Turn to China, former UN envoy urges Nigeria

LAGOS—Nigeria’s former Permanent Representative to the United Nations, UN, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, has said China’s successes may present an alternative development path for the country, which is different from the Western neo-liberal system that had long been prescribed. Gambari made this observation, weekend, as the country moves away from dependence on crude oil and seriously mooting diversification of its economy. According to him, this will increase the opportunities for cooperation between Nigeria and China, especially in the key areas such as infrastructure development and agriculture. Speaking at the Yale Africa-China Conference at the Lagos Business School, Lekki, on the theme, Africa-China Relations: Balance, Growth and Sustainable Future, Gambari stated that China’s companies were signing infrastructure deals worth more than $50 billion a year; and for investments in African farming, China has earmarked US$5 billion.” The former Minister of External Affairs, however, stated that the Chinese had come to be viewed with some mixed feelings, particularly in smaller countries where China’s weight was felt more. He pointed out that the quality of Chinese construction had increasingly been called to question, adding that the buildings erected by mainland firms had occasionally fallen apart.