From Brasilia with love, By Abdulaziz Abdulaziz

“We allowed problems successful the past to clasp america back, but contiguous we said this is over. Brazil and Nigeria are present to turn together. Technology transfer, vigor and the system are ways that tin payment some countries. Together, we tin make our economies, fortify our sovereignty and lend to a amended world.”

“At a clip erstwhile protectionism and unilateralism person been making a comeback, Nigeria and Brazil reaffirm their stake connected escaped commercialized and productive integration.” – President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

The representation of President Bola Tinubu and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva clasping their hands together, their faces beaming with agleam smiles summarises the import of President Tinubu’s past week’s authorities sojourn to Brazil. That photograph was not conscionable an representation of 2 blessed men. Its meaning is overmuch deeper. It’s a depiction of reconnection betwixt 2 agelong mislaid brothers who person recovered themselves and decided to retrace their age-old relationship, dating to the transatlantic slave-trade, and instrumentality each different backmost with unfastened arms.

The authorities sojourn of President Tinubu, connected the invitation of President Lula, was a singular accidental to renew the concern betwixt the 2 giants of the planetary South. Nigeria and Brazil are similar identical twins, oregon 2 sides of a coin. The 2 pb their respective regions. Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy, similar what Brazil is to Latin America. Our colonisation is astir the same. We person astir a balanced commercialized sheet. From January to July, commercialized betwixt the 2 countries was valued astatine $1.2 billion. Brazilian exports to Nigeria totalled $654.9 million, portion Brazil’s import from Nigeria stood astatine $591.7 million. The commercialized figures are, however, acold from desirable.

Considering the agelong ties and proximity of the 2 countries, separated lone by the Atlantic Ocean (in commenting astir this geographical proximity, President Tinubu humorously remarked that we’re truthful adjacent that a bully swimmer tin really transverse to the different side), a narration betwixt us, to get President Lula, ought to beryllium “much much substantial.”

From ifá religion and shot to Marcopolo buses and Embraer jets, Nigeria and Brazil person agelong lasting taste and economical ties that unluckily ebbed successful the past decade, arsenic lamented by President Lula. Addressing a associated property league with President Tinubu, the Brazilian person pointed to a diminution successful some diplomatic and economical ties and however some sides are moving to revamp these.

“For galore years, Nigeria was our largest commercialized spouse successful Africa,” President Lula said, pointing to a highest commercialized of $10 cardinal recorded successful 2014. “However, successful the past decade, this speech has been drastically reduced.”

Enters President Tinubu.

For a antheral who from Day One was wide astir his mission: Resetting our system and mounting Nigeria connected the way of prosperity, President Tinubu has his occupation good chopped out. To execute his acceptable people of making Nigeria execute a $1 trillion system by 2030, the president is each retired to tribunal friends and make caller acquaintances. With interior cleaning each done — including tidying up the concern clime — the president’s extremity is to make arsenic overmuch investments and partnerships arsenic possible. He goes astir the satellite not for merry junke...