President Muhammadu Buhari
returned to Nigeria on Friday after his four-day visit to the Russian Republic.
According to his Spokesman, Garba
Shehu, who highlighted the takeaways from the President’s visit in an article
forwarded on Saturday, Buhari returned extremely happy with the
success of the visit.
Shehu Garba’s article said,
“based upon the results, it must be concluded that the President’s mission was
fully accomplished.
“The definite high point was the
decision by the Russians to agree to a government-to-government understanding
that would see them return to complete the Ajaokuta Steel Rolling Mill and
commission it. Nigeria had expended well over USD 5 billion without it coming
to fruition.
“When he campaigned early in the
year for his re-election, which he won with a majority of four million votes,
marking a difference of 14 per cent against his closest rival, President Buhari
reiterated an earlier promise to complete Ajaokuta to provide jobs and the
steel backbone that the nation’s industrial complex needed so desperately.
Could this have been achieved if he had locked himself inside the Aso Rock
Villa? The answer is obviously a ‘no.’
“Yet, this was not all that he
secured. Presidents Buhari and Vladimir Putin opened a ‘new chapter’ in the
historically important relationship between the two countries as they both
agreed to expand cooperation in energy sector, petroleum and gas, trade and
investment, defence and security, mining and steel development, aluminium and
phosphate, education and agriculture and a plethora of other issues which, to
my pleasure had been spelled out in an elaborate manner by Tonye Princewill, an
astute leader in the All Progressives Congress, APC in an opinion article he
widely circulated.
“President Putin noted that the
traditional friendly relationship between Nigeria and his country has gained a
new momentum, symbolized by a 93 per cent growth in trade between the two
nations in 2018, promising that ‘Russian companies are ready to offer their
scientific and technological developments to their African partners, and share
their experience of upgrading energy, transport and communications
infrastructure.’
“In President Buhari’s view, this
summit was a necessary anchor ‘to kick start what has been a very cordial and
mutually beneficial relationship in past years…there are similarities between
Russia’s journey under your leadership (Putin’s) and Nigeria’s aspirations for
the future. We can learn a lot from the experiences of Russia’s ongoing reforms
of transitioning from an oil dependent economy to a modern, diversified and
inclusive economy.’
“Russia is clearly seeking to
reconstruct the important role the country played in its Soviet era. They had
traditionally supported African countries in their fights for independence and
sought to build industrial infrastructure and develop national economies.
“In another sense, the focus of
the summit on multilateralism, the advocacy for the reform of the United
Nations and climate change action is a direct response to Trump era
unilateralism.
“It is noteworthy that Nigeria
got everything our delegation asked for. When German Chancellor, Angela Merkel
visited President Buhari in Abuja in August last year, she made reference to a
pertinent defect in the relationship between Europe and Africa when it comes to
the promotion of projects.
“‘When we give you a project, we
show you the door to a bank. We tell you to go and obtain financing. The
Chinese give you the project, they give you financing. That is something we
will have to look at,’ she said to President Buhari.
“Before the Europeans make up
their minds on this, the Russians are now having a go at the idea. For every
viable project Nigerian officials suggested in the course of this summit, the
chances of the financing appeared within sight.
“It is in the light of this that
one of Russia’s leading rail line service providers, MEDPROM indicated their
interest in undertaking the 1,400-kilometer Lagos-Calabar rail track that will
pass through all the states in the South-South sub-region.
“The agreement and MoU signed
between the NNPC and the Russia’s Lukoil is another spectacular agreement along
these lines. Lukoil owns seven refineries and a record turnover of USD 38
billion.
“The two oil giants will upgrade
their commercial relationship to a government-to-government backed partnership,
to work together in upstream operations and in revamping Nigeria’s
ill-functioning refineries. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Timipre
Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources. The Group Managing Director
of the NNPC, Mele Kyari signed for the Nigerian side while Vagit Alekperov,
President, signed on behalf of Lukoil.
“In support of this, President
Buhari made clear that he wished to work with Russian businesses to improve the
efficiency of our oil and gas sector, giving a strong assurance that his
administration will ‘ensure this initiative is implemented within the shortest
possible time.’
“Of no less significance is the
MoU resolving past issues, paving the way for the revival of the rested joint
venture between the NNPC and Russia’s gas giants, GASPROM for the development
of Nigeria’s enormous gas resources and its infrastructure.
“In that waggish but poisonous
editorial, the newspaper in question raised concerns about terrorism,
kidnapping and general insecurity in the country. It asked a question,
wondering why the President would travel abroad when there is, in the country,
the problem of kidnapping and fire from oil tankers had caused the loss of life
and devastation of shops. Yes, these are sad and unwelcome.
“This is a President who is
praised for his prompt response to the Onitsha fire, first by releasing a
message of commiseration same evening and thereafter, dispatching the Minister
of Humanitarian Affairs on a condolence mission. The minister gave directive on
the spot to the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA for the immediate
deployment of emergency assistance to the Southeast.
“Either out of ignorance or
mischief, the Punch failed to see how important it is for the President to seek
international support in tackling home grown terrorists, the Boko Haram,
reinforced by 2000 ex-ISIS fighters as disclosed by Mr. Putin.
“Not only did President Buhari
get that needed support to fight Boko Haram terrorists, he got the two
countries to cooperate extensively in the strategic fields of defence, civil nuclear
energy and in dealing with piracy and oil pipeline vandalism in the Gulf of
Guinea.
“The Nigerian leader also got a
deal for the technological upgrade and timely delivery of the balance of seven,
out of an existing order for 12 Attack Helicopters. These, and an assortment of
military hardware are direly needed by Nigeria to deal with the new wave of
crime bedevilling the country.
“Interestingly, one of the three
key themes of the whole conference is security. African states with Russia’s
support have, as an outcome, drawn up a regional security architecture that
would use new technological solutions to ensure security for cities, securing
the borders and creating a buffer against the illegal movement of explosives,
weapons, drugs and smuggling to reduce terrorist danger to the continent.
“Still on security, the
Nigeria-Russia Military Technical Agreement that lapsed a few years ago without
being renewed will be given due attention by Nigeria. Russia had been ready
with her part. President Buhari gave a response to this, saying, ‘I have directed
the Minister of Defence to work with the Ministry of Justice to conclude this
matter within the shortest possible time.’
“The significance of this
agreement lies in the fact that it opens the door to the procurement of
military hardware, on a government-to-government basis, eliminating middlemen
and reducing cost, as well as the training of military personnel, modernization
of the armed forces, refurbishment and renewal of infrastructure and equipment,
which President Putin said he is ready to assist Nigeria to undertake.
“The one perennial business and,
if you like emotional topic between the two countries is the protracted issue
of the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria, ALSCON, Ikot-Abasi, Akwa-Ibom
State.
“It too, will be resolved.
President Buhari announced that he had asked the Ministry of Justice, ‘to
submit a comprehensive report on the UC Russel (the Russian owners of the
plant) matter…I want to assure you that the aim of our reforms is to ensure
such investments are concluded and actualized in a professional and painless
manner.’
“There are many of our citizens
who do not reckon with the fact that this country has a nuclear programme for
about 40 years, one however, that has not gone beyond the setting up of
research stations. Arising from these discussions, President Putin invited
President Buhari to join him in taking the next step in the implementation of
the project by commencing the construction of the nuclear power plant.
“The two Presidents also
addressed issues in education and agriculture. Russia said she would give
additional scholarships. There are currently 100 Nigerian students studying
under her scholarship and so far, 797 students from Nigeria have benefited from
scholarships for training in Russia in various academic fields.
“On agriculture, Russia agreed to
support Nigeria in laying a solid foundation for food security. This will
partly come through raw materials (phosphate) supply for President Buhari’s
very impactful Presidential Fertilizer Initiative that has seen the reopening
of dozens of blending plants and the return to work of thousands of employees.
“Russia, now the world’s largest
producer of wheat according to President Putin, will work with Nigeria in
growing wheat to meet domestic and market needs.
“This is in response to President
Buhari who made a request to Putin, that ‘we seek your Government’s support
especially in the area of wheat production.
“‘Today, Nigeria produces less
than one hundred thousand metric tons of wheat locally while our imports are
projected to exceed five million tons in 2020. We therefore need your support
to bridge the deficit which will create jobs and save our foreign exchange for
other important areas like security, defence and infrastructure.’
“The two leaders also discussed
regional and international issues of mutual interest, with President Buhari
pointedly asking for Russia’s support for Nigeria’s aspiration to assume a
permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council, in the envisaged reform
of the UN.
“Realizing that the relationship
between our two countries had suffered the loss of the momentum characteristic
of the Soviet era, President Buhari said ‘to move forward, may I suggest that
our countries organize the fifth Joint Commission meeting to review and ratify
all the agreements (about 40) contained in the Inter-governmental
Nigeria-Russia Joint Commission on Economic, Scientific and Technical
Cooperation Protocol of November 11, 2016,’ to which his Russian counterpart
agreed.
“For the African continent that
been looked at as a potential bright spot in the world economy for a long time,
the flurry of summits between the leaders of the major economies of the world
and the Heads of African states and government is a clear indication of Africa
coming of age.
“For Nigeria and President Buhari
in particular, the Russia-Africa Summit had served the desire the two countries
to diversify and further strengthen the bonds of our robust bilateral
relations. A solid foundation has indeed been laid for the promotion of the mutually
beneficial cooperation between both nations.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
If truly PMB succeeded in persuading the Russian President, Putin in completing the Ajaokuta Steel Mill Project, his visit to Russia is huge success. I have always been praying that a sustainable leader should come up with a genuine poster to revisit Ajaokuta Steel Mill. No doubt, Nigerian enemies have always known that if Ajaokuta Still Mill should be reality, the economy of Nigeria would improve considerably and unemployment reduced to minimal. If Ajaokuta is the only project that PMB would achieve during his tenure as President of Nigeria, it should be considered a huge achievement. I have no doubt that Ajaokuta will place Nigeria in a unique industrial capacity. Nigerians are gifted, and over the years of perpetual unemployment and poverty, will cease the opportunity to initiate innovations that could be marketed worldwide. Let Ajaokuta become a reality, and the world will respect Nigeria as an industrial power.
ReplyDelete