Buhari’s takeaways in TICAD7 and Abe’s warning on debts

The Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7) has ended in Yokohama, Japan, with the full participation of President Muhammadu Buhari. LEON USIGBE reviews the conference and its more significant takeaways for Nigeria.

 

President Muhammadu Buhari, last week, joined his co-African leaders in Yokohama, in search of more Japanese assistance to the continent. Japan had initiated the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7) in 1993 broadly “to refocus international attention on the importance and urgency of African development issues, as well as to promote a high-level policy dialogue between African leaders and development partners.”  Its specific objectives are to a promote high-level policy dialogue between African leaders and their partners; and to mobilise support for African-owned development initiatives.

It prides itself as having, since inception, provided fundamental and comprehensive policy guidelines on African development as it has evolved into a major global framework to facilitate the implementation of initiatives for promoting African development under the dual principle of African “ownership” and international “partnership.”

The meeting in Yokohama was the seventh edition of TICAD and Buhari’s second outing. His first being the sixth edition, which took place in Nairobi, Kenya in 2016. Before he left for the Japanese city, the presidency apprised the country of his mission including the delivering of Nigeria’s statement at the plenary session where he was meant to appraise Nigeria-Japan relations and takeaways from the Nairobi’s TICAD6, as well as have a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe. The presidency affirmed that following the Nairobi TICAD6, where the Japanese government pledged $30 billion investment in Africa, and $500 million for vocational training of 50,000 Africans, in addition to $10 billion infrastructure investment, Nigeria gained tremendously. Specifically, the presidency pointed out that since then, “Japanese government and companies have been very active in supporting Nigeria’s agriculture, healthcare, electricity and youth empowerment.”

Therefore, the TICAD7 offered even greater hope for more positive Japanese investments in the country. President Buhari’s mission, according to the presidency, then became “to push for broader Japanese assistance in the areas of science and technology, innovation, human resource development, education, agriculture, power, health and disaster risk reduction, among others.”

To adequately tap the prospects, Buhari sought to reassure Japanese investors that Nigeria was a very attractive investment destination where opportunities abound for high returns for investors. This formed the central theme of Nigeria’s statement he delivered at Plenary Session Three tagged: Public-Private Business Dialogue. He said he looked forward to prospective investors making inroads in priority sectors in Nigeria such as power and renewable energy, petrochemical and gas, as well as maritime (shipping and ports), automobiles, mining, agribusiness, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, ICT and railway.

The president assured potential investors of good returns, which he said, were guaranteed by the ongoing reform measures taken by his administration. “I have also established a Presidential Committee on Enabling Business Environment, which is made up of key ministries and prominent businessmen to promote the Ease of Doing Business and make Nigeria more attractive and competitive for investment,” he added.

President Buhari also said that his administration was “committed to removing all impediments to private sector participation in these sectors by creating policies that will ensure consistency, predictability and a level playing field for all.” Having identified power, transportation, infrastructure, maritime/shipping, agro-processing, mining, manufacturing, petro-chemicals, food processing and textiles among others, as “key drivers to the diversification” of the Nigerian economy, as well as “priority areas that will drive our economic agenda,” the president said he looked forward to “welcoming prospective investors to Nigeria.”

He commended the existing bonds of friendship and economic cooperation between Nigeria and Japan, a country he described as “a strategic partner for our socio-economic development,” just as he expressed Nigeria’s wish to “further encourage relationships with key public and private sector stakeholders” in both nations. Buhari was satisfied with the level of “discussions on the establishment of the Japan-Nigeria Business Facilitation Council, an initiative of the Japanese government, which would be launched on our return to Nigeria,” adding that, “I look forward to positive reports of increased trade and investment between Nigeria and Japan from these initiatives.”

President Buhari went on to hold investment talks with top officials of Japan Bank for International Cooperation, and Toyota Group, at the margins of the TICAD 7, promising the bank officials led by its deputy Governor, Mr Nobumitsu Hayashi, that Nigeria “is ready to support projects in which Japanese companies are involved in the country. He was able to get assurances from the officials that their bank has plenty resources dedicated for investment in oil and gas, and investments in infrastructure.”

The president also had a bilateral meeting with the president/CEO of Toyota Tsusho, a part of the Toyota conglomerate, Ichiro Kashitani, who indicated interest in sectors like energy, healthcare and automobiles, saying that Toyota would be delighted to have presence all over Nigeria. Kashitani said Toyota Tsusho would like to build an advanced medical diagnostics centre, which would obviate need for foreign travel to obtain cutting edge medical diagnosis. But Buhari urged the group to also consider setting up a car assembly plant, noting that Nigeria had the capacity to absorb the investment for positive returns.

At the bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Abe, Buhari urged the Japanese leader to support Nigeria in combating piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, as well as illegal fishing in the region. And on his part, Abe welcomed President Buhari’s participation at TICAD7 and the country’s signing of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA). Abe then pledged a $300,000 support for Nigeria’s Defence College, as well as 12 million Yen for the country’s public health sector. He also pledged his country’s support for Nigeria’s Presidency of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, while seeking Nigeria’s support for Japan’s bid to occupy some global positions.

TICAD7 produced $20 billion investment pledge over three years for Nigeria and Africa. According to Prime Minister, Abe, who said Japan was interested in infrastructure and human development on the continent, this would come from Japan’s private investors: «I make this pledge to you: The government of Japan will put forth every possible effort so that the power of Japanese private investment, of $20 billion in three years, should in the years to come be surpassed anew from one day to the next,» he told Buhari and the other African leaders at the conference, adding: «We will do whatever it takes to assist the advancement of Japanese companies into Africa.”

With Nigeria seemingly in debt and seeking more loans, the Japanese prime minister sounded a timely note of warning about the potential damage excessive debts could do to its economy and those of other African countries, already heavily indebted. Stressing that Tokyo was promoting “quality” infrastructure exports and investments, supported by Japan’s government-backed institutions, Abe asked African leaders: “What should the government do to encourage (entrepreneurs) to exercise their skills?” He warned: “If partner countries are deeply in debt, it interferes with everyone’s efforts to enter the market.”

President Buhari went to the conference with a bloated shopping list with the intention to seek Japanese assistance in science and technology, innovation, human resource development, education, agriculture, power, health and disaster risk reduction, among others. He has since returned to the country hoping that his participation in TICAD7 will be an improvement upon Nairobi’s TICAD6 in terms of dividends for Nigeria.