President Muhammadu Buhari’s Speech At A State Banquet In His Honour By
South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa
Your Excellency, Cyril
Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa,
Your Excellency, David Mabuza, Deputy President of the Republic of
South Africa,
Honourable Ministers,
Senior Government officials,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is a great pleasure for me to
address you tonight.
2. I would like, first of all, to thank
you, my Brother, President Ramaphosa, for inviting me and my delegation to your
beautiful country. We have been overwhelmed by the warm hospitality of the
South African people since our arrival. Thank you very much also for this very
generous and sumptuous banquet in our honour.
3. Mr. President, I wish to thank you
for taking the initiative to convene this Bi-National Commission. It has been
six years since the last meeting of the Commission. Of particular significance
is the decision we took to elevate our Bi-National Commission to the level of
Heads of State, and it is an honour and source of pride for me to participate
in this maiden edition.
4. It is important to highlight that
this is the only Bi-National Commission that Nigeria has with any country that
is co-chaired at this level, reflecting the strategic and special nature of the
relationship between our two countries.
5. We believe that a strong strategic
relationship between Nigeria and South Africa can become the engine for the
rapid economic, political, social, cultural development of Africa, thereby
delivering the Africa we want.
6. The building blocks for the Africa
we want are being systematically put in place thanks to the political will of
African leaders over many years. The process began with the transformation of
the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) into the African Union (AU) on July 9,
2002. A key objective of this transformation was to have a union of the peoples
of Africa rather than a unity of African leaders.
7. Under the former Chairperson of the
African Union Commission, Dr. Nkosozana Dlamini Zuma, a great daughter of South
Africa and indeed Africa, African Heads of State and Government signed the 50th
Anniversary Solemn Declaration during the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the
formation of the OAU/AU in May 2013.
8. The Declaration marked the
re-dedication of Africa towards the attainment of the Pan-African Vision of an
integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens,
representing a dynamic force in the international arena. Agenda 2063 is the
concrete manifestation of how the continent intends to achieve this Vision
within a 50 year period from 2013 to 2063.
9. Agenda 2063 encapsulates not only
Africa’s aspirations for the future but also identifies key Programmes which
can boost Africa’s economic growth and development and lead to the rapid
transformation of the continent. It is in this context that a number of
flagship projects, which represent building blocks towards the Africa we want,
were launched. These include:
a. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE AFRICAN
CONTINENTAL FREE TRADE AREA (AfCFTA);
b. THE AFRICAN PASSPORT AND FREE
MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE; and
c. ESTABLISHMENT OF A SINGLE AFRICAN
AIR-TRANSPORT MARKET (SAATM).
10. Before Agenda 2063, there was The
New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), an initiative of the former
Organisation of African Unity (OAU) that came into being in 2001 with South
Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Senegal and Algeria as its sponsors.
11. I have highlighted these two
landmark initiatives to show that Nigeria and South Africa not only share the
same vision for Africa and its peoples but have been close partners in the
formulation and implementation of this vision.
12. Going further back in recent
history, during the dark days of the fight against apartheid, Nigeria was
formally designated a Frontline State, notwithstanding the fact that we were
not geographically in Southern Africa. It was rather in recognition of the
political, human and material support and sacrifices of the Nigerian Government
and people.
13. Nigerian workers, students and the
Government made great contributions and stood shoulder to shoulder with the
peoples of Southern Africa in their struggles against colonialism and
apartheid.
14. We hosted several South African
students in our universities, including for a while, Teboho “Tsietsi” MacDonald
Mashinini of the Soweto uprising fame. Nigerian students and workers
contributed money from their salaries and stipends for the cause of Southern
African liberation.
15. In 1979, Nigeria nationalized
Britain’s shareholding in British Petroleum Nigeria for, among other reasons,
doing business with the apartheid regime in South Africa, as well as its policies
in the then Rhodesia, which had a serious adverse effect on British economy.
Your Excellency,
16. We in Nigeria are very proud that
we stood with the people of Southern Africa in their hour of need. As they say,
“A friend in need is a friend indeed.” We are also very proud that together
with South Africa and other African countries, as brothers and partners, we are
today charting an exciting new path towards the Africa we want.
Mr. President, Distinguished Ladies and
Gentlemen,
17. This high-level Bi-National
Commission is an important framework for our two countries to institutionalize
our partnership and to address concretely every aspect of that relationship. In
recognition of that fact, we have come with a large delegation which includes
Governors of 3 of the 36 states of Nigeria, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs;
Defence; Interior; Industry, Trade and Investment; Mines and Steel Development;
Police Affairs; Power and the Chairperson of the Nigerian Diaspora Commission.
18. As the two largest economies on the
continent, there are many areas in which we can share experiences, invest and
cooperate. Ours is a relationship full of potential and promise and this can
only be a win-win for our peoples and for Africa at large.
19. The Bi-National Commission will
also make it easier for us to keep on the same page as we march forward, hand
in hand, as one people with a shared vision and one destiny.
20. Mr. President and dear brother, as
I said, you have overwhelmed me and my delegation with your legendary South
African hospitality. I would like therefore to seize this opportunity to
formally invite you to pay a state visit to Nigeria for a return match where we
as the Super Eagles will surely revenge against you the Bafana Bafana!
God bless South Africa; God bless
Nigeria!
I thank you very much.
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