Says the Challenges of these Times Call for Such Acts of Benevolence
The Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs in Nigeria’s House of Representatives,Rt.Hon.(Dr.)Yusuf Buba Yakub, has described as “highly magnanimous” the pledge by the Chinese government to cancel twenty-three (23) interest -free loans of seventeen (17) African countries,which matured at the end of last year. He also lauded the friendship of the Asian giant for their commitment to providing food support for African countries going through food crisis, saying the current state of affairs across the globe encourages countries to look outwards to assist suffering humanity.
The lawmaker,who made known the above, Tuesday,in Abuja in his reaction to the news of the debt cancellation,lauded the President Xi Administration in China,while stating that it had consistently proven itself as the greatest friend of nations across the world struggling under the harsh socio-economic climate created by a combination of the COVID 19 pandemic and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine,among other factors.
The Adamawa-born lawmaker also recalled that the current debt cancellation effort,which was announced by the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, following the last Forum of China-Africa Cooperation session (FOCAC),which ended recently is the height of similar acts of benevolence that began in 2000 with numerous rounds of debt cancellation by the Chinese government,which eliminated over $3.4 Billion in debt through 2019, according to a report on the above.
While describing the Chinese largesse as the best form of diplomacy at a time the less-privileged nations of the world must turn to other big-brother nations for varied forms of assistance in order to move forward ,Buba said the exemplary action by China in pledging to, also, beyond the debt cancellation, increasingly import from Africa and allowing such exports from the continent at huge tarrif-free rates, supporting the Agricultural and the Manufacturing Sectors,expanding cooperation in emerging industries, such as digital economy,health and green and low-carbon sectors on the continent,was, indeed, a commendable set of policy initiatives that ought to challenge other bigger nations to similar action.
