African countries could be better developed and be more useful to the rest of the world than China, said Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Alfonso Brown.
He said this is possible if Africa properly utilizes a significant number of resources on the continent and every African country develops.
Mr Browne spoke during a courtesy visit to Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at Lagos House, Marina on Friday.
He said his country’s ambition for Nigeria was to see it become a developed country within the next decade or two.
He said his nation sought to ensure that it was a first step in the Caribbean to establish close ties with Nigeria to increase trade and investment, stressing that the Caribbean and Africa must unite and work together to bring prosperity to people.
Mr. Browne noted that his country’s main objective was to strengthen the relationship between Antigua and Barbuda and Nigeria, as well as the Caribbean and the rest of Africa.
In a statement by the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Gboyega Akosile, Mr Browne said Antigua and Barbuda was ready to partner with Lagos State and Nigeria in general on trade and investment.
The Prime Minister was accompanied by his wife, Maria Brown. Ambassador Davin Joseph; Chairman/CEO of Air Peace Limited, Allen Onyema. Nigeria’s former ambassador for international and aviation peace, Segun Odegbami and CEO of LIAT 2020 Airlines Antigua, Ms. Hafsah Abdulsalam.
Speaking during the visit, which was attended by the First Lady of Lagos State, Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu and some members of the Lagos State Executive Council, Mr. Sanwo-Olu said his government would work with Antigua and Barbuda in entertainment, arts, culture and technology.
“Our tourism potential, our arts and culture and the kind of music we listen to can feed into our economy very quickly and we’ll start to see the benefits between us and both areas,” he said.
Mr. Sanwo-Olu noted that technology was also a very important area of potential collaboration since it knows no borders.
“We say we are the technology hub of Africa. All unicorns in tech startups have their origins in Lagos. So technology can also be the strong handshake we need.
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“The time is now and we must all seize the opportunity. Mr. President has created the background for us. He has said he wants Nigeria to have one trillion Naira GDP within the next two years, and that is what we are saying.
“Nigeria cannot just sit back and be a developing country. We must take up this narrative. If China and India can do it, Nigeria can do it. We must take responsibility and let the world know that indeed, we are our brothers’ keepers and distance should not be a barrier,” the governor added.
Also speaking, the Chairman/Managing Director of Air Peace Limited, Mr. Onyema, commended the Lagos State governor, Mr. Sanwo-Olu for hosting Mr. Browne and his entourage.
He expressed happiness that the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda was in Lagos to address Nigerian investors, noting that Lagos would benefit greatly from the business discussions.
Mr. Onyema stated that Africa was the next destination for the entire world, noting that there was a second race for Africa.
“The West, Asians and everyone else want a piece of Africa. We must have Africa for ourselves and host others,” he said.
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