By Raphael Oni
His Excellency Cui Jianchun, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Nigeria, has said that the Chinese loans to Nigeria are for mutual benefits as both countries have a history of good friendship and bilateral relations. He however lamented that some super powers are painting the situation into bad image.
The Ambassador made the revelation on Thursday in Abuja while responding to questions on the Chinese Loans to Nigeria at a seminar on ‘Learning from the Chinese Communist Party’s History and Creating a Brighter Future’ held at the University of Abuja.Cui said that some super powers are however painting a bad image of the situation.
He explained that it is only logical that when one borrows money to a friend or business partner, one will also think of how to get the value of the money back. In his words,
“Some politicians have tried to use the new colonial system mind-set to say that “ok, if I lend you money, if you cannot pay me back, you will lose your sovereignty. But I want to let you know that the logic is that first, the Chinese side love to do something for Nigeria, not only to help, but also, this is beneficial to the two countries.”
The Chinese Envoy said he believe the world is at a critical time now as such money is needed everyone to aid development. According to the Ambassador, “But I do believe that now, at this critical time, we need the money to develop this country. We cannot wait for five years, ten years later. Sometimes, when we were planting trees for the next generation, some people said we were borrowing money to let the future generation bear the burden. Now, this not true. Every country has to do something for the next generation, otherwise, the country cannot move forward,”
Earlier in his remarks, Cui said a century ago, at the time of its founding, the Communist Party of China (CPC) had just over 50 members.
He added that currently, with more than 95 million members in a country of more than 1.4 billion people, the Communist Party of China is the largest governing party in the world and enjoyed tremendous international influence.
“To be frank, by learning from history, we can understand why powers rise and fall. Through the mirror of history, we can find where we currently stand and gain foresight into the future.
“In fact, if we look back on CPC’s 100-year history, we can see why we were successful in the past and how we can continue to succeed in the future.
“This will ensure that we act with greater resolve and purpose in staying true to our founding mission and pursuing a better future on the new journey that lies before us,” Cui said.
Prof. Sheriff Ibrahim, Director, Institute for Legislative Studies, University of Abuja said the development of the Communist Party of China was something to celebrate.
According to Ibrahim, the successes are worth celebrating as the CPC manifested itself to be a nation builder emerging as the second largest economy by galvanizing the economy of China.
Ibrahim noted that the success is the reason why with the attainment of 100 years of the Communist Party of China, it is being celebrated all over the world.
He added that the success of the CPC to China’s development is also why the Centre has deemed it imperative to actually discuss this to learn from it.
Dr Momoh Kabir, Former Acting Director-General, National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), said although Nigeria’s circumstances may be different from that of the Chinese experience, there were useful lessons to learn from the experience of China.
