Nigeria. Development goals within reach

Interview with Dr Martin Uhomoibhi
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The recent holding of free and fair presidential elections, Nigeria’s role in conflict resolution in Africa, its global peace-keeping activities under a United Nations mandate and an average 7 per cent economic growth are all positives. The country is expected to achieve its development goals and become a member of the club of emerging countries. Nigeria is also taking a leading role in advancing the interests of the African diaspora, says Martin Uhomoibhi in an interview with The Courier.

HG - Do you feel that Nigeria is at the dawn of a new era, especially in the wake of the recent presidential elections?

MU - There is a feeling that Nigeria is at the dawn of achieving development goals. Every Nigerian, I think, feels that a new era beckons because of what we saw during the elections where people spoke in a way in which they have never previously spoken. We now have a president elected in a free, fair and credible election. He comes from a minority part of the country with a voter population of around half a million. The majority of ethnic groups in the nation voted for him. He has a pan-Nigerian mandate of 22 million votes, the next placed candidate winning just half that number. Progress has not just come as a bolt out of the blue. For the past couple of years, Nigeria has seen tremendous economic growth averaging 7 per cent. There is a lot of momentum in the country and the administration has identified its priorities. We might very possibly see take-off within the next two or three years.

HG – How quickly do you think Nigeria could enter the club of emerging countries?

MU- Nigeria has the same growth potential as this group of countries. We have huge human capital and natural resources. Nigeria really has all the ingredients for take-off and entrance to the club of developed nations.

HG - The EU feels that the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) is of crucial importance to Nigeria’s development. What’s your response?

MU – Portugal and Spain had close relations with African nations in the 14th and 15th centuries. The United Kingdom and France took over during the era of industrialisation. It’s logical to think Europe should have an edge on our continent. Of late, Europe has faced competition from Asia, China and India. It’s no longer Europe's world alone but a globalised one. A lot will depend on how Europe capitalises on its historical and geographical advantages and plays fair in creating a genuine partnership, and a mechanism which means that the EPA is not just another tool for forging trade links but an agreement with a concrete development objective.

HG - What about the concerns aired in both the national and international press about insecurity, poor governance, corruption and inequality between regions which can give rise to violence?

MU - Nigeria emerged from centuries of colonialism. It has just celebrated its 50-year anniversary of independence. It was an agglomeration of over 250 ethnic groups, brought together by a colonial administration. The country had challenges of nationhood to grapple with. A 30-month civil war followed independence in 1967. We’re trying to build a nation out of multiple entities. Nigeria cannot be expected to resolve such challenges overnight.

Nigeria declared there were no winners or losers following the war, and has since proceeded to build one strong, formidable united nation. Peace is tangible today. In relative terms, Nigeria has not done badly, and the same goes for many other African countries. But we realise that to develop our resources, we have to put our own house in order and deal with the challenges of governance and corruption and we are doing this.

HG - What are the priorities of Nigeria’s overseas strategy?

MU - Nigeria is the fourth largest contributor to the peacekeeping forces of the UN and the first in Africa. Today, 3,400 Nigerians keep the peace in Sudan and our positions and proposals for Ivory Coast were consistent with our peace-building policy for the country.

On the business front, Nigeria is an open market. We do not pick and choose. We value our friendship with traditional partners in Europe and America, likewise our new friends in China, India and elsewhere who are helping to build our economy. We have no enemies and want to have many more friends.  

HG What part does the African diaspora in your foreign policy?

Many of those who went to Haiti are from the eastern part of Nigeria. We are running a special programme for the diaspora, sending experts, physicians, lawyers, teachers to African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. Nigeria’s diaspora organisation, Nido, reaches out to the entire African diaspora. Our destiny is inextricably linked to the Blacks in the diaspora. Our foreign policy reflects a black consciousness. Wherever a black person is oppressed, the Nigerian feels he too is oppressed and has a moral duty to assist. Strengthening relations with the diaspora is one of our top foreign policy objectives.      

Space research and technology

At the time Dr. Dere Awosika, Permanent Secretary (Director General), of the Nigerian Ministry of Science and Technology met with the Courier, her department had completed an outline of the new science policy in the country.

This will provide more resources to the twenty plus parastatal research institutions that collaborate in a network with over 100 universities. Research in Nigeria covers areas of health (use of nanotechnology), new materials, engineering raw materials, information technology, biotechnology (gamma rays in the service of food processing, tissue culture, modification of plants) and space technology. The first earth observation satellite built by Nigerians, N-SAT1, has been in operation for over 7 years. At the time of going to press, two others; N-Sat2 and N-SatX with higher resolution power, also built in Surrey, UK were ready to launch from a Russian base.

Hegel Goutier