Nigeria plans to become a member of the BRICS economic bloc in the next two years and join the G20 group of nations according to reports from Bloomberg.
The report noted that the decision is part of a foreign policy move to assert Nigeria’s voice in powerful political and economic organizations on the global scene.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar explained that Nigeria is ripe to decide for herself the multi-lateral organizations she aligns with.
He stated,
- “Nigeria has come of age to decide for itself who her partners should be and where they should be, being multiple aligned is in our best interest,”
The Minister said that Nigeria meets the qualification for joining organisations like the BRICS and G20 noting the size of her economy and her population is a suitable criterion.
In his words,
- “We need to belong to groups like BRICS, like the G-20 and all these other ones because if there’s a certain criterion, say the largest countries in terms of population and economy should belong, then why isn’t Nigeria part of it?”
Political situation in Niger
On the political situation in Niger, Ambassador Tugar noted that Nigeria has not given up on the country and hopes the country is in transition and come back on track in the future.
He said,
- “We’re not going to give up on Niger, we think that this is transient. So definitely they will have to come back on track.”
Nigeria’s recent outing with both groups
Nigeria’s Vice President, Sen. Kashim Shettima attended the last BRICS summit in South Africa but didn’t push to become a member when the bloc admitted new members including two from Africa- Ethiopia and Egypt.
In September, President Bola Tinubu was invited to attend the G20 summit as a visitor and said he’ll push for Nigeria to become a permanent member.
About the BRICS group
BRICS comprises emerging market powers such as Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. In August, these nations extended invitations to six additional countries, including leading oil exporter Saudi Arabia, to join their ranks and enhance the bloc’s influence. The other invited countries were Iran, Egypt, Argentina, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates.
