Despite growing Chinese interest in financing and building infrastructure, India remains one of Nigeria’s important partners
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Last month, on his way to Brazil to participate in the G-20 Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a strategic halt in Nigeria. During his first two terms, Mr. Modi travelled to 10 African countries, including Uganda, where he delivered a historic speech outlining India’s vision of Africa. However, his visit to Nigeria is significant as it marks the first African visit of the Prime Minister in his third term. This visit is also the first by an Indian Prime Minister to Nigeria in 17 years.
The importance accorded to India by Nigeria was evident from the very moment Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu welcomed Mr. Modi at Abuja airport. Later, the Indian Prime Minister was conferred Nigeria’s second-highest national award, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger. He became the only second foreign dignitary to receive the distinction since 1969, after Queen Elizabeth II, underlining India’s rising global stature and the trust and recognition Mr. Modi has gained for his commitment to the Global South.
Nigeria is both the largest economy and the largest democracy in Africa. Nigeria is also a regional hegemon in West Africa and plays an important role at the African Union level. It is regarded as a democratic role model and has, in the past, used its clout to mediate disputes on the African continent. Strengthening India’s ties with Nigeria would undoubtedly have effects far beyond the nation’s borders.
With terrorism, separatism, piracy, and drug trafficking as major challenges for Nigeria, Mr. Modi underscored the continuing salience of strong cooperation on security issues.
In his conversation with President Tinubu, Mr. Modi reiterated the high priority India accords to its strategic partnership with Nigeria and expressed interest in boosting ties in areas such as defence, energy, technology, trade, health, and education. With terrorism, separatism, piracy, and drug trafficking as major challenges for Nigeria, Mr. Modi underscored the continuing salience of strong cooperation on security issues. This encompasses the purchase of Indian weapons and cooperation in the counterterrorism operations against the Islamist groups, particularly Boko Haram.
Mr. Modi’s trip is also a follow-up to an Indian defence industry delegation’s visit to Lagos earlier this year. Mr. Tinubu had expressed interest in buying arms from India during that visit. India is emerging as a key defence supplier to Africa, with sales to Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Tanzania, and Mozambique.
In over six decades of close partnership between India and Nigeria, India has also emerged as a development partner of Nigeria on two fronts — offering developmental assistance through concessional loans ($100 million) and capacity-building training programmes — shaping this partnership in a distinctive ‘India Way’.
Nigeria currently has over 200 Chinese companies. It is China’s largest export market and its second-largest trading partner in Africa. On the other hand, China is Nigeria’s third-largest export market. China has funded over $47 billion for 22 large-size infrastructural projects across the country. As of March 31, 2020, Chinese loans to Nigeria totalled $3.121 billion, or 11.28% of Nigeria’s $27.67 billion in external debt. Earlier, Nigeria had undertaken several significant infrastructure projects using Chinese money, such as the National Public Security Communications System project and the Abuja Light Rail project, and planned terminal expansions at four major airports.
In 2023, China funded the Lekki Deep Sea Port. The port, one of the largest in West Africa, will relieve cargo congestion, which costs billions of dollars in annual revenue and is expected to generate over 170,000 new jobs. It is anticipated that the port will boost Nigeria’s struggling economy.
The Chinese technology giant Huawei has a significant presence in Nigeria. Since 2019, Huawei has trained 2,000 Nigerian youths and 1,000 federal civil servants across Ministries, departments, and agencies, and it plans to continue training government employees in cybersecurity strategy. Huawei has deployed over 27,500 mobile phone towers and up to 10,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable in Nigeria. It has also signed a contract with the Federal government to install an electronic surveillance system at the country’s land borders.
China Sinoma International Engineering and Nigeria’s Dangote Industries Limited also signed a contract to construct a cement plant with six million tonnes per year in Itori, Ogun state.
China is also active in Nigeria’s mining sector. Last February, Kaduna selected China’s Ming Xin Mineral Separation Nig Ltd. to build the nation’s first lithium-processing plant. It aims to produce batteries for electric vehicles. Yet, five months ago, the Nigerian government rejected Tesla’s proposal to buy raw lithium from the country. Meanwhile, China Sinoma International Engineering and Nigeria’s Dangote Industries Limited also signed a contract to construct a cement plant with six million tonnes per year in Itori, Ogun state.
Despite growing Chinese interest in financing and building infrastructure, India remains one of Nigeria’s key partners. Trade between India and Nigeria has declined from $14.95 billion in 2021-22 to $7.89 billion in 2023-24, primarily due to India’s increasing oil imports from Russia. India and Nigeria, however, continue cooperating on multiple issues. As leaders of the Global South, an enhanced bilateral relationship between India and Nigeria should also auger well for the larger Global South.
Mr. Modi’s visit to Nigeria has brought the country into the spotlight, but much more sustained effort will be required to convert the goodwill into concrete deliverable outcomes.
This commentary originally appeared in The Hindu.
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