A senior fellow of the Centre for China Studies, Professor Udenta O. Udenta says Nigeria must learn from the Chinese experience to become a great and prosperous nation.
In an exclusive interview with newsmen as part of activities marking October 1, 2023, national day of both countries, the foreign policy expert said the transition of China from poverty to becoming the second-largest economy in the world was a result of a national philosophy-driven by national identity, purpose, direction, urgency, perseverance and the invocation of history.
Prof Udenta, who is also a distinguished fellow of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thought, stated that Nigeria must emulate the Chinese by developing an indigenous national philosophy to drive growth and reduce poverty.
“Why has China succeeded and Nigeria is struggling? This is because Nigeria has not utilized the intangible outcomes of its relationship with China. For example, the invocation of history, have we evoked history sufficently in Nigeria to say history is the guide to the present and the future? Our success tomorrow is determined by the history of the past,” he said.
“China has a massive edifice built in Beijing for the study of history. From the ancient time to the contemporary stage, history is venerated almost like a circular religion in China. That means history is key despite being an intangible item. When you know the history of China as the people there do, the history of the communist party and its struggle to transform China from the long march to the partnership with Chiang Kai-shek, the Civil War, Post-Civil War, the Cultural Revolution, the Great leap forward to the Deng Xiaoping era. That history is what enables the spirit and inspires the generation to go even beyond their human capacity. Do we understand the role of history in Nigeria? No, we don’t.
“Nigeria must deepen conversation with China on philosophy, ideas and literature. Humanities is the centre-piece of human transformation, not Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Because if you don’t humanize your environment, no amount of STEM can transform you. I would like to see the Nigeria-China cultural relationship deepened.
“Nigeria operates a highly overcharged, highly partisan, heavily contestable political system. How about the collaborative and cooperative democratic system? We can learn that from China. It is not just the Communist Party that runs China. The party partners with over sixteen bodies such as civil society groups, business associations, workers’ unions, and employers unions to pursue the vision of development for the country.
“In China, there is a sense of national purpose, a sense of national direction, a sense of national urgency and national perseverance. We have to learn and examine how China has been able to manoeuvre through history and come to this current age of being at the apex of civilization,” Prof Udenta added.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in February 1971, Nigeria and China have enjoyed win-win cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, defence, foreign policy, education and technology transfer.
