Below is the full text of the speech delivered by President Buhari at
a banquet held in his honour by South African president, Cyril
Ramaphosa.
Your Excellency, Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa,
Your Excellency, David Mabuza, Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa,
Honourable Ministers,
Senior Government officials,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is a great pleasure for me to address you tonight.
2. I would like, first of all, to thank you, my Brother, President
Ramaphosa, for inviting me and my delegation to your beautiful country.
We have been overwhelmed by the warm hospitality of the South African
people since our arrival. Thank you very much also for this very
generous and sumptuous banquet in our honour.
3. Mr. President, I wish to thank you for taking the initiative to
convene this Bi-National Commission. It has been six years since the
last meeting of the Commission. Of particular significance is the
decision we took to elevate our Bi-National Commission to the level of
Heads of State, and it is an honour and source of pride for me to
participate in this maiden edition.
4. It is important to highlight that this is the only Bi-National
Commission that Nigeria has with any country that is co-chaired at this
level, reflecting the strategic and special nature of the relationship
between our two countries.
5. We believe that a strong strategic relationship between Nigeria
and South Africa can become the engine for the rapid economic,
political, social, cultural development of Africa, thereby delivering
the Africa we want.
6. The building blocks for the Africa we want are being
systematically put in place thanks to the political will of African
leaders over many years. The process began with the transformation of
the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) into the African Union (AU) on
July 9, 2002. A key objective of this transformation was to have a union
of the peoples of Africa rather than a unity of African leaders.
7. Under the former Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr.
Nkosozana Dlamini Zuma, a great daughter of South Africa and indeed
Africa, African Heads of State and Government signed the 50th
Anniversary Solemn Declaration during the Golden Jubilee celebrations of
the formation of the OAU/AU in May 2013.
8. The Declaration marked the re-dedication of Africa towards the
attainment of the Pan-African Vision of an integrated, prosperous and
peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens, representing a dynamic
force in the international arena. Agenda 2063 is the concrete
manifestation of how the continent intends to achieve this Vision within
a 50 year period from 2013 to 2063.
9. Agenda 2063 encapsulates not only Africa’s aspirations for the
future but also identifies key Programmes which can boost Africa’s
economic growth and development and lead to the rapid transformation of
the continent. It is in this context that a number of flagship projects,
which represent building blocks towards the Africa we want, were
launched. These include:
a. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE AFRICAN CONTINENTAL FREE TRADE AREA (AfCFTA);
b. THE AFRICAN PASSPORT AND FREE MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE; and
c. ESTABLISHMENT OF A SINGLE AFRICAN AIR-TRANSPORT MARKET (SAATM).
10. Before Agenda 2063, there was The New Partnership for Africa’s
Development (NEPAD), an initiative of the former Organisation of African
Unity (OAU) that came into being in 2001 with South Africa, Nigeria,
Egypt, Senegal and Algeria as its sponsors.
11. I have highlighted these two landmark initiatives to show that
Nigeria and South Africa not only share the same vision for Africa and
its peoples but have been close partners in the formulation and
implementation of this vision.
12. Going further back in recent history, during the dark days of the
fight against apartheid, Nigeria was formally designated a Frontline
State, notwithstanding the fact that we were not geographically in
Southern Africa. It was rather in recognition of the political, human
and material support and sacrifices of the Nigerian Government and
people.
13. Nigerian workers, students and the Government made great
contributions and stood shoulder to shoulder with the peoples of
Southern Africa in their struggles against colonialism and apartheid.
14. We hosted several South African students in our universities,
including for a while, Teboho “Tsietsi” MacDonald Mashinini of the
Soweto uprising fame. Nigerian students and workers contributed money
from their salaries and stipends for the cause of Southern African
liberation.
15. In 1979, Nigeria nationalized Britain’s shareholding in British
Petroleum Nigeria for, among other reasons, doing business with the
apartheid regime in South Africa, as well as its policies in the then
Rhodesia, which had a serious adverse effect on British economy.
Your Excellency,
16. We in Nigeria are very proud that we stood with the people of
Southern Africa in their hour of need. As they say, “A friend in need is
a friend indeed.” We are also very proud that together with South
Africa and other African countries, as brothers and partners, we are
today charting an exciting new path towards the Africa we want.
Mr. President, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
17. This high-level Bi-National Commission is an important framework
for our two countries to institutionalize our partnership and to address
concretely every aspect of that relationship. In recognition of that
fact, we have come with a large delegation which includes Governors of 3
of the 36 states of Nigeria, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs; Defence;
Interior; Industry, Trade and Investment; Mines and Steel Development;
Police Affairs; Power and the Chairperson of the Nigerian Diaspora
Commission.
18. As the two largest economies on the continent, there are many
areas in which we can share experiences, invest and cooperate. Ours is a
relationship full of potential and promise and this can only be a
win-win for our peoples and for Africa at large.
19. The Bi-National Commission will also make it easier for us to
keep on the same page as we march forward, hand in hand, as one people
with a shared vision and one destiny.
20. Mr. President and dear brother, as I said, you have overwhelmed
me and my delegation with your legendary South African hospitality. I
would like therefore to seize this opportunity to formally invite you to
pay a state visit to Nigeria for a return match where we as the Super
Eagles will surely revenge against you the Bafana Bafana!
God bless South Africa; God bless Nigeria!
I thank you very much.
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