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President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, penultimate Wednesday, took a step further to deepen the bilateral relations between his country and Nigeria as he acknowledged Nigeria as the largest economy and biggest market in Africa with great potential not only for his country but for the African continent as a whole.
Ramaphosa made the move when he visited Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, in Abuja, expressing his government’s determination to deal with and stop every criminality that is being portrayed as xenophobic feelings against Nigerians by his countrymen even as he acknowledged the contributions and cooperation of Nigerian professionals in the academia and business to the development and growth of his country’s economy.
Ramaphosa, who held a private meeting with President Buhari during the visit, pleaded with the Nigerian president to sign the Free Trade Agreement among African countries, a pact Nigeria has abstained from signing, citing the need to protect her growing industries and prevent the attendant unemployment as major reasons. The South African president also used the opportunity to invite President Buhari for an official visit to South Africa later in the year.
Ramaphosa’s visit came in a week top officials of South African automakers, including Nissan SA, BMW and Volkswagen SA, stormed Nigeria capital with a reassurance of unalloyed commitment to the growth and development of the country’s auto sector, which for some time now, has been comatose.
Nigeria is home to many South African businesses, including the telecommunication giant, MTN, Shoprite, hotel and hospitality groups as well as top automakers such as Nissan, Volkswagen, Ford and BMW. Nissan SA, Volkswagen SA and Ford SA all have assembly plants in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial city, through local representatives. South African carmakers under the auspices of the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM) also expressed their interest in the Benin Auto Park being planned by the Edo State Government, Nigeria during their recent visit to the country.
“We are from the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers .We have the mandate of our parent companies to be here. What we are trying to do in Nigeria is to reach out in a brotherly fashion and say to you, ‘come on, let’s get this done.’
“For years, we have been discussing with the government.But now, we are committed to finding out ways on how to get Nigeria to where it should be and play its role on the continent,” Chairman and Managing Director, Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA), Mr. Thomas Scheafer, said while speaking at the recently-held Edo Automotive Industry Investment Forum in Benin-City, Nigeria.
Scheafer, whose company inaugurated a Volkswagen assembly in Rwanda just a week earlier, added: “Nigeria is good for at least two million cars a year. That will multiply the jobs on the continent . So where does it start? Edo State will be the nucleus for us. It will create employment at the downstream for industries in manufacturing.”
