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2021 FORUM ON CHINA AFRICA COOPERATION (FOCAC): BUILDING THE PHILOSOPHY OF A SHARED FUTURE FOR HUMANITY

Published

3 years ago

November 24, 2021

News Net Global

2021 FORUM ON CHINA AFRICA COOPERATION (FOCAC): BUILDING THE PHILOSOPHY OF A SHARED FUTURE FOR HUMANITY

By Oboshi Agyeno (PhD)

Institute for peace and Conflict Resolution, Abuja

Jacobya007@yahoo.com

In a few days to come, particularly on the 29th and 30th November 2021, Senegal will be in the league of other African countries like Ethiopia and South Africa to host the all-important Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). The FOCAC is a high level tri-annual indaba of China and African countries with diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC). All the countries in Africa except for Eswatini that has no diplomatic relations with the PRC, gather every three years to participate in discussions on how to design, consolidate and inject new energy on the way forward for a collective development of China and Africa. Since its conception and inception in 2000 and 2003 and the official launch of FOCAC in the year 2006, the Forum is traditionally hosted either in China or any African country interchangeably. This year, Senegal will host the 8th edition of FOCAC with the theme to ‘Deepen China Africa Partnership and Promote Sustainable Development to Build a China Africa Community with a Shared Future in the New Era’.

The FOCAC was primarily a strategy put forward by China to engage with Africa. This relationship has since grown in leaps and bounds. In 2006, China’s financial commitment to Africa was $5 billion and by 2015 and 2018, such commitment rose to $60 billion. In between this development cooperation, China Africa partnership has progressed from resource trade to infrastructure development of monumental proportion, and shifted into a more focused political and strategic cooperation. In recent times, analysts, think tanks and scholars from Africa have continued to promote and influence the government of Africa to show more innovation, commitment and interest in China Africa cooperation due to the benefit that has come to be evident in such relationships.

The FOCAC has enjoyed tremendous good will and partnership in various facets of investment, trade, health, infrastructure, food security, climate change and other areas of human development. This edition will follow the same pattern with previous FOCAC, but will be unique in many aspects. The 2021 FOCAC is the first summit since the Covid-19 pandemic crippled economic activities and businesses on a global scale, destroying livelihoods and threatening multilateralism as we know it. It is also the first FOCAC that just proceeded the 100 years anniversary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and 50 years of Diplomatic Relations between China and Africa, reviewing the joint China Africa response to Covid19, and for the first time expected to reel out a ‘China Africa comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership’ specifically for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Africa.

There is no doubt that the history of the FOCAC and its derivatives has been a blessing for both China and Africa. This is especially true in the areas of infrastructure development, business opportunities, national and regional security cooperation, cultural diplomacy and people to people exchanges. Indeed, China Africa cooperation has transformed the physical infrastructural environment of both China and Africa, and has proven based on the many hardware projects across Africa that this partnership is unprecedented. It is however pertinent for this year’s FOCAC in Senegal to ensure what Hannah Ryder* refers to as ‘a more organized and collective approach to engagement on the part of African leaders at this year’s FOCAC’. There is a need for African and Chinese leadership, think tanks and scholars to inject some novelty in building a philosophical, cultural and ideological component of China Africa cooperation. In order to improve the quality and efficiency of the FOCAC in general, the 8th edition of the Forum must endeavour to create a hybrid dimension to China Africa cooperation that can activate an innovative path to sustainable development based on a software approach to cooperation and development.

Senegal is one of the ideological, theoretical and cultural hubs of Africa. To project a philosophical angle to the aspirations for building livelihoods and shared humanity that China Africa relations have come to represent, shall be remarkable in this FOCAC. China Africa cooperation has spanned politics, economy, health, technology, etc. The 2021 FOCAC provides the prospect to pay closer attention on building the mind-set, attitude, philosophy and ideological direction for China and Africa towards a better future of communities, opportunities and humanity. The FOCAC should be a platform to build the significance of character traits like diligence, hard work, respect for culture and tradition, patriotism, knowledge, communal sense of purpose, prudence, the synergy between man and nature and cooperation as enablers for development. If embedded in African culture and traditions are qualities that can point the people towards sustainable development using their traditional alternatives, then FOCAC should concentrate on building those qualities. There are different paths to development than a single prescription and the Chinese experience has proven that.

As the saying goes, Africa is the next frontier of development and this aspiration is very likely to be achieved through China Africa cooperation. It is expected that the 2021 FOCAC will address Africa’s place within the BRI, which is potentially the most audacious economic blueprint of global connectivity in trade, investment and pragmatic access to financing for development. One of the ways Africa could benefit from this initiative is to imbibe the values and inculcate the principles of putting the people at the centre of development, promoting togetherness and projecting our unique socialist nature embedded in African and Asian oriental civilization. China and Africa have so much in common and the sooner a deliberate effort is applied to zoom our shared values into the international frontline, the better for humanity. This can be done by injecting our unique value in the domestic and foreign policy of both China and Africa.

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This year’s FOCAC provides the platform for Africa and China to reiterate their belief in a multilateral system which President Xi Jinping of China says ‘falls upon us to follow the trend of history, and choose cooperation over confrontation, openness over seclusion, and mutual benefit over zero sum games*. While contemporary issues like the green economy and climate change, technology transfer, peace and security and post Covid-19 recovery will dominate discussions at this year’s FOCAC, there is also the need to present the philosophical energy that can consolidate on the successes recorded in China Africa cooperation over the years. This could involve understanding and deploying those software features that have enabled China’s peaceful rise, inclusive growth and development in politics, economy and technology. Understanding the principles of Chinese development could be used to unlock the ingenuity of Africans from within, prioritize citizen’s interest in collective development and position Africa’s quest to inclusive and sustainable development as a process rather than a narrative or a big bang theory.

Philosophical vocabulary and direction is important to China Africa cooperation because it will give substance to the framework, content and nature of the overall partnership between both climes. It is therefore instructive that on the side-lines of this year’s FOCAC summit and subsequent meetings in the future, there should be podiums that promote cultural education of Africa and Asian oriental civilization in leadership, governance, relationships, values and development. The number of Chinese cultural institutes in Africa is growing and Africa should take advantage of such presence to collaborate in the areas of language and other exchanges that could promote intellectual understanding of China Africa cooperation, upgrade China Africa oriental civilization, engender new models and paths to development, and ensure a holistic development that is en-sync with the culture, tradition, emotion, beliefs and orientation of the people.

Long live China Africa cooperation.

2021 FORUM ON CHINA AFRICA COOPERATION (FOCAC): BUILDING THE PHILOSOPHY OF A SHARED FUTURE FOR HUMANITY

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NESREA to partner Rwanda in Tackling Plastic Pollution

Published

11 hours ago

January 21, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

NESREA to partner Rwanda in Tackling Plastic Pollution

By: Michael Mike

The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has initiated talks with the Rwandan High Commission in Nigeria for partnership in the area of environmental sustainability.

The Director General of NESREA, Dr. Innocent Barikor, who met with the Rwandan High Commission in Abuja on Monday, expressed the Agency’s interest in learning from Rwanda’s expertise and successes in combating plastic pollution.

He said NESREA specifically aims to exchange experiences and inculcate best practices in plastic waste management, leveraging on Rwanda’s notable progress, stressing that, “Nigeria is pushing for the Circular Economy growth and NESREA is at the forefront, likewise the ban on single-use plastics.”

Barikor expressed his admiration for Rwanda’s exemplary commitment to environmental sustainability and innovation, and thanked the Government of Rwanda for their support towards capacity building for staff through study visits, and noted the need for high level collaboration between the two countries on environmental protection and sustainability management.

The Rwandan High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ambassador Christophe Bazivamo noted the daunting challenge of tackling plastic pollution and reiterated the willingness of the government of Rwanda to collaborate with Nigeria.

He said addressing environmental issues is very important for any government as sustainable development is impossible without sound environmental protection considerations.

NESREA to partner Rwanda in Tackling Plastic Pollution

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VP SHETTIMA DEPARTS ABUJA FOR DAVOS TO ATTEND 2025 WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM MEETING

Published

3 days ago

January 19, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

VP SHETTIMA DEPARTS ABUJA FOR DAVOS TO ATTEND 2025 WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM MEETING

By: Our Reporter

Vice President Kashim Shettima has departed Abuja to represent Nigeria at the 2025 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) scheduled for Davos, Switzerland.

The Vice President will join world leaders, top business executives and representatives of development partners at the meeting to discuss the state of the world economy with the view to improving its conditions.

While in Davos, the Vice President will hold bilateral meetings with other leaders as well as participate in workshops and forums slated for the annual gathering.

Among events slated for the VP include, a workshop entitled, “Roadmap to Co-create Investment Opportunities for Africa’s Frontier Markets”, organised by the African Development Bank in collaboration with the World Economic Forum to boost the flow of capital into Africa’s frontier markets, to scale solutions that build a prosperous, inclusive and resilient continent. It is slated for the Congress Centre in Jakobshorn.

Top on the agenda will be an announcement of the Humanitarian and Resilience Investing (HRI) Roadmap for Africa, in partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB), and foster partnerships between public and private sector leaders interested in mobilizing investment in Africa’s frontier markets, among others.

The Vice President will also attend a dinner for heads of state, government and international organizations, as well as Annual Meeting 2025 Crystal Awardees, the International Business Council and Strategic Partners slated for Kurpark Village, Eiger.

Senator Shettima will also co-chair a forum on “Turning Digital Trade into a Catalyst for Growth in Africa” slated for the Pischa Congress Centre.

The session will provide a dynamic platform for forward-thinking dialogue on digital trade and the crucial role of the private sector in advancing the implementation of the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol adopted by the AU heads of state/government in January 2024.

VP Shettima will attend, as a panelist, a Stakeholder Dialogue entitled, “Global Risks 2025”. The Global Risks Report highlights an increasingly volatile global landscape, marked by accelerating geopolitical, technological and environmental challenges. The event is slated for the Aspen 2 Congress Centre in Davos.

The VP who will be accompanied by top government functionaries including Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, and Executive Secretary of Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Aisha Rimi, will return to Abuja at the end of his engagements in Davos.

VP SHETTIMA DEPARTS ABUJA FOR DAVOS TO ATTEND 2025 WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM MEETING

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NDLEA arrests India-bound nursing student over attempt to ingest 76 wraps of cocaine

Published

3 days ago

January 19, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

NDLEA arrests India-bound nursing student over attempt to ingest 76 wraps of cocaine

By: Michael Mike

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have thwarted an attempt by 26-year-old Esther Uzodinma, a 200-level student of nursing at the Noida International University, Uttar Pradesh, India, to transport 76 wraps of cocaine to the South Asian country.

Uzodinma had planned to swallow 76 wraps of cocaine hours before her return flight to India through the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano.

The suspect, according to the spokesman of NDLEA, Femi Babafemi in a statement on Sunday, was scheduled to return to Delhi, India from the Kano International Airport on Qatar Airways flight 1432 last Friday but was arrested in her room at 11:30pm on Thursday at Royal Park Hotel Sabon Garin Kano, while awaiting the cocaine consignment she was to ingest before her flight the following morning.

Babafemi said her lid was blown open when NDLEA operatives on patrol along Okene-Lokoja highway in Kogi state last Thursday intercepted 31-year-old Cosmas Okorie in a commuter bus coming from Lagos enroute Kano. Inside his black polythene bag was an audio speaker, which was used to conceal the 76 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.340 kilogrammes, which he was going to deliver to Uzodinma in Kano. A swift follow up operation in Kano led to the arrest of the female nursing university student later same day.

In her statement, she claimed the drug cartel she was working for recruited her in India and paid for her trip to Nigeria to enjoy her Christmas and New Year holidays. To avoid her parents knowing she was in Nigeria, Esther did not travel to her home state, Imo but was lodged for two weeks in a hotel in Enugu, from where she was flown to Abuja and then Kano where she was lodged at Royal Park Hotel to swallow the 76 pellets of cocaine sent to her from Lagos before taking her Qatar Airways flight to India on Friday morning.

She said she was promised over $5,000 upon successful delivery of the illicit consignment in India.

In other operations along the Okene-Lokoja-Abuja highway, NDLEA officers arrested four suspects: Abdullahi Umar; Tijjani Samaila; Lucky Obotte and Abubakar Haruna, who were heading to Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, Kano, and Abuja in commuter vehicles with over 38,000 pills of tramadol 225mg, 250mg and 100mg concealed in audio speakers and cloths.

In Lagos, operatives of a special operations unit of the agency last Tuesday raided the hideout of a 59-year-old Nwokedi Jonas in Ojodu-Berger area of the state where they recovered 10 parcels of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis weighing 4.9 kilogrammes as well as different paper bags he uses in dispensing the psychoactive substance in retail quantities. Printed on them include street names and codes such as ‘Dead man’; ‘Gelato top shelf smoke’; ‘Topshelf’; and ‘Gelato cake’

In other operations in Lagos, operatives of the state command of the agency last Wednesday raided a house in Igando New Town area of Alimosho where they arrested three suspects: Isaac Vincent, 32; Ebube Ikechi, 25; and Christopher Usifoh, 43, from whom 1,610 kilogrammes skunk, a strain of cannabis and 6 kilogrammes pills of tramadol were recovered. Also recovered from the house were a delivery van and three other vehicles used for distributing the illicit drugs.

Babafemi said two suspects: Olashile Okoya and Mohammed Ibrahim were arrested on Saturday when NDLEA officers raided their home at 5A Addison Palmer, Cadogan Estate, Castle Rock Avenue, Osapa, Lekki Lagos, where 28 kilogrammes of Cannadian Loud were recovered following credible intelligence.

Not less than 67 kilogrammes skunk was seized from Saheed Sulaiman last Thursday when NDLEA operatives raided his Edumare street, Lagos Island hideout, while various quantities of assorted illicit substances were recovered from Adamu Abdullahi last Tuesday when Jerry Irabi Estate, Lekki hideout was raided by NDLEA officers. They include 3.7 litres of codeine syrup; 10,000 pills of tramadol; 1,670 tablets of rohypnol; 6.5 kilogrammes cannabis; 3,100 tablets of diazepam; 10,090 tablets of Molly; 5,500 tabs of Exol-5; 1.2 kilogrammes crisps of wrapped methamphetamine and a monetary exhibit of ₦623,650.00.

In Kano, two suspects: Usama Adamu, 25, and Isah Ibrahim, 29, were last Friday
arrested at Dawanau, Dawakin in Tofa local government area where a total of 7.6 kilogrammes skunk, 78 tubes of rubber solution and 356 bottles of ‘suck and die’, a new psychoactive substance were recovered from them. In another raid in Kano, Usman Isa, 29, was nabbed along Zaria road with 114 blocks of skunk weighing 49.8 kilogrammes.

Three suspects: Lawali Isiaka, Umoru Isiaka and Mohammed Kabiru were last Wednesday arrested by NDLEA operatives with 390 tablets of Molly and 65.5 kilogrammes of cannabis at Bode Saadu in Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State, while Samuel Ogbu, 24, was nabbed with 25,000 pills of tramadol by operatives along Wukari- Zaki Ibiam road, Wukari local government area of Taraba state.

In series of raids in Abuja, a suspect, Rufa’i Hashimu, 27, was arrested at Gwarimpa village area of the FCT with 118 bottles of codeine-based syrup, while 13 others were nabbed in other locations such as: Area 1 IDP camp, Gishiri, Zuba, Dei -Dei, AYA, Lagos Street Garki, Karu, and Lugbe. Recovered from them include different quantities of tramadol, diazepam, and methamphetamine.

With the same vigour, commands and formations of the agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week.

Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd) while urging his officers not to rest on their oars as they intensify their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.

NDLEA arrests India-bound nursing student over attempt to ingest 76 wraps of cocaine