Vice President Kashim Shettima has expressed confidence in President Bola Tinubu’s leadership, describing him as a leader with the “dexterity and audacity to hope for a better tomorrow.”
Shettima made this statement on Tuesday ahead of the forthcoming Nigeria-Brazil Strategic Dialogue Mechanism with Brazil’s Vice President, Geraldo Alckmin, set to lead a delegation of top executives in the country’s public and private sectors on a state visit to Nigeria for the second session of the Brazil-Nigeria Mechanism for Strategic Dialogue, after over a decade-long break.
The Vice President urged all ministers involved in the dialogue to take full responsibility for driving the initiative forward.
According to him, “in President Bola Tinubu, we have a leader who has shown that dexterity, that audacity to hope for a better tomorrow.”
He said, “I want to urge all Ministers involved in this Nigeria-Brazil strategic dialogue to take charge of the initiative of the discussions so that we can take it to the next level, let’s walk the talk. Please, drive the process, engage with the different strategic focus groups to give you weekly updates to prepare us for the visit of the Brazilian Vice President and his delegation.
“The most important thing at this moment is for us to actualize the dreams of our nation’s development. We have the resources and institutional knowledge to make this work for our country.”
On the similarities between Nigeria and Brazil, the Vice President stressed the need to leverage the huge opportunities inherent in the partnership between both countries to actualize Nigeria’s vision across agriculture, culture and tourism, livestock production and military technology, among others.
Earlier in his speech, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, said the dialogue presents a renewed opportunity for Nigeria to revitalise the nation’s agricultural sector to attain the food sovereign goals of the administration.
“On behalf of the agriculture sector, it is time for us to walk the talk. It is a good day for Nigeria because agriculture will play a major role in the partnership. We have an opportunity to catch up with the rest of the world and be on our way to food sovereignty,” the Minister said.
Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa spoke on the cultural significance of the partnership, saying, “There is a huge population in Brazil of Nigerian descent who have a lot of interest in Nigeria.
“What we have done in the Ministry is to engage Brazil actively in working together. Already, we have an MoU, but we want to expand that beyond cultural diplomacy. Brazilians have a lot of interest in tapping into our creative industry,” she added.
The Minister hinted on plans to rebuild the Nigerian House in Brazil as well as host an annual Orisha Festival soon.
On defence cooperation, Minister of Defence, Muhammad Badaru, stated: “All is set for signing of a defence agreement with Brazil. We are also engaging with them on defence industry development to start production centres in Nigeria.”
Also, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Mohammed Ali Pate, highlighted healthcare opportunities that dialogue presents to Nigeria, noting that the platform is an important relationship for Nigeria.
He said, “Brazil is able to produce almost everything they need, including pharmaceuticals and vaccines. We are keen on turning things around and with the efforts of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we are unlocking the healthcare value chain. Manufacturing vaccines, diagnostics and pharmaceuticals is on the agenda, but it’s a very long journey and we are determined to walk through it.”
Also, Technical Assistant to the President on Agriculture (Office of the Vice President), Ms. Marion Moon, said, “Brazil’s agricultural expertise—from their successful cropland expansion to their global leadership in key commodities—offers invaluable insights for our development. The upcoming $1.1 billion Green Imperative Project exemplifies the depth of our relationship and its potential to revolutionize Nigerian agriculture through modernization and technology transfer.”
She explained that the Strategic Dialogue will be preceded by a Trade and Investment Forum coinciding with the anticipated visit of Brazil’s Vice President and Minister of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services, H.E. Geraldo Alckmin.
Others who spoke at the meeting included the Minister of Livestock Development, Alhaji Idi Mukhtar Maiha, and a representative of the Minister of State for the Environment, Balarabe Lawal, among many other
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