CAIO – The unique, historic January 25 revolution has achieved two great things for Egypt and Africa, the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which celebrates its National Day Saturday, said. Ambassador B.G. Wakil, who assumed his diplomatic duties in Cairo just few months before the January 25 events, said that the revolution has turned Egypt into a more open democratic country and made the Arab world's most populous country focus more on bolstering its political and economic relations with African nations. "Nigeria welcomes the achievements of the 18-day Egyptian revolution, which will help give a further boost to the already good ties between Abuja and post-January 25 Cairo," Ambassador Wakil told The Gazette in an exclusive interview. Ambassador Wakil said that the popular uprising, a great achievement in itself, has turned Egypt into a more open political society, where everyone can express their views freely. “The Egyptian liberals, Islamists and the youth have found their voice in a new democratic Egypt, and foreigners are impressed," Ambassador Wakil said. Foreigners are very happy about the way in which the revolution has been conducted, because it has proved that the Egyptians are very open-minded people. "During the revolution, foreigners were never harassed. It has reinforced the view that Egyptians are very receptive to foreigners, who [temporarily] returned to their respective countries because of the then security situation," Ambassador Wakil said in his Heliopolis residence that dates back to 1964. Many foreigners returned home countries during the revolution, but they then – especially members of the Nigerian community – came back to Egypt, he stressed. He told The Gazette that he evacuated more than 1,000 Nigerians on three flights in the first 48 hours of the revolution, that erupted in the last week of January. "But these people are all back in Egypt now, part of a Nigerian community of more than 4,000 people, who are staying long-term in Egypt for educational or business reasons or for medical treatment," Ambassador Wakil explained. He said a more democratic post-revolution Egypt would offer an ideal investment-friendly environment for foreign and African capital owners, especially Nigerian businesspeople who are interested in boosting their joint ventures here or back home. Ambassador Wakil pinned high hopes on the Nigerian and Egyptian private sectors, which he described as the driving force for cementing ties between the two countries. "Like a democratic Nigeria, in a democratic Egypt you get a level playing field with similar judicial, political and economic structures and systems. “This opens up a suitable, attractive investment environment, where Nigerian businesspeople will feel free to invest their money, because they know, if something goes wrong, they'll always have an avenue for redress," he continued. Ambassador Wakil said that Nigerian capital owners will enjoy a very open and transparent legal framework in post-January 25 Egypt, where they can sign more MOUs with their local counterparts because they know that a more democratic Egypt will give them equal opportunity to transact business. "Nigerian private capital owners are very interested in launching big ventures with their Egyptian counterparts, in vital areas like agricultural development, medical and pharmaceutical industries, civil aviation and aircraft maintenance," he emphasised. Like Egypt, Nigeria is a market that no investor can afford to ignore and the federal government is working hard to attract adequate Egyptian investments that are needed for critical projects, particularly in agriculture, health services and civil aviation, he said, adding that he is keen to cement business and trade links between the two countries. He said that his country's major crops include beans, sesame, cashew nuts, cassava, cocoa beans, groundnuts, gum, kola nuts, maize (corn), melon, millet, palm kernels, palm oil, plantains, rice, rubber, sorghum, soybeans and yams. The Nigerian Ambassador said that Nigeria is one of the most rapidly emerging African markets, where Egyptian investors are most welcome to invest their capital as the potential profits for them are considerable. "Nigeria welcomes Egyptian investments in non-oil industries such as agriculture, telecommunications, fertilisers, healthcare, civil aviation, education and energy," Ambassador Wakil stressed, adding that he will work hard to see an Egyptian-Nigerian university established in Abuja. To achieve this goal, he continued, the Abuja government has approved a myriad of incentives to create a favourable atmosphere for all investors. He said that the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) provides up-to-date information on business opportunities to investors and gives them reliable services to facilitate the establishment of new enterprises in his country. Ambassador Wakil said that his aim is to attract more Egyptian capital owners to Nigeria and give a further boost to Nigerian-Egyptian relations in all domains, with a special emphasis on development enterprises. "The level of co-operation in these areas between the two countries can be further increased after the revolution," he said, adding that many heavyweight private-sector Egyptian companies, like Orascom, Arab Contractors,and el-Seweidi, have already launched mega-industrial projects in Nigeria. He pins high hopes on the Egyptian-Nigerian Commission and the Egyptian-Nigerian Business Council, which he urges to do their utmost to bolster investment ties between the two countries. The Egyptian-Nigerian Business Council is a very good mechanism for enhancing trade and investment co-operation between the two countries, he said. Ambassador Wakil, who started his diplomatic career 31 years ago and who has served in Saudi Arabia, Germany, South Korea and the USA, said that the civil aviation industry has played a significant role in increasing the number of Nigerians visiting Egypt every year, as well as strengthening bilateral relations. "Every week, there are now 15 EgyptAir flights to Cairo from the three major cities of Abuja, Lagos and Kano. This has helped increase the number of Nigerians visiting Egypt, mainly for medical treatment, as well as educational and training purposes," he said, adding that negotiations are underway to invite Nigerian pilots and crew members to receive training in Egypt. He stressed that the co-operation could also extend to EgyptAir's maintenance of aircraft owned by 11 Nigerian airlines. Ambassador Wakil said that there are 5,000 Nigerian students currently studying medicine, engineering and Islamic studies at Cairo, Alexandria and Al-Azhar universities. "In the meantime, there are ongoing negotiations for building up an advanced Egyptian hospital in Abuja, as well as launching a major joint agricultural project in Kano province to enhance co-operation between the two countries," he continued. At the regional level, Nigeria, led by President Dr Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, is pleased that the January 25 revolution has made Egypt more interested in bolstering ties with African countries and developing the continent, Ambassador Wakil said. "The second important achievement of the January 25 revolution is the fact that it has made the Arab world's most populous country focus more on Africa," he added. This is a great opportunity because Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa are the three countries that should really co-operate and come closer together to push progress in this continent forwards, taking it into the 21st century, Ambassador Wakil said. "If these three countries, which have the biggest economies in Africa, share their experience and fully use their political, cultural and economic potential, I think Africa will be better off," he said. On the occasion of National Day, Ambassador Wakil called on his fellow compatriots living here to be the true ambassadors for Nigeria in Egypt, where they are well accepted. “Members of the Nigerian community have behaved in a very responsible manner as citizens of Nigeria and as guests of Egypt. I would like to advise my fellow Nigerians to keep up the good work and preserve their country's image in their host country, Egypt,” he said. Ambassador Wakil explained that Egyptians judge his country by the way its citizens behave here. He also called on his Egyptian friends and partners to move on from organising protests after the revolution and to concentrate instead on organising political participation in the near future. “This requires some creativity, some innovation, some resources and a lot of other things that were not needed in the first phases of the revolution. “And I hope that they will succeed in building a coalition with other political forces, whether Islamists or liberals, because everyone should come on board in a new Egypt, which is going to have a new role in the region and beyond.”
