By John Azu
Experts in the political science field and strategic think tanks have called on Nigeria’s government to utilise lessons learnt from China to drive development.
The experts spoke at the round table dialogue titled: “‘The Governance of China’ and Knowledge Sharing in Nigeria-China Cooperation, Implications for Mutual Learning” organised by the Centre for China Studies on Thursday in Abuja.
Speaking on the theme of the event, which was inspired by President Xi Jinping’s philosophy of governance as contained in his book, the director of the centre, Mr Charles Onunaiju, said the dialogue, drawn from the selected readings from Xi as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and President of the People’s Republic of China, will help clarify the opportunities from the several milestones reached by the Nigeria-China cooperation.
“In Septembers 2024, on the occasion President Tinubu State visit to China and his participation in the summit of the Forum on China-Africa cooperation (FOCAC), Nigeria and China elevated bilateral cooperation and consequently established a ‘comprehensive strategic partnership’ and committed to ‘building a high-level China-Nigeria community with shared future’. The two sides issued a 19-point joint statement, outlining cooperation and engagement across diverse fields, where they agreed not only to broaden and deepen the areas where they are already active in cooperation but to accelerate pace, and open fresh frontiers,” he said.
He added that the aim of the book review is not to replicate China in Nigeria, but to adapt Nigeria’s development based on its unique local reality.
In his speech, the Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria, Wang Jun, noted that the aim of the dialogue is to gain a deeper understanding of the secret behind China’s governance success and explore how these ideas can be adapted for Nigeria and the African community, tending them in practical wisdom for enhancing governance efficiency and promoting socio-economic development.
“In the discussion today, I simply hope all of you will stay creative, spot new ideas to interact with Xi, and build consensus to share the knowledge. This is not only a dynamic dialogue but also a vivid and positive one of deepening China-Nigeria strategic partnership and jointly building a high-level China-African community of strong future,” he said.
In his presentation, the Provost of the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria and the Director of the Centre for Contemporary China-Africa Research, Prof Sheriff Ghali Ibrahim, said the book, which is three volumes and published in 2020 tells about China’s socialism, response to global challenges, pandemic management and poverty alleviation with 800 million people’s lives transformed.
He called for nuclear energy as South Africa is the only country that deals with nuclear energy, that generates power using nuclear energy.
In his review of the book, a director at Nigeria Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS), Olufemi Obisakin, called for a government that is based on Nigeria’s traditional system as China has shown in its adaptation of communism to its domestic conditions.
