I’m enriched by my Nigeria experience – Out-going Indian envoy

What has been your experience having served in Nigeria as the Indian High Commissioner in the last five years? I enjoy being here because I found Nigeria to be socially very similar to India. For example, what you call 419 here, we call it 420 in India. We have similarities not only from our colonial […]

What has been your experience having served in Nigeria as the Indian High Commissioner in the last five years?

I enjoy being here because I found Nigeria to be socially very similar to India. For example, what you call 419 here, we call it 420 in India. We have similarities not only from our colonial experiences but our social milieu; climate and development experiences are also similar. So, it provided excellent and familiar backdrop to my stay in Nigeria.
Secondly, I also had great satisfaction in spending time here because there was a lot to be done. Nigeria and India were not only similar, in certain ways they were also complimentary. What Nigeria needs we have, what India needs- such as oil and gas – Nigeria has.
Thirdly, I noticed that there was already a history of significant people-to-people synergies and contacts. Bollywood films are quite popular here, Nigerian football stars are popular in India. Similarly, a large number of Indians live in all corners of Nigeria and there were significant number of Nigerians who had some bilateral experiences in India or in Nigeria. For example, seven of Nigeria’s 15 presidents since independence were trained in India as military officers at one time or the other.
A lot of people especially the senior generation have told me that their first memory of India was competent Indian teachers that taught them. Indeed, national interests of the two countries are intertwined.
What is your achievement as India High Commissioner to Nigeria in terms of bilateral relations between the two countries?
There were things achieved while I was here for five years and three months but it will be presumptuous on my part to claim that they were my personal achievements. They were achievements of Nigeria and India as well as Nigerians and Indians put together. I merely played some roles in some of them. Basically, I consider myself to have been “the right person at the right time.” I am glad to have participated in this great synergy that came about during the past five years or thereabouts.
During this time frame our bilateral trade has doubled, making India the largest trading partner of Nigeria today. This alone is a big accomplishment for the two countries. More importantly, the annual number of Nigerians getting visas to India has quadrupled and this year we expect to provide around 40, 000 visas to Nigerians. Most of them are going for specific purposes, such as medical treatment, studies, businesses and work.
We also give over 200 fellowships to Nigerians every year under the Indian technical economic cooperation programme. This number was only 60 five years ago.
Nigeria is making a very credible attempt at meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and we are with Nigeria. India is the largest source of pharmaceuticals for Nigeria with more than 30 Indian pharmaceutical companies working in the country.
Looking at these achievements, how would you describe the bilateral relations between Nigeria and India compared to what it was five years ago?
I have no doubt that our relations are far more substantive today than they were ever before. We were always friends and brothers with goodwill for each other, but in recent times we have also added substance to our ties with much higher trades with more Indian companies doing good business in Nigeria and more people-to-people contacts are made.
How much is the trade volume between the two countries now?
According to the figure for the last Indian financial year that ended on March 31, 2013, the bilateral trade between India and Nigeria was $16.567 billion, with Nigeria having nearly $11 billion in trade surplus. So, Nigeria was making $1billion per month from trading with India.
What new experiences were you able to gather in Nigeria that you would take along?
As I leave after this longest posting in my diplomatic career, I stand enriched by my experience in this great country, Nigeria. In general, I have been treated well. I have made countless friends and have learnt so much here about sub-Saharan Africa – its culture and civilization -of which I was largely unaware of. This stint has also deepened my faith in humanity and the intrinsic wisdom of the people being able to come to the right decisions when left to themselves. There is no difference between an ordinary Nigerian and the man in the street of New Delhi. And like Nigeria, we are a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-lingual society, modernising but keeping our traditional values intact. This also poses a challenge of finding “unity in diversity” through mutual tolerance and consensus-building in order to avoid the potential for conflict.
Examining the bilateral ties between both countries, what would you like to change or to be improved upon?
I would like a lot more to be done which could add relevance to both countries. First on my wish list was having more direct links between India and Nigeria. The direct flights, direct maritime services and direct banking presence would help by facilitating easier travel and trade. I tried to achieve each of these but could not succeed partly due to the tough global economic situation. I would like the two governments to sign more economic enablers such as bilateral air services agreement, double taxation avoidance agreement, bilateral investment protection and promotion agreement and trade agreement.
From those things you wished to see achieved are there plans towards them or will it be a fresh effort of the incoming high commissioner?
Nigeria and India have been in touch on many of the pending issues, in some cases, there have been draft agreements. They are work in progress but very often the official work lags the demands of the bilateral business. While the two governments have made efforts about these things some policies need to be worked on.
What would you say was your worst moment in Nigeria?
None! I have been blessed with “selective amnesia”- which deletes such unsavory experiences.