Tuggar: Nigeria to Harness TICAD for Stronger Japan, African Ties

•To expand $1bn trade relationship with Japan 

•Seeks debt rescheduling, restructuring for Africa

•Lobby world leaders for possible seat at the UN Security Council, ICJ

DejiElumoyein Abuja

Nigeria will leverage the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) to advance diplomatic and economic relations with Japan and African partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, said yesterday in Abuja.

Tuggar spoke while addressing newsmen ahead of Nigeria’s first participation in TICAD, scheduled to hold in Yokohama, Japan, from August 20 to August 22.

He explained that under President Bola Tinubu’s leadership at TICAD9, Nigeria would strengthen partnerships across Africa, fostering economic diversification, greater regional integration, and enhanced connectivity to deliver broad-based benefits to all citizens.

Tuggar stressed, “And in the case of Nigeria, because it is a leading economy on the continent, we seek to do what Japan did here in the 60s and 70s, because at that time Japan was the second largest economy in the world, what Japan did was to diversify into other Asian countries, and you had Japanese corporations that were referred to as Kabushiki Kaisha, they invested in other Asian countries.

“You need an industrial base, which is what Nigeria is trying to achieve, which is what President Tinubu is committed to, and that way we can create those jobs for our teeming youths, tackle the issue of unemployment.

“And, of course, the macroeconomic reforms of President Tinubu are already in progress, and we’re beginning to feel the positive effects.”

According to the minister, Nigeria, being a leading economy in Africa, plays a pivotal role in the reform of the global financial architecture and is committed to supporting the continent’s efforts towards debt rescheduling and restructuring to foster sustainable growth.

He stated, “Nigeria plays a very pivotal role when it comes to the reform of the global financial architecture that we continue to talk about.

“Because unless we have that reform in the global financial architecture, we cannot benefit, and Africa as a whole cannot benefit.

“It does not benefit us if others are not also making progress. So with some of the things that are being tabled here, the United Nations is here, the World Bank is here, it is all about the issue of debt, debt rescheduling and debt restructuring.”

Tuggar explained, “Nigeria is leveraging, first and foremost, on this ticket to strengthen its relationship with Japan and also with other African countries, so that it leads the way in providing that restructuring of the global financial architecture, so that the whole continent would benefit, so that Africa would benefit.”

He emphasised that industrialisation-driven reforms were essential for Nigeria to create jobs for its growing youth population and combat unemployment, which he said was currently being actively pursued by the Tinubu administration.

The foreign affairs minister stated that Nigeria, being a leading economy on the continent, sought to adopt the Japanese strategy in the 60s and 70s, when it diversified into other Asian countries.

He said, “That Asian miracle is actually what Japan did, which is referred to as the flying geese effect, where you invest in other countries, you create that integration of economies, connectivity, and you benefit from it.”

Tuggar further revealed that Nigeria aimed to expand its $1 billion trade relationship with Japan to incorporate additional sectors, including the export of more agricultural commodities, while also broadening Nigerian-Japanese development cooperation through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).

He said Nigeria, with the attendance of 17 Heads of State and Governments in Africa, would engage the TICAD platform to further strengthen alliances and bolster its chances of securing the United Nations Security Council seat, as well as lobby for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) seat, and International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Category C status, among others.

He stated, “There’s the issue of the seat in the UN Security Council. So this is the right platform, particularly since as many as 17 heads of state are being expected, for Nigeria to lobby for that.

“There’s a seat in the International Court of Justice. There is the OPCW in the Netherlands, and there’s also the International Maritime Organisation seat, a seat for a country, not an individual.

“And we need to be on the decision-making tables of the world, which is why we need that position in the United Nations Security Council.”