FOREWORD
It is with great pleasure and immense gratitude to President
Muhammadu Buhari who appointed me to represent him
in in New Delhi as the High Commissioner of Nigeria to
India that I write this short foreword to this special edition
of The Diplomatist which chronicles the celebration of the
58th national day of my country and the 60th anniversary
of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India
and Nigeria.
The edition contains all the major highlights of that
rewarding relationship which is unique in the sense that
India opened its High Commission in Nigeria in 1958, two
full years before the latter got her independence and attained
the status of a sovereign nation. That showed not only a very
early recognition of the potential of Nigeria by the government
of India but also a mature understanding by the then British
colonial government of the huge asset that India and Nigeria
working together in harmony would be to the Commonwealth
to which their leaders had committed themselves. That potential
has come to fruition and has even surpassed initial expectations
both under the aegis of multilateral organizations and initiatives
like the UN, the Commonwealth, the Non-aligned and Anti
Apartheid Movements, the ISA and also in bilateral relations.
The fruits are refl ected in the fact that Nigeria and India have
never stood on opposing sides of any matter of signifi cant
concern in any form whatsoever, and in the close cooperation
in various fi elds including economy, education, health, and
defence. The latest example is the CII/EXIM BANK West
Africa business conclave which held at Sheraton hotel Abuja
between 8th and 9th October 2018, the outcome of which is
expected to further boost economic cooperation between India
and West Africa in general, and between India and Nigeria
in particular. At that conclave it was offi cially reported that
Nigeria is India’s largest trading partner in Africa, that Indian
companies are now the second largest foreign investors in
the Nigerian economy, that they constitute the second largest
employers of labour in Nigeria’s private sector and also that
Indian workers comprise the highest number of expatriate
workers in Nigeria with offi cially issued STR visas. In our
mission here we issue on average 500 such visas to Indian
nationals every month and our visa processing takes not more
than three days on average from the date of fi ling applications
online. We can only hope that the Indian government will
fi nd a way to show some reciprocity however nominal in the
issue of granting work permits to Nigerian nationals and that
the time taken to process applications by Nigerians for Indian
visas can also be commensurately speeded up, especially for
those who apply for visas for the purpose of medical tourism.
The government of India has offi cially announced that
Africa is now its foremost foreign policy priority so those
of us who have the good fortune to be envoys of African
countries at this historic moment are very blessed indeed
and as one of them I pledge myself to do all in my power to
prove myself worthy of that good fortune.
Let me conclude by drawing the attention of readers of
this special edition of The Diplomatist to the tremendous
strides that President Buhari has been making to fi ght the
corruption which had stunted Nigeria’s growth for decades,
the recognition of his untiring eff orts there which have earned
him the offi cial recognition of his fellow African heads of
states and governments in the African Union as the Face
of Anti Corruption in the continent, his degradation of the
combat capability of the notorious Boko Haram terrorists and
his eff orts to diversify the Nigerian economy and free it from
reliance on a single export commodity, crude oil, which has
been its Achilles heel for so long. General elections are due
in Nigeria early next year and I have no doubt in my mind
that the Nigerian electorate will repay his eff orts by voting
him into the offi ce for a second term. When that happens
I will look forward most enthusiastically to his honouring
the standing invitation which the Government of India has
graciously extended to him, no doubt in recognition of his
purposeful and eff ective leadership of his country which
has earned him the accolades of many leaders from all over
the world.
Finally, let me thank most sincerely the planning
committee of this event, the editorial staff of The Diplomatist
and all the corporate friends of Nigeria High Commission
Delhi for making the production of this special edition which
has chronicled this unique and historic occasion for posterity
possible
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and long live
India-Nigeria relations.
H.E. Maj. Gen. Chris S. Eze
High Commissioner of Nigeria to India
Nigeria-India• 2018 • 5