six in the first category, seven in the second and six in the third. Each group would shape the final score equally and receive a rating from zero to 10.
A June 7 launch account published by Sundiata Post described Mind as receiving the largest weighting. The October column gives all three categories equal influence and does not explain the difference.
In Money, M1 would document unofficial charges on commercial activity through field counts and traders’ accounts. M6 concerns levies on crops at the point of production, while the separate Land measure L6 covers ongoing payments tied to farmland use.
Land indicator L2 would pair checkpoint counts along transit corridors with reports from transporters. Differences in transport costs would provide a second signal, according to the column. For Mind, MD2, the Compliance Orientation Score, uses five signs: respect for property boundaries, movement and commerce rules; how disputes are initiated; and orientation toward civic duties.
When complete data collection is impractical, Amuchie names M1, L2, MD2 and MD5 as inputs for an initial reading. A formal DSI score would require the full set. He says a forthcoming methodology guide will explain rating criteria, thresholds, evidence handling and how the parts are combined. The Oct. 25 column presents no completed scores.
Amuchie says a later installment will consider how results from the three categories relate and what that could mean for the order of efforts to restore sovereignty. The Oct. 25 column gives no publication date for the next installment.
