By Nkiruka Nnorom

The Director General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, NIIA, Prof. Eghosa Osaghae, has stressed the need to rebuild and expand the economic relationship between Nigeria and Poland to ensure that Nigeria, in extension, Africa, become serious players in the external trade and investment profile of the nation.

Osaghae spoke at a Forum with the Polish Ambassador in Nigeria, Mr. Michal Cygan, saying that with just one percent of Warsaw’s trade flows to Nigeria, the relationship needed a reset and called on Nigeria’s businesses already active with France, the UK and the U.S among others, to now knock on Poland’s door.

According to him, the ambassador’s visit to the Institute presented a chance to reconfigure ties so that Poland’s top 20 economy and Nigeria’s $1 trillion economy ambition could reinforce each other.

“Poland has been together with Africa and Nigeria, and what Poland is struggling to do today is to see how we can translate this very rich history into stronger economic ties. Poland has become one of the top 20 economies in the world and this it has achieved only after the transition in 1989. So, there’s a great deal that Nigeria can do with Poland in that regard,” he said.

He argued that Poland’s post-1989 transition built on currency liberalisation, subsidy removal, and SME support offered comparable experience, not a classroom lesson, for Nigeria’s own reforms.

He said: “Poland has shown that in the transition from a centrally controlled economy to what you call the liberal economy, there are things that you have to do. One of them is trade liberalization. The other is the removal of subsidies. These are orthodox policy paradigms that have been used in neoliberal reforms and Nigeria is doing that today.

“The point in all of that, of course, is that countries like Poland have succeeded and therefore they have things to show. So, the examples then would mean that we (Nigeria) are on the right track. If properly and well managed, Nigeria should reap the benefits of the very bold steps that we have taken.”

Speaking on the theme of the lecture: “Diplomauic and Economic Relations between Nigeria & Poland”, Ambassador Cygan said that Poland’s

1989 reforms restored free speech, local governance and individual agency before economic change.

He listed six economic pivots Nigeria could adapt, from market overhaul and openness to SMEs growth and leveraging niche technology.

According to him, exchange-rate liberalisation, subsidy cuts and opening to foreign banks helped Poland grow continuously for 35 years and hit a $1 trillion GDP.

Ambassador Cygan stressed that people-to-people relations was the last and most important pillar of the Poland-Nigeria renewal, assuring that the Embassy was ready to work hard to match Nigerian students with Polish universities.

Saying that Nigeria’s interest in Poland was a sign of deeply shared values, he pledged to find institutions for young Nigerians to develop their skills and knowledge, reinforcing academic exchanges alongside trade, tech and investment.

Cygan also endorsed a permanent African seat on the UN Security Council and stronger EU-Africa integration.