FG urged to take better advantage of China’s development initiatives.

From Cyril Mbah, Abuja.
The Federal Government has been urged to explore diverse ways of taking increased advantage of China’s Belts and Roads Initiative to enhance and advance the country’s critical infrastructure and economic development nationwide.
A former Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Abuja, Professor Yusufu A. Zoaka, gave the advise in an interview with Champion Newspapers shortly after a one-day lecture with the theme: “Chinese Modernization and Africa’s Development: The Belt and Roads Initiative,” delivered by a delegation of Chinese specialists from the Institute of West-Asian and African Studies (IWAAS) and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was unveiled by General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in September and October 2013 during visits to Kazakhstan and Indonesia, and was thereafter promoted by other officials during state visits to Asia, Africa and Europe, he said.
According to Professor Zoaka, the China’s Belt and Road Initiative aims to improve connectivity between China and more than 150 countries through infrastructure investment and regional cooperation and it has the potential to accelerate significantly the rate of economic integration and development in Nigeria and other benefitting nations, as trade costs decline.
The initiative, he stated further, identified five priority areas for intervention namely the international cooperation: policy coordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and people-to-people bonding.
Nigeria, he said, has already started benefitting from the initiative on projects such as the Lekki Deep Sea Port. the Daura-Maradi-Kano rail lines and airports facelift projects among others that are being financed by China but added that more needs to be done to build trust and tackle corruption before meaningful headway can be made in realising our development and economic growth goals.
Professor Zoaka frowned at critics of government who think that Nigeria is entering into slavery or mortgaging the future of its children with the increasing amount of loans obtained from China.
“The loans obtained from China come with zero interest rates for specific projects. The fear among people about Nigeria going into slavery is largely unfounded and is not based on any facts. There is no country in the world that can live in isolation and there is no country that is completely self-sufficient.
“Every country relies on others for some specific need. The fact that we borrow from China does not mean we would allow them to dominate and control our economy,” Zoaka argued.
He said people should not perceive China as an enemy but should hail it as a friendly country willing to help the nation grow its economy to stability which must be differentiated from allowing foreigners to takeover the economy.
The leader of the seven member delegation, Professor Xiaoping Wang said the purpose of the visit to Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone was to strengthen the cooperation and friendship between China and the host countries through people to people interaction and to build partnerships with academic institutions.
At the end of the tour, it is expected that some institutions in the three countries, will benefit from several assistance packages including scholarships, exchange visits between students and lecturers, among others.