As Buhari welcomes China in

China has knocked on the doors of many African countries, Nigeria inclusive. Gladly, African leaders have opened all the doors for them. Africa has opened its doors to the Chinese in a quest to tap from the mouth-watering offers from them. Most development enthusiasts admire the growing Afro-Sino relationship and the way China is ‘helping’ […]

China has knocked on the doors of many African countries, Nigeria inclusive. Gladly, African leaders have opened all the doors for them. Africa has opened its doors to the Chinese in a quest to tap from the mouth-watering offers from them. Most development enthusiasts admire the growing Afro-Sino relationship and the way China is ‘helping’ many African countries in the development of their economies and infrastructure. However, keen watchers of the Chinese exploration of Africa have an aversion to the way they approach Africa. They come with everything: The Yuan, labour force, machinery and even their language, Mandarin, which I admire out of its sweetness.
Nigeria occupies a special place in the heart of China’s relationship with Africa, because of the country’s potentials and market size. Nigeria can thus take advantage of its special position in the relationship. When dealing with the Chinese, the Nigerian government and private entrepreneurs should specifically not forget the need for local content development. And, we should be aware that the Chinese are not coming for nothing, so mutual benefit and sharing of responsibilities should be key.
For example, instead of flooding the Nigerian markets with cheap Chinese textiles, the Nigerian government should implore Chinese investors to build textile factories in Nigeria or help to revive the moribund ones.  We have many cotton farmers, fertile land, thousands of skilled workers and a very large market. President Buhari was very right when he said to the Chinese investors: “Do not see Nigeria as a consumer market alone, but as an investment destination where goods can be manufactured and consumed locally”.
The currency (Yuan) deal between Nigeria and China will surely boost Nigeria’s economy – as businesses that import from China will have access to the Yuan easily. However, we should look at other ways to make Nigeria a manufacturing nation. For instance, we can push for major Chinese investment in agro-allied industrialization being that based on the prevailing economic realities, agricultural development should be our main target now.
There are already good reports that the Yuan deal is yielding positive results. As pressure on the dollar is easing, we should look to explore other aspects of currency agreement to help propel the Nigerian economy further ahead.
For instance, the Chinese can collaborate with Nigerian investors to build solar panels and wind vanes producing factories accompanied with tax waivers for some years. Thus, the solar panels and wind vanes can be used for electricity generation in many states in Nigeria, especially rural areas. In closing, on the currency deal between Nigeria and China, we keep on emphasizing on the benefit of easing pressure of foreign exchange for import purposes; while there are hundreds of other benefits of currency agreements which we can gain from on the long term. I strongly believe the budding Afro-Sino rapport is a goldmine for Nigeria because of our potentials and strategic position in Africa. That said, we need to recognise that there is a need for caution, not blind optimism.
Muhammad writes from Jimeta, Adamawa State.