By -Abba Hamisu Sani
Africa-Press – Nigeria. Abubakar Gwandu is an economist and lecturer with College of Business and Management Studies (CBMS), Kaduna Polytechnic. He is one of the prominent economic analysts in northern Nigeria. In this interview with Africa Press, he insisted that controversial Samoa agreement signed on June 28, 2024, by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration and the European leaders lenders, though with huge economic benefit, has the potentials of ruining our culture, region beliefs and normal way of life, considering the real definition of gender equality by Europeans. Dr. Gwandu also regretted that Nigeria has continued to move backward, despite human and economic potentials, due to deliberate manipulations by European forces whose aims and objectives remain continuation of colonialism and economic slavery of Nigeria, nay, Africa.
Excerpts:
AFRICA PRESS: Recently there have been so many controversies, responses, and different interpretations over the agreement signed by Nigeria, which is tagged the Samoa agreement with an economic package of $150 billion. As an economist, how do you look at the agreement and what it contains?
Dr. GWANDU: Well, you see, a loan or an aid package of $150 billion is a huge sum of money. if invested wisely, it has the capacity to boost Nigeria’s economy. The sum is more than our annual budget. However, as we ordinarily know, Europe and America, unlike the Asian countries, give difficult conditions with their help and aid packages. They are usually loaded with conditions that may not be favorable to our economy, culture, religion and ways of life. It is like giving you one with the right hand, and taking 10 or 15 with the left hand. They make you feel they are helping you, but they give you conditions that will make your economy perpetually dependent and subservient to their whims and caprices. They will make your economy remain so weak that you can hardly develop. You can only rely on them.
AFRICA PRESS: But it is a known fact that these European countries are in business protecting their interest. Why can’t our leaders also protect our own interest at the agreement table?
DR GWANDU: Well, they are not in business. Business has to do with mutual benefits of both parties. To America and Europe, their agenda is to make African countries their slaves forever. They believe that African countries can hardly develop. African countries can hardly progress. So, America and Europe are seeing Africa as their slaves. Your slave cannot be your business partner. They are continuing the slavery that they started in the 18th century. This is what they are replaying in the 21st century.
AFRICA PRESS: Do you mean the Samoa agreement is part of neo-colonialism?
DR GWANDU: Yes! That is what it is. This is colonialism in disguise. They are using a different method and strategy to colonize our economy. And unfortunately, our leaders are falling to their antics. Even as much as we operate a globalized and interconnected world, we should, as much as possible, depend on ourselves. We should domesticate our economy.
AFRICA PRESS: How do you think Nigeria, nay, Africa, can achieve self-dependency in this situation where we do not have adequate power supply, no rail network, no road network, no political will to implement policies that can give positive results?
DR GWANDU: What is happening is part of colonization and neo-colonialism. It is an agenda to keep us backward. By doing that, they make sure that we don’t get the right leaders, they make sure that the bad eggs among us are at the helm of affairs. They make sure that we don’t have electricity, we don’t have water, we have bad roads, and no rail transport. This is not by accident, it is designed to keep us perpetually backward.
AFRICA PRESS: Why do Nigeria keep complaining while countries like India, Malaysia, Iran and even Tunisia now manufacture and export goods to Europe and America?
DR GWANDU: We continue to lament because we are yet to discover and rediscover ourselves. We are yet to know who we really are. We are infected with an inferiority complex, we are infected with lack of patriotism. We don’t know who we are. These countries you mentioned have discovered and rediscovered themselves. They know who they are, they know what they want, and they are pursuing it. That is why they are making progress.
AFRICA PRESS: Even those who have not had the opportunity of reading the contents of the Samoa agreement are criticizing it. Why do you think that this document with a juicy economic package is being rejected from many quarters?
DR GWANDU: This is normal. In Nigeria, like other democratic nations, we have freedom of speech as enshrined in our constitution. Though it is confusing! So, even the mad man should have a say. The educated can talk. Everybody can talk. That is what the constitution says. I have looked at some of the contents of that Samoa agreement. We have to think about the concept of gender equality. Let us look at the concept of gender equality in Europe in the year 2000 and 2002 and differentiate it with what it is today. If you look at the concept of gender equality, the perception and the context as today in Europe and America, you will realize the difference. In Europe, when you talk about non-discrimination based on gender equality, you are talking about equal rights to bi-sexuals, homo-sexuals and lesbianis. To them, they are all equal.
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