[SPECIAL REPORT]
the support of foreign government to identify monies stashed
by looters in banks abroad, and assets purchased by them
through corruption.
As a result of all this, the opposition is ganging up
against President Buhari in the run-up to the coming
national election (which will take place in February, 2019).
Particularly frightening to the corrupt is the speculation
that Buhari does not intend to renew the licenses for oil
blocks which were issued to selected individuals by past
governments (when those licenses expire in 2019); but he
would rather distribute the said licenses to state governments
- to boost their revenue bases and capacity to develop their
infrastructures.
President Buhari’s implementation of the Treasury
Single Account (TSA) has already blocked many avenues
through which Chief Executives of government agencies
siphoned government money - by operating multiple bank
accounts which were often diffi cult to audit properly. He also
introduced a whistle blower’s compensation policy that has
encouraged ordinary Nigerians to enthusiastically join the
anti-corruption fi ght.
Major Thrust of Bilateral Trade Between India and
Nigeria
• Volume in 2017: $9.4 bn
• Balance of trade: 80% to 20% in favour of Nigeria
• Major Nigerian export – crude oil. India is the biggest
importer of Nigerian crude oil while Nigeria is India’s
largest trading partner in Africa.
• Indian exports to Nigeria include pharmaceuticals,
engineering equipment, automobiles, and power sector
components such as transformers, insulators and circuit
breakers.
India Vs China in Nigeria
A competition between the Asian giants does not
exist because the Nigerian economy is large enough to
accommodate all players - as long as they are competitive and
deliver quality products and services. India is fairly good at
this, particularly at the lower end of technology which is more
suitable for Africa, given our present stage of technological
development.
However, the wider perception is that there is a greater
synergy between Chinese government and Nigerian
businessmen as compared to others who operate in Africa
and their respective governments. Also the perception is that
the bureaucratic process here could do with a speeding up
if India is to signifi cantly improve its economic footprint in
Africa as a whole and Nigeria in particular. In particular the
disbursement of the $10bn Line of Credit that India off ered
Africa two years ago could be accelerated.
India’s Role in Africa’s Development
Africa is no longer interested in foreign aid, which has
served no meaningful purpose over the decades. What
the countries here want now are trade, value addition to
its primary products, infrastructure, proper utilization of
its abundant minerals, quality education and health-care,
respect to each nation’s sovereignty and the dignity for
the people. India can help in all these by encouraging its
own entrepreneurs to invest in Africa and by continuing
to collaborate with the continent at multilateral forums,
including the WTO and the UN
Areas of Possible Investment by India in Nigeria
• Agriculture
• Mining
• Infrastructure development on Public Private Partnership
(PPP) basis or on the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT)
model
• Oil – already existing but potential for more cooperation
• ICT – a well performing relation
• Solar energy – this is a growing market in Nigeria.
Nigeria also has enormous amounts of sunshine to make
solar energy a big and lucrative venture. Hence, building
plants for the manufacture of photo voltaic cells is highly
feasible commercially. A positive step in this direction is
that Nigeria is also a member of the International Solar
Alliance (ISA).
Views on the Footprints of Indian Companies in Nigeria
Indian companies investing in Nigeria is a mutually
benefi cial aspect. As long as the companies are ready to ‘play
by the rules’ set by the Nigerian government, they are always
welcome in the country. However, these companies must
become more serious about Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR), which has become an integral part of doing business
worldwide.
Areas of Cooperation between Nigeria and India as
Emerging Continental Giants
India and Nigeria have the potential to cooperate across
virtually all areas. India knows that Nigeria is not only the
largest economy in Africa, but also the most infl uential black
nation on earth. It should therefore make Nigeria the anchor
of her Africa policy while Indian businessmen should solidify
Lagos as their African hub. Since global trade is regulated
by the WTO - which seems to be under threat today - the
two countries should continue to work hand in hand on
international issues such as world trade and the reform of the
United Nations Security Council.
It is also important that New Delhi opens up opportunities
for Nigerians to do legitimate business in India by granting
Nigeria-India• 2018 • 9