President Muhammadu Buhari will join other African leaders in the Japanese city of Yokohama for the seventh edition of the Tokyo International Conference for African Development (TICAD) summit from 28 to 30 August 2019.
The conference which will be hosted by the government of Japan in conjunction with the United Nations, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Bank and African Union Commission (AUC).
President Buhari can use the occasion of the 7th TICAD to broaden relations between and Japan. Since the 6 TICAD hosted in Kenya, the much-promised $30 billion investment in Africa by Japan has been a mirage. Nigeria should broach the idea of having one of the Japanese automakers to establish a mini plant if not a fully fit assembly plant in the country. Going by available statistics, Toyota and other Japanese brands sell more in Nigeria than anywhere else on the African continent.
Japan is also reputable to have one of the best medical facilities in the world which enables it to have the highest life expectancy in the world at 83.7 compared to Nigeria with 65. The Japanese investment in the area of medical technology will greatly to help revamp our dilapidated infrastructure. A reset of our relationship with Japan will offset the shortfalls of our relationships with the western world and China.
Japan along with France and Canada is reputed to have the best rail system in the world. While the Chinese are doing a commendable job of modernizing the Nigerian railway system, involving the Japanese in the Nigerian railway modernization and expansion of mass transit will be a positive move. The Japanese with its technological know-how will help to fast track our transportation system.
President Buhari must pull his weight as the leader of Africa’s biggest economy during his one on one meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He must convince the Japanese that the Nigerian door is open for them just as it was opened for China, France, UK, US, etc.
Besides the aforementioned, the Japanese can also play a prominent role in energy, power, agricultural, oil and gas sectors of the Nigerian economy. President Buhari must woo the Japanese with whatever it takes. This could start with an official invitation to the Japanese Prime Minister to visit Nigeria.
Nigeria is attractive enough to get a lion of a share of the $30 billion that Japan is willing to invest in Africa. This feat is not beyond President Buhari and his entourage to Japan if they channeled their energy to productive uses, and not just go looking as we did at the 6th TICAD in Kenya in 2016.
Apart from President Buhari, other African leaders whose attendance is confirmed are:
- Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa
- Ibrahim Boubakar Keita, Mali
- Edgar Lungu, Zambia
- Macky Sall, Senegal
TICAD is a summit-level international conference regarding the development of Africa launched by Japan in 1993. TICAD was held every 5 years until TICADV (2013).
