TheCable

John Usanga, Nigerian ambassador to Guinea Bissau, says in spite of the challenges Nigeria is facing, many African nations look up to the country for “guidance”.

Usanga said this when he hosted Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, to dinner in Praia, the Cape Verde capital.

According to NAN, Mohammed is in Cape Verde for the 64th conference of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) – Conference for Africa, and the second edition of the UNWTO Global Tourism Investment Forum, which ended on September 4.

Usanga described Cape Verde as “a virgin territory up for the taking, with the government and people looking up to Nigeria to help them stand”.

He also said Cape Verde “is looking up to Nigeria” for the development of its music and film industry.

“Cape Verde has become a favourite destination for Nigerians and we have received so many teams from Nigeria all interested in coming to Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau,” Usanga said.

“Nigeria is very important to these countries because as we have come to realise, they are looking up to us for guidance and development.

“Some of the things we need to do is to open the space to make it conducive for Nigerians that are here and to those who want to come in for investment.

“It would be of great benefit to have Nigerians come in here and invest freely.”

He identified sectors in Cape Verde where Nigerian investors could explore as education, health, technical services, and infrastructure.

Usanga said the Nigerian-organised private sector could also explore energy provision, tourism development, and water treatment ventures “because the water in the Island is salty”.

He urged the minister to consider facilitating the reactivation of the bilateral air service agreement between Nigeria and Cape Verde as “urgent” to allow for direct flights between both counties.

“I want to urge that we do not wait for them to start the operations. We can encourage our businessmen to give the operation a chance by launching flights, so that more people will be aware of the great potentials in this land,” he said.

Responding, Mohammed commended the envoy for portraying Nigeria positively.

The minister also gave the assurance that the federal government will provide the legal framework needed to consolidate collaboration between both countries.