By Vera Anyagafu

The Chinese Consul General in Nigeria, Ambassador Xiaoliang has made open the Chinese government’s readiness to enhance the capacity and abilities of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), saying that the need for NIS officials to interact with Chinese at the country’s various border posts and entry points is quite necessary, hence the flag off training for NIS officials on Chinese language, (Mandarin), in Lagos.

Consul General, Consulate General of the Peoples Republic of China in Lagos, Chao  Xiaoliang

Xiaoliang, who said this at the opening ceremony of the training at the Conficius Institute in University of Lagos (UNILAG), noted that the language programme, will help to improve communications between citizens of both countries, for fact that people to people exchange between the two countries have become more frequent, and that in 2017, NIS issued more than 14,000 visas to Chinese citizens, which recorded the third among all the foreign countries and a good sign of a warmly diplomatic relationship.

“The language programme is for the NIS officials in my district and it is to teach the officers some daily expressions in Chinese language for easy interactions.
In the coming months, about 80 officials of the NIS will join the training, which will benefit both the Chinese travelers and the NIS, and the programme has gained strong support from  the NIS Comptroller General, Muhammed Babandele,”, Xiaoliang stated.

In addition, he expressed satisfaction at the cordial diplomatic relationship both countries share, which he said, has culminated into trade volume accruing to 14 billion dollars as at 2017.

“Our diplomatic relationships have yielded fruitful achievements and this is derived from friendly and mutually beneficial co-operation in all fields,
More and more investments come from China to Nigeria and vise versa and our people to people exchange have become more and more frequent”, Xiaoliang expressed.

The NIS Comptroller General, Muhammed Babandele, who was represented  by  the Coordinator, NIS Headquarters, Zone A, Mohammed Alfa, posited that language is an integral part of man, a vital tool for communicating thoughts and ideas, as well as forge friendship, cultural ties and economic relationship.

Lauding the expanded bilateral relations between China and Nigeria, especially in the area of trade, strategic economic cooperation, among others, he said, the training has given another dynamic dimension to the already existing cordial relations.

He further stated that, it is in the spirit of cooperation and ease of doing business that the Chinese Consulate has offered to train NIS official, pointing out that under the NIS present leadership, there has been emphasis on the training and retraining of officials to enhance their overall performance.

Enjoining participants at the pilot training drawn from Lagos State Command, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Seme/Border Patrol Command, Lagos Seaport and Marine Command, as well as Ogun State Command, to make good use of the golden opportunity offered them to learn the language, Babandele expressed optimism that the training would effectively improve the communication gaps and other hindrances encountered by the Chinese nationals as the NIS officials perform their duties.

He thanked the Chinese Consulate in Lagos for their continuous support and collaboration with the NIS, and advised the Chinese nationals and community to comply with the extant Immigration rules and regulations of Nigeria.

Also, Director, Confucius Institute, UNILAG, Wang Yongjing, commended the NIS for their efforts at bridging the communication cap between the NIS officials and Chinese.