Next week Mr Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister will be visiting Nigeria, so I hope President Buhari and his team will have this post-Covid action list presented to him

Ayo Akinfe

(1) If China comes up with a Covid-19 vaccine, Nigeria’s government wants a commitment that a pharmaceutical plant to manufacture the drug will be built in Nigeria. In addition, Nigeria wants sole distribution rights of the vaccine across Africa

(2) Nigeria wants a platoon of an elite division of China’s special forces like The Leopards, The Siberian Tigers or the Night Tigers deployed to Borno State to help eliminate Boko Haram

(3) Nigeria’s government wants China’s big four automobile manufacturers SAIC Motor, Dongfeng, FAW and Chang’an to open a joint venture manufacturing facility in Nigeria. It must produce at least 1m units annually and Nigeria’s government will be happy to take out a minority stake in the venture which will manufacture a unique African car. Maybe call it the Madiba

(4) Each of these automobile companies must also open global assembly plants in Nigeria to assemble cars for worldwide distribution. At the very least, they must employ 20,000 Nigerians

(5) CRRC Corporation Limited (CRRC) is the world’s largest rolling stock manufacturer. It must open a manufacturing facility in Nigeria to build train carriages for the entire Europe, Africa and Middle East region

(6) China Power Investment Corporation supplies about 10% of China’s electricity. This state-owned company is engaged in the development, investment, construction, operation and management of power plants and power generation in 27 Chinese provinces. We want them to build six hydroelectric power plants in Nigeria at Lokoja, Idah, Yola, Asaba, Makurdi and Baro. Between them, they must generate 50,000MW of electricity

(7) TBEA is China’s largest transformer manufacturer. We find it totally unacceptable that it has no manufacturing facility in Nigeria and by 2022 we want a plant up and running

(8) China is the world’s largest steel manufacturer with approximately 10 times the steelmaking capacity of the US. Do you know that in 2015, Chinese steel exports represented approximately one quarter of all global sales. Mr Wang Yi should not be allowed to leave Nigeria until he pledges that in 2021, China will get the Ajaokuta and Aladja steel plants up and running producing at least 5m tonnes before the end of the year

(9) China’s Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway line is 1,318km long and is the world’s longest high-speed line ever constructed in a single phase. It runs at 380km per hour. Mr Wang Yi should be told that all flights out of Nigeria have been banned until he lays the foundation stone for a similar Lagos to Abuja high speed railway line

(10) China has 34 major ports and more than 2,000 minor ports. We do not want that many. All we ask for is that China build six deep sea along our 853km Atlantic coastline at Ayetoro, Warri, Brass, Opobo, Ikot-Abasi and Calabar. They must be able to take pamanaxes of any size