Russia’s Assistance to Nigerian Economic and Educational Development(1999 – 2019)

Theoretical framework

This article used the traditional diplomatic theory which is majorly based on the state-to state diplomacy. The theory is known to be effective due to its peculiarity of being functional based on geography and territory. If territory is no longer a sole principle in the world, then we can as well say that the impacts and implications of the traditional diplomacy are not needed. The traditional diplomacy ascertains the official interaction of two or more states through each of their permanent ambassador or their specially appointed diplomats. In our opinion, for smooth and effective dealings, the states involved must be sovereign political units and they must be able to exercise a supreme authority within the unit, as well as being total independence outside the unit. In addition, there must be a core existence of interests and values which would enable the states involved to develop regularity in their pattern of interaction. The fundamental principles of sovereignty, national interests, and national security mainly is in the hands of traditional diplomacy and as the foundation of the traditional diplomacy is based on the state to state basis, we can relate it to the Nigeria-Russia ties which are the main justification of the theory to this paperwork.

Introduction

Firstly, it is worthy to note that the promotion of international development is an extremely multifaceted phenomenon, in which the main actors are national agencies and ministries donor country cooperation, multilateral assistance structures under international organizations, ministries finance and economics in recipient countries help. Each of the actors pursues its own interests, interests of different actors intersect, which leads to a plurality of approaches to assisting international development.

Our paper argues that it was only after the return of democratic rule to Nigeria in 1999 that a new door of opportunity was opened to both countries in order to exploit the maximum potential of their cooperation in both political and economic spheres. This argument can be backed up referencing Vladimir Putin coming into office in 2000 which gradually stabilized the Russian society and its economy. It was also during that period that Russia engaged in the difficult task of mending its relations in the International arena, particularly in the aspect of re-engaging the African nations with so many of its high profile Russian officials visiting African countries, Nigeria inclusive. A new chapter of Nigeria-Russia relations was formed after President Olusegun Obasanjo visited Moscow in 2001 when the Russian officials made an indication that Russia's new policy jolts towards the Nigeria were to be regarded as a commitment and utmost support for the growth and development of Nigeria as a nation state. This was proved by the signing of the treaty of the Declaration on Principles of Friendly Relations and Partnership between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Russian Federation.

Russia Role in Nigeria Economy

Our research supports the notion that the economic ties of Nigeria and Russia were deepened when there was subsequently an establishment of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic and Scientific-Technical Cooperation (ICESTC) which was between the two countries. As the years go by, major Russian companies began to develop an interest in Nigeria. With an interest to revive Nigeria's major aluminum smelter, the Russian Aluminum Company (RUSAL) bought 77.5 percent stake for $250 million in the Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON). In addition to that, Gazprom, which is the Russian national energy and the biggest in the world, subsequently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on the exploration of the country's enormous gas reserves, which we can say that facilitates several other infrastructural development projects.

Nigeria is the largest in population country of the continent - in recent years has become one of the first economies in Africa and seeks become one of the 20 largest economies in the world. There are very good indications for Nigeria-Russia ties. Although the growth is slow but steady as the bilateral trade between Nigeria’s and Russia’s institutions, companies and agencies have made an opening for great opportunities for their further cooperation in the sphere of energy and in the promotion of their bilateral cooperation in the cultural sphere. A major milestone took place when in 2009 when President Dmitry Medvedev visited Abuja which aided the rapid evolvement of the Nigeria-Russia partnership. This can be said to be significant because, since the formation of Russia in 1991, none of the Russian leaders had made a visit to Nigeria. The remarkable aspect of the visitation is the signing of six bilateral agreements which include the following: Investment Promotion & Protection Agreement; Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy;

Memorandum of Understanding in the Field of Exploration of Outer; Agreement of the Transfer of Persons Sentenced to Imprisonment; Memorandum and Articles of Association on Joint Venture between NNPC and GAZPROM; and Legal Cooperation between the Nigerian and Russian Ministries of Justice. The aforementioned agreements had resulted in the emergence of several other new initiatives. However, it’s worthy to note that none of the agreements have actually been ratified. It is important for Russia to continue to effectively work with the National Commission on Atomic Energy in order to build an experimental research nuclear plant in Abuja area. The author of this paper posits that there could be a possibility of Russia providing technical aid to Nigeria’s peacekeeping operations. If this happens, it will open a new chapter to the Nigeria-Russia ties. Presently, Nigeria ranks as the second most valuable trading partner of Russia in Sub-Saharan Africa while Russia ranks as Nigeria’s tenth biggest trade partner. Even though it can be said that the volume of the trade between Nigeria and Russia had grown from $300 million in 2008 to about $1.5 billion in 2010 and mostly in favor of Russia, according to CBN figures, it can still be said that the volume was still quite a low judging from the great potential of both countries, as well as the huge size of their markets. It’s advisable for Nigeria to commence a steadfast move in addressing the trade imbalance engaging Russia with investment opportunities in the sphere of the Niger-Delta oil and gas industry.

International assistance usually provides favorable long-term impact on bilateral trade and economic relations between donor and recipient, especially if the means allocated by governments to aid development, allocated to economic facilities infrastructure. Thus, they are laying the way for subsequent private foreign investment from the same and other donor states, which are the main exporters of capital. According to Obasekola 2011, several Russian companies are in preparation to enter the Nigerian market with major investment projects such as in the metallurgical and extraction industry such as hydrocarbon extraction, energy, metals and farm mechanization. The deal between Russia’s Gazprom and Nigeria’s NNPC signed in 2009 for about 2.5 billion US Dollars for the extraction and transport of gas from fields in Nigeria has impacted on the economies of both countries especially during the time of the global economic downturn.

Russia-Nigeria Educational Development

The head of the Federation Council noted the growth of humanitarian relations between countries. In 2018, more than 120 Nigerian students got the opportunity to study at Russian universities through intergovernmental agreements. An important direction of bilateral relations in the field of culture and education is the training of citizens of Nigeria in Russian universities. To date, more than 10,000 Nigerian specialists have been trained in Russia. The number of state scholarships for higher education offered by Nigeria has been on the increased. Currently, almost 250 Nigerian students study at Russian universities with free scholarships, about the same - on a fee basis. Russian Federation is one of the most countries that Nigerian students to study. Nigerians represent one of the numerous groups of all foreign students studying in the Eastern European countries of Russia. African Students/Nigerian Students emerged to Soviet Union in the 1950s; In 1961: 500 African Students (100 of which were Nigerians); By the end of 1960, there were about 4,000 African students, Nigeria rating the highest in number; During the Soviet Union era, the most popular specialties among Nigerian students were engineering and technical (53% of students). Humanities and Social sciences attracted 18% of students, medicine and pharmaceuticals - 17%, agriculture - 7%, economy - 5%. According to 2009 report, in the educational sector, more than fifty government scholarships are being awarded annually to Nigerian students while many sponsored themselves to Russia to study. In Russia present time, the large percentage of specialty studied by Nigerian students in Russia is Medicine and pharmaceutical, followed by Engineering, the Humanities and Social sciences. Spit sky I.S. of the Education African departments at MFA noted that the collapse of the colonial system on the African continent is posed to the young states of Africa - socio-economic issues that require immediate resolution, in particular, the issue of training highly qualified personnel for economy and social sphere, especially medicine.

People’s friendship university of Russia (PFUR), being a Higher Education Institution (HEI) established specially to provide educational services to international students, educated the foreign students from the developing countries, including African countries of which Nigeria was paramount, alongside Moscow State University, Leningrad State University, Moscow State Automobile and Road Technical University, Moscow Aviation Institute, Moscow Power Engineering Institute, Moscow Institute of Civil Engineering. International cooperation is one of PFUR key spheres of activities since the university is an international educational and scientific institution.

Every year, 15 thousand people enter and study for free at universities in Russia as part of the quota. In 2018, the competition among foreigners was 4.5 people per budget place, the official website of Rossotrudnichestvo is quoted by the deputy head of the department, Dmitry Guzhelyu. According to the OECD study, about 3% of students from the global total of young people who have decided to get higher education abroad study in Russia. Last year's report by the International Department and the Center for Sociological Research gives an exact figure - 156,211 people, 11.9% more than in 2016^[1]. Universities plan to further increase the number of foreign students by increasing the number of international conferences, programs in English, as well as increasing the recognition of Russian educational organizations abroad.

It is of importance to note that among foreign students in Russia there are many citizens of India and China, there are also students from all over the world who come to Russia to study and they from Canada and the USA, countries of Asia and Europe, Africa and Oceania, Latin and North America. However, most students are from Asia (26.6%) and the CIS (51.9%). Below are the statistics as of May 2018

African countries (except North Africa)

1. Nigeria - 1.6 thousand students

2. Angola - 780 students

3. Ghana - 730 students

Nigerians and other foreigners who would like to graduate from a Russian university have some challenges. The main difficulty is the language barrier: in most of the areas, classes are taught in Russian. For foreigners who are not familiar with it, universities often offer preparatory language courses. Of course, recently there have been more English programs, but so far there are still very few of them. The second difficulty that many foreigners face is the low level of adaptation of university sites for university applicants from abroad. To find, for example, a list of exams for applicants, sometimes you have to visit several pages, navigation through which can be an additional entrance test. And, of course, often the search also has to be carried out in Russian. Another difficulty faced by Nigerians and other foreigners in Russia are visa, registration. Oddly enough, many foreigners are experiencing culinary difficulties. Residents of other countries, as we have noticed, are not very fond of mayonnaise, dill, borscht, caviar, jellied meat and other traditionally Russian products and dishes. Of course, it is unusual for foreigners to eat like many Russians are used to.

Conclusion

Having analyzed the Nigeria-Russia ties in the development of Nigeria, with an intent to identify their efforts and challenges and possibility in moving Nigeria national development to the next level, it’s obvious that there is already a pronounced foundation for the cooperation of both countries in their broad area of interests and values. A special kind of relationship has already been formed by these two countries over the past decades. The resurfacing of the civilian rule in Nigeria in 1999 and Vladimir Putin became the President of Russia in 2000 which created a new opportunity for both countries to establish and explore the possibilities of them becoming strategic partners. The abundance in Nigeria’s solid mineral and agriculture could be a potential for which Russia could be a great market, as Nigeria could be a source of agricultural raw materials and consumer goods for Russia. The most important aspect is that both countries no longer have ideological differences in their relationship and dealings. It is important for Russia to continue to effectively work with the National Commission on Atomic Energy in order to build an experimental research nuclear plant in Abuja area. The author of this paper posits that there could be a possibility of Russia providing technical aid to Nigeria’s peacekeeping operations. If this happens, it will open a new chapter to the Nigeria-Russia ties. However, in order for Nigeria to succeed in its ties with Russia and also to elevate their relationship to a higher strategic partnership level, there is a need for a clearly articulated national strategic vision.