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There is a saying that a healthy heart reflects on the rest of the body. Perhaps this has never been more applicable than to Africa, where six years of progressive reforms in Nigeria have unleashed a flood of positive developments not just for the country but the rest of the continent. Africa’s big Heart stirs.
One in every five Africans is a Nigerian. The country has the richest variety and multiplicity of cultures and languages than anywhere else in the world. The people are warm and friendly. The climate mirrors the people’s warmth. The soil is rich and can grow almost anything. And beneath the soil is an array of mineral resources unmatched in quality, quantity and variety. Regional variation in precipitation and vegetation means that you can virtually move from one of the deepest mangrove forests in the world in the country’s Niger Delta to the edge of the world’s largest desert – the Sahara – and still remain in the same country and meet the same warm, friendly people. Nigeria mirrors Africa’s richness as its very heart.
After decades of foot dragging occasioned by military intervention in politics, all indices show that the return of democracy in 1999 and the social, political and economic reforms being implemented by the government have impacted positively in Nigeria and by implication, the rest of Africa. President Olusegun Obasanjo’s determination to eradicate corruption at every level is bearing fruit. The introduction of service reforms mean that public officers are now wholly accountable to the public who in turn have a RIGHT to be served. Huge wastages in public administration have been eliminated as the government strives to build a leaner, better educated and more efficient workforce.
On the socio – economic front, foreign investment in the country is growing. The revolution in the telecoms sector is unprecedented anywhere in the world. Educational institutions are now stable and the introduction of a new educational policy is set to increase the literacy level from the current nearly 70 percent. Basic education is compulsory and free. Agricultural exports, especially cassava has grown in leaps and bounds. The national water supply average has doubled and the country’s LNG is the fastest growing in the world. The National Health Insurance Scheme has taken off. The country’s foreign reserves are the highest in Africa. The military has been reenergized to focus on its primary responsibility of national security. Indeed, almost every sphere of human development has recorded growth.
And as the heart gets healthier, so does the rest of the body. Nigeria is currently Chair of the African Union. In this position, the country has gone beyond its usual posture of extending a helping hand to less fortunate African countries. Nigeria has policemen on active service in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was the first country to volunteer peacekeeping troops for Sudan’s Dafur region and also hosts the Darfur Peace Talks. After years without success, the various parties in Ivory Coast met in Nigeria recently to negotiate an end to the country’s civil conflict. The military coup in Togo following the death of late President Eyadema ended through Nigerian intervention and that country now has a democratically elected government. Even before the rest of the world caught up, Nigeria had been sending humanitarian assistance to hunger stricken Niger Republic without which the number of deaths would have been much higher. Against all expectations, Nigeria is implementing a negotiated settlement with Cameroon on the Bakassi Peninsula.
Today, that a new light of democracy has been lit in Liberia and Sierra Leone is principally due to Nigeria’s sacrifice and commitment to the course of African brotherliness. It is estimated that peace keeping efforts by Nigeria in Liberia and Sierra Leone has cost Nigeria about $ 12 billion. In the light of the country’s own demands, only a big heart can show so much concern.
A quick look at Nigeria’s involvement in African affairs would show that right from independence, the country has been committed to the course of the continent. It sent peace keepers to the Congo in the 1960s. It was at the forefront in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa and the liberation of Namibia, Zimbabwe and many others. It is among the largest contributors to the African Union. A substantial part of the ECOWAS budget comes from Nigeria. To support growth and development in other African countries, the country has sent thousands of skilled personnel abroad to work in various sectors. This has also led to a level of social and political integration on the continent.
These are just a few indicators reflecting Nigeria’s pivotal role in African affairs and a clear indicator that the country’s growth is Africa’s strength. There is no doubting the fact that as the Heart of Africa stirs, the whole continent and indeed the rest of the world feels its positive impact. The talk today is of African solutions to African problems, which is traceable to Nigeria’s leading role in bringing to fruition the New Partnership for African Development, NEPAD. Africa no more demands aid, but free trade and equal opportunities to European and American markets for its goods and services. Unfair and crippling debts are being written off to enable African countries to begin on new footing. Africa is finally being recognized as the next (and probably best) great frontier for global investments.
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