Published By Olukayode Idowu
Nigeria and Brazil are likely to go into bilateral relations in the aviation and maritime industries as both countries on Monday indicated interest to do business in these fields.
Speaking at the Brazil-Nigeria Aviation and Defence Trade Forum in Abuja on Monday, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao said the Nigeria Air Force is ready to do business with Brazil to improve it’s capacity to dislodge terrorism and insurgency from the country.
Amao, who was represented at the occasion by Air Vice Marshal Moses Onilede said the recent procurement of the Super Tucano fighter jets by Nigeria has changed the narrative in the ongoing war against terrorism and insurgency in the country, insisting that the military would want this continued.
He said the military would be interested in getting easy access to spare parts for the Super Tucano and to get them maintained from time to time and since the fighter jets are originally Brazilian, they would be ready for collaboration with Brazil in this regard.
He also said the Air Force would be ready to collaborate with Brazil in the area of training especially of engineers for proper maintenance of the Super Tucano and is also ready to purchase other fighter jets from the South American country.
Also expressing the interest of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) to do business with Brazil, the Director General/ Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Prof. Mansur Matazu said for the agency to perform optimally it needs to invest heavily in technological that does not come cheap and considering the economic situation the entire burden cannot be laid on the government and as such it was ready to look for investor.
Matazu, who was represented by agency’s Director of Finance and Accounts, Sani Aliyu said NIMET is opened to direct investment from Brazil, insisting that the investment is highly profitable and would yield investors good return on investment.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Ambassador of Brazil to Nigeria, Ricardo Guerra de Araujo said Brazil and Nigeria share a longstanding human, cultural and historical relations and play an important economic role in their respective regional context, stressing that: “In terms of size and economy, potentials, Brazil is the first GDP in Latin America and has also the largest population in the South American continent, just like Nigeria which have the biggest GDP and population in Africa.”
He noted that: “While there are countless business and economic opportunities in Nigeria, there are also important challenges, particularly concerning the need of a more efficient infrastructure.
“Civil aviation and defense products remain, however, two outstanding strategic opportunities for international investment and trade.”
He acknowledged that some of the main factors driving defense spending include the threat posed by insurgency and terrorism and also the rising levels of illicit activities and piracy in the Gulf of Guinea off the Nigerian coast, through which more than 90 % of Nigerian international trade is done, adding that: “The milestone here is that without security there cannot be investment, without investment there cannot be growth and employment and without growth and employment there cannot be development and social welfare.”
He noted that with that with ITIA estimating that Africa will become one of the fastest-growing regions for aviation over the next 20 years, expanding annually at 5%, “Nigeria is in the pole position to grab a good slice of this staggering growth as a leading economic hub in the West Coast of Africa and in the continent, thanks to companies like Air Peace.”
He revealed that: “The aim of this forum today is to promote and put forward opportunities in the aviation and defense products sectors between Brazil and Nigeria by providing networking opportunities and avenues for the development of bilateral trade and investment possibilities.”