DIPLOMATIC CORNER WITH MOHAMMED BASAH
Diplomacy as a component of international relations has often played an underrated but critical role in economic development. While politicians and activists have always been in the frontline, getting all the credit and media attention, diplomats have carried on the work of advocating for the interests of their mother countries without seeking for personal glory. Since no nation exists in isolation, not even the literal islands, PR Times Africa continues to seek out these quiet revolutionaries and put them under the spotlight, highlighting the key role that the diplomat plays in development. All nations, regardless of where they find themselves on the development continuum, need the cooperation and partnership of other nations in order to make progress. In this edition we highlight a number of key relationships in Africa’ s largest market, Nigeria, taking a look at their history and the opportunities that exist therein as well as the challenges to better exploiting these inherent opportunities. The consensus is that Africa can do more in terms of trading within its component countries, in order to rev up the engine of African renaissance, because the rebirth of Africa as the birth-place of human civilization and education can only take place in Africa driven by Africans themselves. The bonds that hold us together as a continent must be strengthened, while our differences must be seen as an advantage rather than a reason for squabbles, because the dynamism of our continent gives us a diverse pool of human and economic resources to tap from.
24 | PRTIMES AFRICA MARCH 2016