Experts on Nigeria-China relations have charged policy makers in Nigeria and other African countries to design strategies to fully take advantage of the Forum for China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) to develop the economy.
The call was made at a dialogue on the 20th anniversary of FOCAC organized by the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria and the Centre for China Studies (CCS).
The theme of the programme chaired by the executive director of CCS, Charles Onunaiju is titled: ‘Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) at 20 year: Achievements and Prospects’.
The experts called on African presidents, foreign ministers, representatives to chart the continent’s beneficial relationship with China, to avoid policy somersaults and lack of coherence.
The Director of Renaissance Development Forum and the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS), Ambassador Sariki Usman called on Nigeria and African countries to develop structured engagement and implementation strategy in the initiatives with other countries.
“We are not benefitting as much as we should do from the FOCAC initiative in Nigeria. Countries like Kenya, Djibouti, Zimbabwe, South Africa and others are on a per capita basis deriving more benefits from the FOCAC and other initiatives between Africa and China than Nigeria. In per capita, we are over 200 million people and landmass of 927, 000- that is a huge bulk of real estate,” he said.
In his presentation, the Editor-in-Chief of Daybreak newspaper, Dr Austin Maho said China devoted a total of $120 billion for direct interventions in Africa under FOCAC within six years, which shows how China has been developing its relationship with Africa and said African countries must chart their own development in partnership with China and discard the debt trap diplomacy been propagated in the West to discredit China and FOCAC.
In his presentation, Prof Nazifi Darma of the University of Abuja called for better trading relationship than aid or assistance to African countries, technical skills and the need for greater China involvement in building sustainable peace in Africa. He called for the use of more Public Private Partnership (PPI) rather than loans to build Africa’s infrastructure.
Similarly, Prof Yusuf Zoaka of the University of Abuja called on African countries and Nigeria in particular, to open their borders and markets for the intra-Africa trade with the resumption of the African Continent Free Trade Agreement (ACfCFTA) in January, 2021.
Prof Gani Yoroms of the Nigerian Defence College said there is opportunity for Nigeria-China cooperation in peace-keeping, military equipment industry, and satellite launches.
Also, Prof Ghali Ibrahim Sheriff of the University of Abuja said the future of FOCAC will see Nigeria and China contributing to peace in the world, and deepen economic cooperation in the post-COVID-19 era.
Earlier, the Charge d’Affairs of the Chinese Embassy, Zhao Yong reiterated China’s determination to work with Nigeria to achieve better outcomes for the FOCAC and other initiatives of the Chinese government. He noted that Nigeria is China’s 40th biggest trading partner.
