Doha, Qatar — Israel should cease its conflict on Gaza, and the world must drop its “double standards” over the killings within the besieged enclave, Nigeria’s Overseas Minister Yusuf Tuggar informed Al Jazeera.
Tuggar was visiting Qatar as a part of a delegation led by Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Nigeria and Qatar signed a sequence of memorandums of understanding and mentioned potential collaboration in sectors resembling vitality, commerce, labour, agriculture and extra.
The go to got here at a time when Nigeria faces mounting financial and social challenges with armed assaults proliferating and an inflation price at 30 %.
But Nigeria, with a inhabitants of greater than 200 million individuals and Africa’s largest economic system, can also be eyeing a higher function in regional and international affairs.
Tinubu leads the 15-member Financial Group of West African States (ECOWAS) established in 1975. The bloc faces an unsure future with Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso saying in late January they’re quitting the regional grouping.
Al Jazeera sat down with Tuggar in Doha to study extra about what the federal government has in retailer for Africa’s largest economic system.
Al Jazeera: Over the previous week, there have been many conferences between Qatari and Nigerian officers. What are a number of the key agreements and partnerships which have been made?
Yusuf Tuggar: Qatar has this Arabic idea of the phrase “irth” which is legacy, or inheritance. Nigeria is right here to forge a typical irth, legacy, inheritance with Qatar. They’re each main fuel producers and in the event that they work carefully collectively, they’ll set up or broaden additional their market share.
We have now cargo planes that go to Nigeria and are available again empty. They take electronics and all kinds of different stuff from Qatar to Nigeria. They are often stuffed with agricultural produce as a result of we now have 12 enormous river basin growth authorities that we invested in throughout the oil growth within the Nineteen Seventies, with dams prepared for irrigation. Nigeria produces plenty of pineapple, plenty of mangoes that may be readily exported to Qatar.
There are such a lot of alternatives. We wish to see a number of the large gamers right here going to Nigeria and doing enterprise. We’ve already signed a number of MOUs (memorandums of understanding). Even as we speak, we signed MOUs on labour as a result of we now have enormous human assets that Qatar can put to good use that we are able to apply to the medical sector and a number of other others. The sky’s the restrict.
After which in fact, Qatar can also be sturdy in companies, airports. We have now so many airports which might be in existence which might be underutilised that may be turned readily into cargo airports. We’ve acquired ports, we’d like extra ports to be developed.
Al Jazeera: What are a number of the upcoming fuel tasks?
Tuggar: There are a number of ongoing fuel tasks in Nigeria that we hope Qatar can put money into. We have now so many alternatives for floating LNG tasks. We’ve acquired an LNG plant that has run out of fuel that’s proper subsequent to us in Equatorial Guinea. All it wants is a pipeline, to pipe Nigerian fuel to Equatorial Guinea and Bob’s your uncle. That is one thing that Qatar can benefit from.
We have now a Nigeria-Morocco fuel pipeline that’s within the making to provide 15 African nations with fuel and it might probably go on to Europe. I do know Europe is trying to section out fuel however let’s work with the fact. The fact proper now’s that fuel remains to be in demand.
We have now a trans-Saharan fuel pipeline. The leg of the pipeline inside Nigeria has gone very far, it’s nearly accomplished and it’s purported to ship fuel all the best way to Algeria. And also you throw in Algerian fuel and it might probably go all the best way into Europe. These are all tasks which might be ongoing that Qatar might be part of in terms of fuel.
However we’re not simply fuel, we’re agriculture, the well being sector. All of the related ministers are right here; we’re metals refining for uncommon earths; Nigeria is wealthy in lithium. That is one thing that may be taken benefit of.
Al Jazeera: Relating to the largest battle on this planet proper now, in Gaza greater than 30,000 individuals have been killed. What are your ideas on this?
Tuggar: There isn’t any justification for the carnage that is happening in Gaza. It has to cease. There isn’t any justification for the entire disregard for the proportionality of pressure that’s being meted out on harmless civilians, on children on kids, on infants on girls.
Nigeria has been in keeping with its assist for a two-state answer. The state of Palestine has each proper to exist as an unbiased sovereign nation, the identical manner that Israel has a proper to exist as an unbiased sovereign nation.
However this carnage is totally out of hand and completely unacceptable. There isn’t any strategy to clarify the double requirements; it has to cease.
Al Jazeera: Relating to the conflict in Ukraine, the US and EU have been pressuring different nations to affix in on sanctions towards Russia. Nigeria has maintained a impartial, non-aligned stance. How tough or simple has it been to keep up this stance?
Tuggar: [The non-aligned stance] has been the coverage of the state of Nigeria since its inception, because it was created in 1960. Nigeria was a part of the non-aligned motion and has remained so and in the intervening time we’re at present training what’s now known as strategic autonomy.
We get together with all nations, and we’re not the one nation that has that coverage. Nigeria has at all times been an unbiased sovereign nation. So we aren’t compelled to comply with every other nation’s lead. We do what is true for our individuals, what’s within the curiosity of our individuals.
We get alongside famously with each of them [the US and Russia]. In addition they don’t have an issue with us being autonomous, being an unbiased nation, with the liberty to keep up relations with all nations.
Al Jazeera: Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have introduced they’re leaving ECOWAS. Is there perhaps a must reinvent ECOWAS in any manner?
Tuggar: No, there isn’t. There’s a course of [for leaving] and it takes a few 12 months. It’s one factor to pronounce that you simply’ve left, it’s one other to actually disengage from ECOWAS itself as a result of each citizen of ECOWAS carries a passport. (An ECOWAS passport ensures visa-free journey inside the bloc). We’re ready to see in the event that they’re even going to print the passports which goes to value thousands and thousands of {dollars}.
We’re speaking about 30 % of, let’s say, Cote d’Ivoire, coming from Burkina Faso, and Mali, which suggests they would want new residencies or they should depart Cote d’Ivoire and the identical factor with Nigeriens in Nigeria, in a number of different locations. So it’s not so simple as it’s made out to be. The method of them leaving takes much more than only a easy pronouncement and there are specific procedures that need to be adopted.
ECOWAS has proven clearly that there’s no bellicosity in the direction of these nations as a result of sanctions had been eliminated out of humanitarian issues. Fasting throughout Ramadan is developing, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, because the Chairman of ECOWAS, heads of state and authorities pushed for the elimination of sanctions. The ECOWAS leaders endorsed it and the sanctions have been eliminated, borders have been opened.
There’s no compulsion within the membership of ECOWAS, it’s as much as the regimes in these nations to decide. ECOWAS is a union of a group of individuals and the emphasis is on the group, on the individuals, on the residents.
Al Jazeera: In Nigeria, between 40 and 45 % of the inhabitants lives under the poverty line. How does the federal government plan for financial progress and to deal with the problem of poverty?
Tuggar: We’re speaking about 300,000 coaching centres throughout the nation. We’re speaking huge exponential job creation by ICT, data expertise that’s occurring. we’re speaking about offering fast-speed web to the youth. We’re speaking about enterprise course of outsourcing.
So these are all plenty of the alternatives however even earlier than that, there’s a social funding programme that’s ongoing, that gives on to the poorest part of Nigeria as a result of we are able to’t wait till the roles are created. There’s a direct authorities intervention that has been occurring so these are a number of the measures which might be being taken in the direction of addressing this.
Al Jazeera: The nation is seeing an exodus of youth going overseas for alternatives. What could be the results for Nigeria to seeing all this youth depart?
Tuggar: We have now what we seek advice from because the 4Ds in my Ministry of Overseas Affairs – That’s democracy growth, demography and diaspora. And the fourth D, the diaspora, is the place we glance to have interaction different nations which might be in demand of our human assets, get them to put money into sure sectors in order that we can practice sufficient expert employees for each ourselves and the nation that’s demanding for that.
So medical doctors, nurses, and in the intervening time you truly even have Nigeria supplying software program engineers to locations like Lithuania.
We have to do it in a structured manner. We’re not saying that Nigerians can not go overseas to work. By all means they need to. However on the identical time, for each nurse that goes overseas, we wish to have the ability to create many extra in Nigeria that might cater for our wants. We have to companion with nations which might be ready to put money into these sectors.
Al Jazeera: We’re seeing unprecedented inflation; Nigerians are battling the prices. The costs of meals and transport have greater than tripled since President Tinubu took over and eliminated the gasoline subsidy, although he promised to ease an already dangerous scenario. What are your ideas on this? Has he didn’t ship on his promise one 12 months in?
Tuggar: He definitely hasn’t. That is one thing that was anticipated. This is among the penalties and, sadly, we’re feeling it much more as a result of we delayed for therefore a few years, subsidy elimination.
This can be a form of bitter tablet that Nigeria has to take however there are different measures which might be being taken to function palliatives for the scenario that we’re going through.
You have got to remember additionally that Nigeria is just not the one nation that’s going through these financial challenges; it’s nearly international. Inflation is one thing that plenty of nations are going through, however we now have to chunk the bullet and do what is true now, for the longer term.
We’re persevering with to complement and issues are getting higher. Our crude oil manufacturing has gone up, so has our fuel manufacturing by LNG. We’re going to be feeling the results of a spike in overseas change earnings, which might serve to ameliorate the scenario and we’re plugging all of the leakages in our economic system.
Al Jazeera: There’s additionally been a surge in kidnappings throughout the nation as properly. Does the federal government bear any duty for this?
Tuggar: The federal government is at all times there to deal with the challenges.
On the identical time, there are such a lot of measures being taken to deal with these by the three completely different tiers of presidency. As a result of you’ve gotten to remember additionally that the duty is just not merely on the federal authorities, the federal government on the centre.
Nigeria’s structure prescribes guidelines for the three tiers. So that you’ve acquired the federal authorities headed by Mr President, you’ve acquired state governments headed by governors and you then’ve acquired native authorities. We have now 774 native authorities areas which might be beneath state governments and so they must be working in order that duty for them to work and work effectively rests squarely on the state governors and the state governments.