Tinubu’s trip to China

AFTER two weeks out of the country, President Bola Tinubu returned on September 15. Nigerians are familiar with his long and frequent global shuttles, with the China trip being his 24th since becoming President in May 2023. It is fair to say that from east to west and north to south, Tinubu seems to have decided that the answer to re-floating the economy lies with China.

After the photo ops with President Xi Jinping, and signing five MoUs, mainly on road construction, rail, and nuclear energy, Tinubu addressed the Nigerian community in China.

He said: “Nigeria is going through reforms, and we are taking very bold and unprecedented decisions. For example, you might have been hearing from home about fuel prices. But can we help it? Can we develop good roads like you have here? You see electricity being constant in quantity and quality. You see water supply, constant and running, and you see their good schools. And we say we want to hand over a banner without stain to our children.”

The President said the trip was a success, but what, indeed, is he bringing back from China? He has urged Nigerians to accept the exorbitant petrol prices in the name of his bold reforms. In parts of the country, a litre of petrol sells for over N1,000. To most Nigerians, it is not affordable.
But in asking Nigerians to accept the choking fuel prices, Tinubu glossed over the fact that businesses are folding up because they cannot sustain the high energy costs. He ignored the fact that SMEs, which are thriving in China, are dying in Nigeria because of huge running costs and unfavourable business environments.

Tinubu appears enamoured of Xi’s country. China may be a communist country and restricts certain freedoms, but its leaders are clear and intentional about where they want their country to be, and how to get it there.

They support education and promote science and technology while the 7G technology is already integrated into the military operations. Chinese speed trains are top-notch as is its agriculture sector. With 1.4 billion people, the second largest population in the world behind India, China has just modified its two-child policy. In 2024, the country projected a 5.0 per cent growth of its economy, and experts say it is possible.
Nigeria is beholden to China however. As of 2023, the Nigeria-China trade stood at $22.6 billion, making China Nigeria’s top trading global partner, and the third-largest partner in Africa. The imprint of the Chinese is evident: its companies, especially the CECCC, handle projects estimated at $6 billion, including the Lagos-Ibadan railway, Lagos Blue and Red rails, Abuja-Kaduna Rail, Abuja Light Rail, and the Badagry Expressway. A $470 million CCTV camera project in the FCT between Nigeria and ZTE Communications lies in ruins since 2010.

Tinubu loved what he saw in China, urging Nigerians to be committed and make sacrifices. He ignores the fact that China cannot have a public company like the NNPC Ltd that has not refined crude for three decades.

The President loves the fact that China has zero tolerance for corruption. But the President does not mention that in China, 400,000 barrels of oil cannot be stolen daily without severe repercussions.

The Chinese economy, the second largest in the world at $17.96 trillion GDP, is high on SMEs, and local councils are encouraged to compete against one another in producing what the country consumes and exports.

By contrast, Tinubu presides over a country whose leaders are obsessed with consumption and sharing federal allocations.

Just before he jetted off to China, three of Nigeria’s planes were seized by a Chinese company over a disputed contract. So, he should tread softly in this love affair with China, to which Nigeria owes over $4 billion.