|  Nigeria-China Economic Romance: The Good, The Bad, or The Ugly
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Cletus Olebune
courtesy of nel-mag.org
It’s
an old lesson once again in the world economic environment of the
survival of the fittest. The amalgamation of northern Nigeria and the
southern Nigeria in 1914 was for the economic benefit of Britain for the
easy movement of goods. Those years of British dominance in Nigerian
brought out opposing entrepreneurial spirit and ideology from a famous
Nigerian, King Jaja of Opobo. Jaja believed and wanted economic control
and industrialization of Nigeria. The effect of Britain’s economic
strategy of those years is still reverberating in the twenty first
century. The strategic purpose of enrichment and industrialization of
Britain and other European nations with raw materials from Nigeria and
other African nations for the fulfillment of British interest may all be
dejavu once again with the newfound interest of china in Nigeria and
other African nations if negotiations are not well managed. The realty
of world economic relationship negotiations is that negotiators look
after the interest of their company or country.
Unlike the British and Nigerian economic “relationship” of the
colonial years, which was heavily tilted in one direction, in favor of
Britain, the Chinese-Nigerian newfound economic relationship has the
opportunity of benefiting both parties if each side is able to negotiate
and close deals for the interest of both parties. China needs the
Nigerian and other African nations market for its cheap products, as
well as Nigeria oil for china’s growing energy demand. Nigeria on the
other hand needs china’s industrial technology know-how and china’s
cheap credit loans for the infrastructural development. There may be a
sense of two-edge sword, depending on how you see it.
China has no option but to open its market for it growing population,
and as it seeks to increase its middle class population by 2020. To
achieve this, China plans to add about 250 million of its citizens to
its middle class population in an effort to creating a well-to-do
society by 2020. China’s strategic plan is to build 20 new major
cities each year for the next 14 years.
Accurately assessing the power of negotiating parties in any
international economic agreement is critical task, especially as it
effects may be years after. If Nigeria incorrectly assesses the growing
power of China, it will do so at the suffering of her citizens while
China will be the benefactor. Looking at power as the ability to define
and achieve one’s goals, in relative to the capacity of others to
define and achieve their own, Nigerians in private and public sector
negotiations with the international communities should look beyond their
noses and do it to the benefit of national economic development.
China’s leadership has an ambitious domestic agenda, recruiting and
electing quality impressive people into private and public leadership
positions who understand the common goal. As one of my Chinese friend
puts it, “Britain and Europe owned the past, the present is owned by
the United States, and the Chinese and Asia own the future.” Chinese
leadership is working to develop China, modernizing it, and moving most
of its people to the middle class through globalization, market economy
and urbanization of rural China.
Chinese President Hu Jintao successful handshakes in Africa is as a
result of frustration by the hypocrisy of Western governments that
quickly push for market access in African nations while protecting their
agricultural and manufacturing sectors through the use of tariffs.
Nigeria has oil resources, the ultimate global commodity that China
desperately needs. Leveraging this unparalleled importance of oil
resource, the Nigerian government should assert its authority over
extraction projects that they ceded to foreign firms, such as Shell,
Exxon-Mobil, Agip and others. This is the strategic point of negotiation
used by oil rich nations of Latin America, and Russia.
In our quest for global economic leadership relevance in the year 2020
and beyond, all trade relationship negotiations and responsibilities by
the leadership should be the willingness to make decisions that benefit
those far beyond the decision maker’s self interest. In essence, our
entrepreneurial global business leadership decision makers should look
beyond their own noses. For Nigeria to benefit from today’s wind of
globalization, there should be balance of power in any trade and
economic relationship it entered. For any relationship, the political
and business leaders should be able to forecast the measurable or
deliverables in terms of number of jobs such relationship will create
and how many people it will help lift out of poverty.
The beginning and end of it all is that Nigeria’s continued economic
reform through transparency and ethical liberal market economy and
democracy may be the only transcendental leadership alternative that
will take the country to the “promised land” in 2020 and beyond.
This leadership alternative stands above and beyond all other values for
a joint commitment to bettering economic environment for all Nigerian
citizens.
Cletus E. Olebunne
Executive Director
NEL.
January
2007
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Together we can build a nation where its economic strength is comparable to its individual citizen's capabilities. A 2020 Nigeria economy where manufacturing is the driving force. We are always glad to hear from you.
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR:
Cletus E. Olebunne, Is the Executive Director of Nigerian Entrepreneurial Leadership (www.nel-m.org ) An accomplished scientist, and entrepreneur in the global healthcare product distribution. He is the founder of Eastern Pharmaceuticals (www.easternpharmaceuticals.com), a global distributor of healthcare products based in New Jersey. An active member of Regulatory Affairs Professional Society (RAPS), the global pharmaceutical regulatory body, the American Chemical Society, and the American Management Association (AMA).
The NEL organization seeks to:
1 Support and promote a community of entrepreneurs
2 Promote public understanding of manufacturing entrepreneurship
3 Promote and enhance the role models that reflect the ideals of manufacturing entrepreneurship
4 Be the source for information about best practices in business leadership.
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