…berates Nigeria, South Africa for not signing the AfCFTA

By Victoria Ojeme

ABUJA- The Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has said that there must be a review of the current economic world order if the issue of migration, particularly of African decent must be addressed comprehensively.

Sanusi, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), stressed that contemporary foreign policies of nation’s can no longer be discussed in isolation of domestic policy, maintaining that the current world order is skewed in favour of Europe and other developed countries, thereby making those countries attractive to citizens of less developed countries.

He was speaking yesterday in Abuja, at the formal launch of the Association of Foreign Relations Professionals of Nigeria (AFRPN).

Sanusi, lamented that Europe and the West through the trade liberalization policy used African resources to develop their regions and yet are denying Africans dividends of the fruit of their labours.

“We have a composition in the world whereby in the last three decades we have been talking about removal of all barriers to the movement of capital”, he said.

“But I feel a little upset when I see African leaders going to Europe and sit down talking of how to stop the migration of labour which is not an African problem really, it is a European problem which was created partly by the world order”, he added.

According to him, the trade liberalization policy has set up an international trade environment that impoverishes half of the world, with some persons supplying raw materials of imported or finished goods.

” We set up the world system that transfers resources of Africa to the rest of the world, are we surprise that we have poverty, insecurity and some people are moving from this part of the world to other part to seek for better life.

“What I would like is to see a conversation on migration that is part and parcel of a wider conversation of the world order on what can the world do to develop Africa.

“When we go and sit with the president of France, let’s not talk about how many guns or soldiers you can give us, let’s talk about how many solar panels you can build in the sahel and generate electricity and create industry and create job to stop people from seeking for greener pasture in France and other part of the world.

“I speak as an economist, but I don’t see how we can conduct foreign policy without having these economic conversation”, he said.

He however berated Nigeria and South Africa for refusing to sign the African continental free trade agreement AfCFTA,

“It is quite surprising that the two biggest economies in Africa withdrew from signing such economic agreement, I could not believe that we have signed GAT already signed WTO. we have trade relations with America with China and we cannot have trade within Africa, not having the two giant economies in Africa in it is serious”, he said.

Earlier, the President, AFRPN, Ambassador Gani Lawal, disclosed the plan of the association to establish a credible think-thank for the government and people of Nigeria.

He stressed that the association was influenced by the feelings that foreign relations as a subject has been subjected to permutations and conjectures by those with little knowledge of the subject.

“This is coupled with the fear that our government may begin to patronize quacks and soothsayers on foreign relations, when we have in abundance erudite personnel and professionals in world affairs”, he said.