Strengthening… African linkages

Because of the British colonial “divide and rule” tactic to rule us with a minimum of troops, we “natives” left in the detritus of the Empire remain at each other’s – Africans vs Indians here or Igbo vs Yoruba in Nigeria etc!! But those fissures weren’t encouraged BETWEEN the territories of the Empire – we were all supposed to be loyally donating our blood, sweat and tears for the “Mother Country”!! So in the post-independence era, it wasn’t surprising that various countries retained very fraternal relations with each other – even without the ministrations of the Commonwealth! We should remember India’s efforts to eliminate apartheid in South Africa!!
Indian PM Narendra Modi exemplified this post-colonial bonhomie when he decided to visit Nigeria in Africa and Guyana in South America as bookends to his G-20 Summit in Brazil. He was the second Indian PM to visit Nigeria – the first being Manmohan Singh in 2007. Yesterday, Modi stopped off in Nigeria where he was bestowed their second-highest national award – the ‘Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger’ (GCON). He was only the second foreign dignitary to receive the distinction – Queen Elizabeth II received it in 1966.
Modi reminded that it was under India’s G20 chairmanship, that Nigeria became a guest country and the African Union became a permanent member of the grouping, after meeting Modi, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu tweeted that they were “focusing on boosting the India-Nigeria partnership in a range of areas, including trade, investment and digital public infrastructure.” India has emerged as a development partner of Nigeria on two fronts — by offering concessional loans (USD 100 million) and by offering capacity-building training programmes.
There are also more than 200 Indian companies in Nigeria that have invested some US$27 billion in all important manufacturing sectors. These companies are the second largest employers after the federal government, according to Indian officials. Pres Tinubu also noted that his country and India were two of the largest democracies in the world – with populations of 224 and 1500 million respectively – that are very diverse!!
We in Guyana should look at – and learn from – the experiences of these two countries from which so many of our own population originated. As the old arch-colonialist Winston Churchill pointed out “Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…”!!
As Modi meanders down our way, our leaders can do worse than recommit themselves to affirm the rules of democracy when they meet him in Parliament on Thursday.

…Chinese linkages
We’re so Eurocentric that we can’t get it out of our minds that it’s not just the Atlantic that separates continents – the Pacific does the same for Asia and the Americas!! The map of the world that’s centred on the Atlantic – not by coincidence, thank you!! – doesn’t help in rejigging our thoughts. Well, China’s on the west of the Pacific and Peru’s on the east so with Chinese Pres XI just declaring the mega port of Chancay in Peru – a $1.3 billion China-funded project majority-owned by Chinese shipping giant Cosco – open, the world map’s gonna soon be redrawn!! What the port does is connect South America directly to Shangai as part of China’s Belt & Road initiative!!
As China tries staving off Trump’s US tariff increases, expect a tsunami of Chinese products heading to our neck of the woods. But it can be a two-way street – with South American exports heading to China.
Another incentive for our Highway to Lethem to be completed!??!

…Mad Maduro
Ralphie Boy is at it again – undermining us and boosting his Venezuela pal Mad Maduro!! The St. Vincent PM claims our “25 by 25” food initiative is collapsing – and he’s signed an agreement to grow food in Venezuela.
Did he ask us??