TheCable

Okechukwu Enelamah, minister of industry, trade and investment, says Nigeria has a lot to learn from China, which President Muhammadu Buhari recently visited.

He said the president went to China with more than 200 Nigerian businesses, adding that the trip was to make nation-to-nation and business-to-business deals.

“For those of you who were in China, the energy level was high, the engagement was high. Frankly, what we have to do now is systematic and deliberate follow-up and the results will inevitably come,” he said at a town hall meeting organised by the federal government in Lagos.

“While we were there, the president met with all the key citizens, starting from the president to the premier and some of the other key people in China.

“As it has been widely reported, we signed several agreements. Some of the agreements ranged from agreements on industrialisation, to some of the other agreements you heard about.

“The Nigerian government also acknowledges that there’s much Nigeria can learn from China. For example, we view with admiration, what China has accomplished by lifting hundreds of millions of its people out of poverty over the cause of just one generation.

“It has been said that it takes only one committed generation to rebuild a country, why can’t it be this generation? China has done it; Nigeria can do it.”

Enelamah also the government’s aim is to create an industrial revolution in Nigeria, and make it easier to do business in Nigeria.

“It should be pointed out that both countries make a lot of economic importance, not just to the world, but also to their respective continent,” he said.

“China’s is Nigeria’s largest trading partner, you know. Over 40 percent of our imports are from China, and it represents over $15 billion.

“Of course, you know that the president’s trip was a state visit. Why this trip is important is that the president was able to go with a number of governors, ministers and several businesses; over 200 Nigerian businesses actually came on this trip.”