‘Nigeria’s Major Security Problems Are Internal’

The Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, Kim Young Chae, recently hosted some journalists, including Olawale Ajimotokan, to mark his 100 days in office as his country’s representative in Nigeria. The interview dwelt on insecurity, commerce, military collaboration and education

What is the level of trade between Nigeria and South Korea?

Last year our trade was $1.2 billion but in 2017 it was $2.6 billion. It is a pity we have seen several years of decrease in our bilateral trade. I guess, one of the reasons is the sharp fall in the prices of oil and gas. Korea, you may wish to know is a major importer of energy, we are number three importer of gas, we are number five in the world in terms of oil import. The price decrease of oil and gas has affected negatively our bilateral relations and trade volumes. You may also note that some Korean companies complain that when they ship in they have to wait on the sea for month to bring in their items into Nigeria. So when you export something in Nigeria to Korea, let say the shipping cost rise affects Nigeria’s product competitively in a negative way. This kind of thing also affects us negatively. Recently, I met the chairman of Nigeria Export Promotions Council and we discussed how to increase our bilateral trade. He said we have to make sure that export-import are done by private sector not government. We import a lot of Sesame seeds mainly from Ethiopia, but I know that Nigeria also produces Sesame seeds, so if Nigeria’s Sesame seeds have competitive advantage, why not import from Nigeria. We also import a lot of corn and why not Nigeria’s corn or other minerals if it has international competitiveness.

What is the level of cooperation on security between both countries?

On security issue, I see news everyday on Nigeria about kidnapping, banditry, Boko Haram and piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and other diverse issues. It is a matter to be discussed among Nigerians mainly, I have to say. It is a different issue and an international issue if outside forces invade Nigeria. Each country has its own security problem; we have ours with North Korea. Nigeria’s major security problems are internal and of course, it has its immediate neighbours like Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin which affect its security directly. In diplomacy we have a saying that good neighbours make you a good person. But it is a little too early for me to open on what we are discussing with Nigerian defence authorities. We are also trying to increase training in military education. For example, we are inviting Nigerian Army officers to Korea each year on the sponsorship of Korean government for two years to have some training and education. Also on commercial basis we have some defence cooperation between Nigerian defence and some Korean private companies. You may know that we are one of major powers in terms of manufacturing and proficient in electronics, semi-conductors, ship building, petrochemicals, submarines, even airplanes.

Has the Nigerian government ever approached South Korea for the purchase of military hardware and other intelligence equipment to be used in tackling the security challenges in the country? Your predecessor left recently. While he was here, he made effort towards bringing Nigeria to appreciate intelligence. Now that you are what is your effort in that direction?

The first one, Hyudai and Kia are auto companies they are major car producers in the world competing with German, Japanese and American cars. Nowadays, Korean cars are well designed and their fuel consumption is very low. I want Nigerian officials to visit Korea and see the tanks, the artillery and small arms among others. They can also see the actual items and actual cost for them to know the capability of the Korean equipment and compare the prices with other countries. In that way we promote defence cooperation. Regarding military training in Korea, you may know that Korea is number six in the world in term of military strength. We are also number six in the world in military spending and we are one of the most developed countries in terms of military education. We cannot secure any country without the military. So we have to use the military in a good way and make sure they are in good shape to protect the country. The Korean military is a good example in that area. We have a new defence attache since last year. He is building relationship with the Nigeria military. We want to expand our defence corporation in terms of information sharing among others. And in order to have that we need to sign some sort of documents between our Minister of Defence and Nigeria’s Defence Minister. Our defence attache is working on it and it needs to be discussed between them face to face. We are going to invite the Minister of Defence to Korea to Seoul so that he can meet the Korean Minister of Defence so that we can make progress.

What is the strategy to improve on Nigeria and South Korea’s collaboration in agriculture considering the present security challenges that are deterring farmers from their farms? And what are the major crops you are looking at for that collaboration?

With regards to agriculture, we have a specific programme in Katsina State. Korea was very poor at the level of Ghana before it began to develop its economy in 1960. Its history is closely related to agriculture. We tried to transform our agriculture sector- the mentality of farmers and how to cultivate their farm and the value chain. And in 1964 more than half of Korean people lived in the country side surviving by cultivating rice each year on small pieces of land. We have tried to reduce farmers and transform many portion of the farming to manufacturing sector. We also introduced population control that limited each family to only two children. We had a sustained campaign and reduced the population growth in a manageable way and began to introduce mechanized farming to enable the production of different kinds of agricultural machines in cheap ways. We also provided a lot of credits to farmers so that they can purchase agricultural machinery for the whole process. We are also trying to develop new varieties for rice so that we can have more yields. We collaborated with international researchers to develop new seeds which was successful. We have reduced farmers. Now we have less than seven per cent living in country side in the farming sector with one farmer taking care of huge area of land. And the productivity is very high. If you visit the Korean countryside almost every family has one car. Some families have more than two cars and their income levels is very high almost comparable to people in the city. So in that way we have succeeded in the strategy towards new village moment. So we are having our pilot project in Katsina State with the farmers in the area. We provide the technology and seeds so they use the technology and knowhow to produce rice there and then Dangote Group purchased the rice and sold it. It is very significant you have to think. Let us assume that as a farmer, I product rice but if I can’t sell the rice, it is useless. So rice farming itself is not farming only, it is closely related with commercial activities. We have to think in Nigeria as well in a holistic way from the beginning to the end. How farmers produce rice is important but at the same time how to sell the product in an efficient and profitable way is very important. We say we have to provide agricultural machineries to Kano State, but if they cannot sell those products what is the use for the farmers? I am told that some farmers are abandoning their lands because of fear of being kidnapped by terrorists. It is a terrible situation. So the production falls. Farmers are reacting to such situation arising from Nigeria’s internal security. We need to discuss how to resolve that. Law and order is the foundation of any country. Without law and order, we can’t succeed in any nation. Media people have a kind of responsibility as private citizens, you have to cultivate and criticize bad behavior and whoever is supporting it.

If you have access to President Buhari what will you tell him in this situation?

It is a huge challenge for any country. About 20 years ago the population of Nigeria was 120 million but now we have 200 million people. It is a huge figure for any country to feed, educate and employ. I think it is very difficult at the same time look at the climate change which is affecting the Sahara Region. So people have little water and food and they are moving to their neighbours, creating a chain effect and huge challenges. Of course we have change issues, I don’t know how to say it, but Nigeria is not fully developed in terms of nation building. I read former President Obasanjo’s autobiography. There he talked extensively about nation building- we have north, east, west, south, Islam, Christianity and traditional practices- all these things. He said a lot about nation building, which is a huge challenge because some scholars mention several levels of identities- religion which is of very high level of identity, lowest level is national and state identity. If I ask a Korean, what is his number one priority in form of identity, he immediately says national identity. Of course he has his religion, home town, tribal and regional identities but when we discuss about national it covers all of our country and so on. The kind of perception and identity we want is not automatically acquired, we have to build and cultivate it. We have to try every day and think of our national interest first. We have to build the mindset as Nigerians. People say that Nigeria is very diverse. For any person, building a nation state and having a national identity is a huge challenge, not only for President Buhari but also for President Obasanjo and President Goodluck Jonathan. It is easy to blame President Buhari, I am not defending him, I am just saying that it is not easy for any president to solve the problem. So we have to understand the situation and think about bringing realistic solution for the country.

What is your personal assessment of Nigeria in your hundred days as the Korean Ambassador?

I have found similarities between Korea and Nigeria even though we look a bit different. In the Korean Embassy, we have Nigerian staff who are very loyal, hardworking and industrious. Rather unfairly, Nigeria has very bad news internationally but in this country, I see a lot of good things and I quite mean it. Abuja, to be honest, is one of the best cities in Africa. I lived in Pretoria, South Africa. I was Ambassador in Libya, I was ambassador in Indonesia and I lived in Jakarta, I find Abuja is one of the most convenient cities to live in Africa. We see in newspapers everyday very discomforting reports. Nigerian and Korean media are found of writing negative reports (laughter) which appears to be the general trend about the media. I also discover that Nigerians like fun like the Korean people. We throw small jokes and the people laugh. Nigerians and Koreans are also family oriented and very dedicated. In terms of hospitality they are also very similar. Nigerian people are also quite nationalistic. My staff also think Nigerian people are very smart. We had a competition to select students from Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Sierra Leone for a Ph.D programme. The selection process spread over four-week. And my staff told me, each year, more students from Nigeria are always selected than from other countries. I see many good things though I also share your concern regarding security. I want to travel to the country side freely, I want to visit farming communities and see ordinary people in the villages and how they are living, their traditional way of life. Of course, I told you that there are many beautiful places in Nigeria. During my vacation, I want to tour areas with high mountains, valleys, water falls. I want to see, touch and feel the mood. But insecurity will always make it difficult and cumbersome to travel to the countryside.

Do you have any plans to expand the Korean model school presently in Abuja to other states in Nigeria?

The Korean Model School in Abuja is funded to the tune of over $15 million, which is quite huge. We provide the building facilities while the Nigerian side provides administration, including security and salary. I think the condition of the school is excellent and both the teachers and student quality is very high. I feel very satisfied merely looking at the facilities and meeting with the teachers and students. The Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) is trying to replicate in the Korean Model School in six states of Nigeria and are presently consulting with state authorities where they will cite the schools out of the 36 states. For the next phase, we are not building schools, rather we are going to provide equipment like computers, LCD screens and ICT related materials and provide logistics so that the funding levels will be lower than in the smallest state because we are six states. That is our plan currently.

Would you support the call for the break-up of Nigeria?

The call for the breakup of Nigeria is not a good idea. We had the Korean War in 1950 and more than one million people were killed. We also had the Biafran war in Nigeria and more than one million lives were lost. To divide a country means cutting your body. Let us imagine we have a whole body and I want to make my own body into two, then we have to cut some portions. And in the process I have to bleed a lot, not to wonder the pains and loss of blood. Nigeria right now is internationally well-acclaimed. The Korean candidate was defeated by a Nigerian candidate, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala for the post of Director-General of World Trade Organisation, which indicates that Nigeria is very strong at the diplomatic level. We also see many accomplished Nigerian nationals, notably Amina Mohammed at the UN and Akinwunmi Adesina at the African Development Bank making their presence felt on the global stage. Why you have so many high ranking Nigerian policymakers at the global level is because Nigeria is a very relevant nation, otherwise, Okonjo-Iweala would not have been elected. In the event Nigeria is splintered into many countries, those countries won’t be of relevance internationally. Again the cost implication of running the offshoot nations, like building new army and institutions like the presidency, new embassies and the civil service will cost a lot more. I am not a Nigerian citizen but if anybody says the country should be divided I will detest him. Nigeria has been a country for more than 100 years, including as British colony and with more than 60 years as an independent nation. Most of Nigerians born after independence are already old men, so your identity is Nigerian. So why do we want to go back to the old days instead of looking at the future?

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