posted August 21, 2024
The trending news that some Chinese investors have taken over Nigeria’s guest houses in Liverpool, advertising them for sale on eBay for $2.2 million, taken together with the recent seizure of Nigeria’s presidential jets in France, is a sore embarrassment beyond belief, to say the least.
I understand that a Chinese company called Zhongshang Fucheng had a bad investment deal with Ogun State government during the tenure of Senator Ibikunle Amosu which made them approach the international court of arbitration. With the verdict in their favour, the Chinese company has intensified efforts on the international frontiers to seize Nigeria’s assets in Europe and North America, in order to collect up to $70 million from a 2021 judgement.
In a way, let’s put this whole matter in perspective. Personally, I’m sure, in the coming days, China will go after more Nigerian assets. Don’t forget, the Buhari administration took so much loans from China using national assets like the refineries, I’m told, as collateral.
Unarguably, those loans will NEVER perform, as they were channeled into corporate vanities of our leaders and government officials. I recalled Rotimi Amaechi defended such the gambits, which everyone knows were not carefully scrutinized. Even when the house of representatives during a hearing termed the Chinese loans as dangerous, in a Channels Television report of July 30, 2020, Amaechi defended the decision to borrow from China, saying “There is nothing wrong with ceding sovereignty to China”. Can you imagine that level of thinking?!
What you must know is that the Chinese Communist Party led government is very vicious in recovery efforts for loans which were designed as definite entrapment for clueless and corrupt African leaders. China has cleverly hoodwinked African nations into a sort of debt diplomacy where natural assets of African countries are used to indemnify loans, which were programmed to fail, ab nitio. This is the major threat to the sovereignty of the countries who fall into the Chinese trap.
Subscribe To The Best Team In Conservative, Business, Technology, Lifestyle And Digital News Realtime! support@ddnewsonline.com
The terms of this Chinese loans are usually unsustainable and constrictive in the line-by-line articles of understanding, which, in any case, our mindlessly corrupt politicians do not painstakingly scrutinize with the help of professional investment advisers and language consultants.
Some African countries have been sucked into this evil net. Zambia and Djibouti are now slaves to China because of their inability to meet their debt obligation leading to seceding or seizing their maritime ecosystem and infrastructures fully into the hands of Chinese. Look at Djibouti for instance. It is a tiny country with a population around one million, sits on the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the biggest and most strategic shipping corridor between Asia and Europe but can no longer appropriate the benefits from such geographic location because it has debts to pay to China. I understand there also significant attempts by Chinese companies to seize some government assets in Kenya and Angola. China
What many African leaders fail to realize is that China is very strategic about the countries they are offering easy loans, as they usually target the natural endowments and economic infrastructures available to seize when there’s default in repayment. In fact, Chinese military personnel are on ground Djibouti and Zambia presently to ensure compliance to the recovery efforts. Chinese loans have come under increased scrutiny in recent years as more governments have signed deals with China, reported Africa Daily.
Subscribe To The Best Team In Conservative, Business, Technology, Lifestyle And Digital News Realtime! support@ddnewsonline.com
The critical aspect which should engage our minds is, why is China in a hurry to give loans or invest or partner with African countries and companies, in recent times? There must be a catch there. According to records, between 2000 and 2020 alone, China lent a total of USD 59.87 billion to African countries and has become the largest creditor to Angola (USD 42.6 billion), Ethiopia (USD 13.7 billion), Zambia (USD 9.8 billion) and Kenya (USD 9.2 billion), which are now struggling to meet their debt obligations, reported Africa Daily.
Well, let me just narrow the matter home here. It’s bad press and bad image for Nigeria that a corporate entity is going after its assets globally because a governor of a State compromised on his contractual obligations. Perhaps, this will teach us one of two things as a nation. One being that China does not know friendship when it comes to business. And two; that the terms of a contract (no matter how fine the prints are), are meant to be obeyed. You cannot breach the terms of a contract, like one involving international individuals or corporations and think you can hide under sovereign immunity for protection. Under international arbitration processes, it has long been settled that a Sovereign that goes to the market must be prepared to abide by the ordinary rules of the market, as they apply to everyone operating in that marketplace.
Subscribe To The Best Team In Conservative, Business, Technology, Lifestyle And Digital News Realtime! support@ddnewsonline.com
Instead of showing remorse and canonical quietude, I understand that Senator Amosu, who is responsible for this national opprobrium has been grandstanding all over the place, waving the matter off as mere misunderstanding. This is even the crux of the matter. Even Professor Pat Utomi remarked on his unsavoury deal with the same ex-governor Amosu. This might highlight that he (Amosu) may not subscribes to transparency in contractual agreements. This is egregious, to say the least.
I hear that most of the Chinese contracts and MOUs are written in mandarin without English version and our politicians and government officials with their eyes only on the pecuniary benefit, usually sign off on the deals without due diligence.
Very sad development, indeed. I hope this will be an eye opener to our leaders who are quick to run to China for project financing without paying attention to details. Then, of course, some drastic measures should be taken to hold Amosu and suchlike to full accountability. It is regrettable that the action of one state has created a global quagmire for the whole country and we have not heard of sanctions or official inquisition to the origins and details of the unfortunate saga.