President Muhammadu Buhari
The much hyped visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to the United States of America last month is fast fading off public discourse. Thanks to the short attention span of public debate in Nigeria. Thanks also to the seeming mismatch of expectations and outcomes from that high-level diplomatic interface. To be fair, the president brought back home promises and a supposed list of former corrupt public officials from whom stolen funds stashed abroad would be retrieved hopefully.
But he also returned home with tales of obstacles which stop the US from equipping Nigerian troops battling boko haram in the frontlines of the North-east. He also came back without any firm commitment on any form of economic cooperation and assistance. A popular consensus of opinion built on the trip is that the Washington moments with President Barack Obama and other high-ranking US officials were either under-utilized or just simply under-performed like highly rated stocks. Bad-mouthed cynics even described the visit as mere photo-ops with the US President.
But now is time to move on and catch up with some other friends. I am not saying Nigeria should ditch the US but the country cannot afford to look aloof in the face of American obduracy and exaggerated tokenism. The Buhari administration will do well to open its doors and extend its hands to friends from elsewhere except of course, its apron strings are irretrievably tied to Uncle Sam. The field of play is open and big. And among a few others, China is out seeking for playmates. Or more suitably, hoping to consolidate on Sino-Nigeria relations built over past years.
In July 2013, former President Goodluck Jonathan returned from a state visit to China with a $1.1billion low-interest facility for infrastructure development in Nigeria. An economic and technical cooperation pact was also signed between both nations. Jonathan’s 4-day visit included hordes of officials like ministers, state governors, bureaucrats and technocrats which enabled the signing of agreements and consummation of outlays and implementation timelines thereby ennobling the trip with productive results which somewhat made up for the much criticised inclusion of some lay-about hangers-on in the delegation. The loan covered funding for airport upgrade in select cities, light-rail projects, road construction, hydro-power plant as well as investment in oil and gas infrastructure. Hitherto, Chinese companies had already secured road construction contracts across Nigeria estimated at $1.7billion.
In 2013 the trade volume between both countries stood at almost $13 billion, according to former Chinese ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Deng Boqing. This figure was said to be double what was recorded four years ago and by last year, it had exceeded $16 billion in 2014. In the first half of this year, the Nigeria-China Business Council (NCBC) put the volume of bilateral trade at about $23.5 billion. This exponential increase in trade volume over a period of time has affirmed China as the third largest trading partner of Nigeria. Here is a progressively productive relationship that satisfies the national interest of both countries at least, to some extent.
However, while China is treating Nigeria to an increasingly profitable economic relationship, the same can hardly be said of the United States. This is hardly a fault of the US to be fair. The advent of shale oil has become a reason for a decline in the volume of trade between both countries as the US has halted the importation of crude oil from Nigeria. And this has necessarily put the latter on the negative side of the balance of trade.
Statistics from the first half of the year for instance indicate that exports from the US were higher than imports from Nigeria. In terms of figures, the U.S exported about $1.billion while it imported stuffs valued at $615 million in the period under review. Compare this to the value of US imports put at over $2.4 billion during the same period in 2014 and then back track to 2011 when the value of imports stood at $30.5 billion while exports from Nigeria was $4.9 billion. While the US can alter its trade priorities with Nigeria and any other country for that matter owing to changing economic realities, there are other viable avenues to sustain a mutually rewarding relationship.
Counter-terrorism and the fight against Islamic extremism is one area which has been on the front burner of both countries’ cooperation radar but where unfortunately, quite little gains have been recorded. No thanks to the Leahy law enacted by the US. There are also other areas of cooperation like strengthening of democratic institutions, the electoral processes and promotion of human rights in which Washington could rev up its assistance to Nigeria in addition to the much that have been done.
Without having to ditch old alliances and traditional friendships, the need to look more to China is a pragmatic step already started by Buhari’s predecessors especially Jonathan and the late president Musa Yar’Adua. The latter had moved to open up the upstream oil and gas industry to Chinese operators before the downturn of his health condition and eventual demise in 2010. Recall that the Yar’Adua administration reportedly opened lines of communication with the China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) in a bid to buy large stakes in some profitable oil blocks in the country valued around $30 billion. This step placed the Chinese company in the competitive league of top American and European oil multinationals like Shell, Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Total which have operated almost unchallenged in the vast and resource rich oil fields of Nigeria.
For Western powers, this was not something to joke about and be taken with kid gloves. And to multiply the goose pimples on their skin, a close ally and Economic Adviser to the late President, Tanimu Yakubu was quoted in a Financial Times report to have endorsed the CNOOC bid, saying the Chinese “are really offering multiples of what existing producers are pledging (for licenses). We love to see this kind of competition.” Some analysts submitted that this was one move that put the West on their toes and jolted them into more desperate relations with Nigeria, especially post-Yar’Adua.
It needs to be stated that like every other state player on the international scene, China’s gestures may not be altogether altruistic. Its interest in Nigeria and indeed Africa at large may not be unconnected to the intrinsic drive of a world super power to expand its sphere of influence in relation to other competing powers. And Africa being basically a backwater continent aptly provides a scrambling ground for both Eastern and Western power blocs to test the strength of their foreign policies. When China pledged $20bn in credit to Africa at a Summit in Beijing in 2012, Chinese President, Hu Jintao said increased Sino-African relations was needed to defend against the “bullying” of rich. “We should oppose the practices of the big bullying the small the strong domineering over the weak and the rich oppressing the poor,” Hu had told his visiting African Heads of State.
In spite of the propensity of nations to pursue selfish national interests under the guise of benevolent foreign policies, there is the need to deliberately oil the existing relationship with China from the Abuja end. Especially and more urgently so if America and the West in general keep pussy-footing on stated commitments. Like a Chinese saying goes, Nigeria should not try to borrow combs from shaven monks.
THISDAY
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