务实合作促尼日利亚发展——专访尼日利亚企业家论坛（NEF）主席西德尼·英格培迪恩（Sidney Inegbedion）博士

“中非合作论坛（FOCAC）自成立20年以来，助力中非两方建立蓬勃向上、互利共赢的关系，共同实现发展与繁荣。”尼日利亚企业家论坛（NEF）主席西德尼·英格培迪恩博士接受《中国投资》特约记者采访时说。

他认为，中非合作论坛的所有目标与议程，均有助于中非实现外交、教育、文化与经济层面的持久繁荣与昌盛。

中非合作论坛的示范效应

自2003年以来，英格培迪恩博士一直是中非合作论坛的老朋友，对尼中两国的各级交往非常熟悉。英格培迪恩博士说，他亲眼见证论坛在中非合作各领域体现出的重要影响力，他希望国际组织可以效仿中非合作论坛这种模式，以创造一个更和平、更繁荣的时代。

在过去将近20年里，我分别代表我的政党以及我现在任职的尼日利亚企业家论坛（NEF）与中国保持密切合作，直到2003年，我才意识到中非合作论坛的发展进度与影响力远超我过去的想象。尼日利亚企业家协会与中国展开了多方面的合作，甚至有时候会代表尼日利亚政府并通过政府下属机构与中国进行合作。中非合作论坛对中非发展产生巨大影响力，其中最重要的影响便是，中国与非洲特别是与尼日利亚的交往模式已成为其他国家与地区开展对非外交的模板。在2018年至2019年之间，欧洲、美国，以及日本等国家对非洲给予了越来越多的外交关注，英国、日本、俄罗斯、美国等国家还邀请非洲国家参加了本国的经济峰会。在短短一个月内，德国、法国和英国的领导人分别到访非洲进行国事访问。

尼日利亚多领域收获硕果

英格培迪恩博士表示，中国对中非合作论坛相关议程的承诺在许多方面都产生了积极影响。从经济层面上讲，中非合作论坛以及中非交流的诸多平台为非洲的投资、贸易、科技转让等领域带来了许多转机。

自中非合作论坛创办的20年以来，中国与尼日利亚之间的双边贸易额大大增加。过去两年来，尼日利亚对华的贸易出口额增长了70％以上，除了尼日利亚的主要出口物石油之外，还有加工品与工业原材料出口至中国。

贸易只是双方合作的一个侧面。在教育方面，尼日利亚是在华带奖学金留学学生数目最多的非洲国家，约有6800名尼日利亚大学生带奖学金在华留学。同时，我还关注到中国土木工程集团有限公司（下称中土集团）在人力资源赋能与加强非洲能力建设方面的努力，目前有60多名本科及以上教育程度的尼日利亚年轻工人在中国接受铁路技术方面的培训，他们会将技术带回尼日利亚，组建、训练一批尼日利亚本土技术人员，建设国家铁路系统，尼日利亚交通部长罗蒂米·阿玛埃奇阁下在多次公开讲话中也都证实了这一点。中土集团在奥贡州建立了机车车辆组装厂，许多中国公司在尼日利亚与本地合作伙伴合资建立了生产基地。因此，尼中合作不仅仅局限于中国向尼日利亚单方向出口制成品，中国也在帮助尼日利亚实现工业化。

⬆由中国土木工程集团有限公司承建的阿布贾航站楼及值机大厅

两国另一个合作典型案例是尼日利亚商业巨头、非洲首富阿里科·丹格特在拉各斯州的大型石化化肥厂，中方斥巨资参与投资。据尼日利亚央行行长戈德温·埃梅菲勒上周透露，该化肥厂投产后将成为世界上最大的化肥厂，并将为尼日利亚创汇7.5亿美元。包括中国卡车制造巨头中国重汽在内的多家中国企业也是该化肥厂的投资方。埃努古州的商用汽车组装厂ANAMMCO与尼日利亚重型运输车企GUO合作，获得了中方的很多支持，该组装厂重新恢复车辆生产。Innoson正在迅速崛起成为一个重要的尼日利亚本土汽车品牌，其中也有中国合作伙伴的支持。在拉各斯州，尼日利亚车企Elizade Motors与广州汽车集团股份有限公司（GAC）建立了紧密的合作伙伴关系，拉各斯州政府在去年11月州长巴巴吉德·桑沃·奥卢对华进行商业与投资访问后宣布，有意与广汽集团在拉各斯州合资建立汽车组装厂。

卡诺州、奥贡州、埃多州等地最近宣布一项与中国投资商合作开发农业产业的计划，其中以棕榈油生产为重点，埃努古州、三角洲、埃邦伊州、克里斯河州等地也有许多由中国企业投资的项目。这种发展模式最大的好处是中国并不只对尼日利亚出口制成品，而是在尼日利亚进行真金白银的投资，切实促进尼日利亚的发展。

中国目前是尼日利亚木材和木薯的最大进口国。以上这些贸易活动使得2019年两国双边贸易额增长至200亿美元。

一家专门报道中非经济合作的尼日利亚主流新闻媒体——中非经济在线（The Africa China Economy Online）报道了这样一则新闻，在媒体参观广州南沙港时，有关部门负责人表示，该港口非洲货物的最大进口来源地是尼日利亚，进口最多的货物是木材。南沙港对非出口货物停泊最多的港口是拉各斯的阿帕帕港。

英格培迪恩博士还指出，中国在帮助西非地区抗击埃博拉病毒方面发挥了重要作用，值得称赞。中国是2013年、2014年抗击埃博拉病毒中贡献物力、财力、人力最多的国家。中国在利比里亚、几内亚和塞拉利昂的抗击埃博拉之战始终是人道主义援助的一个里程碑。另外，另一个西非国家马里共和国也有中国人奋斗的身影，中国维和部队与联合国一道采取军事行动，帮助马里平息叛乱、重归和平。 我坚信如果不是中方努力履行中非合作论坛框架下的承诺，所有的这些对非支援都不会发生。

对于两国金融领域的合作，英格培迪恩博士对记者说，为了两国的双边贸易投资活动更加顺畅高效，尼日利亚于2014年开始将一部分外汇储备转换为人民币。两年前，尼日利亚与中国两国央行签署了双边本币互换协议，允许在华经营的尼企与在尼经营的中企不必通过任何中间货币，直接以人民币进行外币兑换。

中非合作论坛取得了可观成果，我们会继续落实中非合作论坛框架下的相关政策，并希望能够取得更好的成果。我们呼吁两国政府鼓励尼中两国人民互访，去对方国家探寻商机。如果不是新冠肺炎疫情影响，尼日利亚企业家论坛团队本来计划今年设立浙江省义乌市办事处。总之，中非合作论坛已取得不菲的成绩，我们还需要百尺竿头，更进一步！

英文版

The President of the Nigerian Entrepreneurs Forum (NEF), Dr. Sidney Inegbedion has described the 20 years the Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) has been in existence to work out a virile and profitable relationship between the two worlds as those of progress and shared prosperity.

In an interview with us, he stated that in so many ways, in fact, in all the objectives and agenda of the FOCAC, they have been years of great success and progress in diplomatic, educational, cultural and economic relationships between Africa and China.

Inegbedion who has been familiar with the FOCAC and the workings between China and Nigeria since 2003 said he is a witness to the impacts of the forum and one that he wishes would be replicated by many world bodies for a more peaceful and prosperous era.

I have worked closely with China from my political party and now the NEF for close to 20 years and it was in 2003 I found out that the pace and reach of the FOCAC had become far more serious than before imagined. In so many ways, we have worked with China even representing the government of Nigeria through some organisations of the government and I am a witness that the body has impacted so much on the development of the two worlds. Most of all, the way China has related with Africa and especially Nigeria has also become a standard for the other worlds to approach Africa diplomacy. Between 2018 and 2019, there was this heightened diplomatic attention on Africa from Europe, America and other Asian countries like Japan and some of them even hosted African countries to economic summits such as the UK, Japan, Russia and the US. In a particular month, leaders of Germany, France and the UK were on diplomatic tours of Africa.

So the commitment of China to the FOCAC agenda has triggered so many positives in so many ways .Economically, the platform and forum has brought so much turnaround too in investment, trade, technology transfer and many more.

The trade volume between China and Nigeria has increased tremendously over the FOCAC years, China’s volume of trade or imports from Nigeria has increased by over 70 percent in the past two years and this is also in processed goods and industrial raw materials, outside oil which is the primary export of the country.

Beyond trade also, Nigeria is the African country with the largest number of students in China on scholarship, about 6,800. I have also followed the development of the trend of human empowerment and human capital enhancement by the Chinese construction firm, CCECC where over 60 young Nigerian workers, all university graduates, are undergoing training in railway technology in China to be able to raise a domestic workforce to run the nation’s railway system. The Minister for Transportation, Hon. Chibuike Amaechi has confirmed this in many public addresses. The Chinese company has built a wagon production plant in Ogun State and many Chinese firms have set up production bases with Nigerian partners in the country and our cooperation has gone beyond just exporting Chinese finished goods to Nigeria to encouraging local industrialisation.

Another good instance is the giant petrochemical and fertilizer plants owned by our own business mogul, Aliko Dangote in Lagos where enormous Chinese investment interest is a good part of it. The fertiliser plant is going to the world’s largest when it comes on stream and to earn Nigeria $750m foreign exchange as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele revealed just last week. Companies like the Sinotruk, the Chinese truck making giant is also partner there. The ANAMMCO in Enugu has got so much Chinese input in partnership with Nigerian transporter, GUO, and that facility has come back fully and making vehicles. Innoson that is fast becoming a major local automobile brand also has Chinese partners. In Lagos, the Elizade Motors has forged a strong partnership with Chinese Guangzhou Automobile Company (GAC) while the Lagos State government announced an interest to set up a car assembly plant locally in partnership with GAC also. The state government announced that last year in November after Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu did a business and investment tour of China.

In so many states like Kano, Ogun, Edo that lately announced a plan to partner Chinese investors and develop the agribusiness sector, especially palm oil production, Enugu, Delta, Ebonyi, Cross River and many others, the Chinese economic interest has become common. The best part of this development is the interest in investing in Nigeria rather than just exporting finished goods to Nigeria.

China is today the highest importer of Nigerian timber and cassava pellets and all these have resulted in the growth of the trade volume that is close to $20b in 2019.

The Africa China Economy Online, a major news medium in Nigeria with special interest in China Africa economic cooperation reported how on a tour of the Nansha Port, Guangzhou, the management remarked that the port’s largest import from Africa is from Nigeria and the product is timber. Also, it revealed that the Apapa port, Lagos is the largest receiver of its exports to Africa.

At the regional level also, Inegbedion noted that China played a great and commendable role in the eradication of the Ebola virus outbreak and was the country that made most contribution of resources – material, financial and expertise to the fight against Ebola in 2013 and 2014. In Mali, another West African country, China’s peacekeepers have been on ground fighting and working alongside the UN to defeat insurgency in the country and bring back peace

China’s intervention against Ebola in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone remains a landmark in humanitarian assistance and I am persuaded that all these have been made possible in pursuit of the FOCAC objectives.

It was in the spirit of smoother and better economic relationship between the two countries that Nigeria in 2014 started domiciling a percentage of its foreign reserve in the Chinese Yuan and two years ago, the CBN and China’s People’s Central Bank signed agreement for currency swap that enables Nigerians doing business in China or the Chinese in Nigeria to procure forex in the Renminbi and not going through any other intermediary currency. 

Since FOCAC has yielded great dividends, we would do well to sustain those policies that encourage better outcomes, and business travels by Nigerians and the Chinese to scout for opportunities in each other’s side should be encouraged rather than shut down. But for the coronavirus incident, my group, the NEF, would have been to China to set up our office in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province. So with the mileage covered by the forum so far, we only need to do much more.

⬆Construction site of Ebe Substation, Nigeria