Nigeria is on the top list of the fifty three countries in the Commonwealth, especially in West Africa, that will benefit from Brexit in terms of trade partnership, Jamie Angus, Director of BBC World Service, said on Tuesday.
The Director who oversees the World Service with broadcasts in English and 42 other languages, disclosed this to BusinessDay at the BBC office in Lagos during his visit to Nigeria.
“Britain wants to increase the amount of trade it does with Nigeria and if we leave the EU, having a free-trade deal between the United Kingdom, Nigeria will be important,” Angus said.
According to him, it will mean that “all British people will have key interest in how Nigeria grows and this is mostly because of the trade connections.”
Nigeria’s current position as the most populous nation in Africa coupled with the size of its economy are some of the reasons why Angus believes the country stands out among its peers.
Brexit is a portmanteau of ‘British’ and ‘exit’ which means the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU).
Following a referendum held on 23 June 2016, 51.9 percent of those voting supported leaving the EU, and as such the Government invoked Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union.
Britain is scheduled to leave the EU on 31 October 2019. Holding a general election in the meantime, as Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister hopes to do, could conceivably ease that process by securing a clearer majority for the prime minister’s plans.
Data by the National Bureau of Statistics as analysed by BusinessDay revealed that of the total 28 member states that make up the European Union, Spain and France made it to the top five on the list of major export trading partners of Nigeria in the first quarter 2019.
Both countries’ imports from Nigeria represented a joint 17.41 percent of the total export trade by the country, while by region comparison, Europe was Nigeria’s top import source after Asia. The former got 24.66 percent of the country’s total imports while the former attracted 44.15 percent.
“Going by the government prediction, Britain should leave the EU by October 31 2019 and the question of the connections between Britain and the countries of the Common wealth, Nigeria will be leading among those in West Africa in terms of trade with Britain,” Angus said.
Meanwhile Nigeria’s total exports for Q1 2019 was recorded at N4.54 trillion, which represents a 1.78percent rise compared to the fourth quarter of 2018 but a 3.9percent fall compared to the first quarter of 2018. Similarly, the value of total imports increased to N3.70 trillion, representing an increase of 3.39percent relative to Q4 2018 and 29.84percent compared with Q1 2018.
The trade balance remained positive at N831.6 billion in Q1 2019, boosted by increase in both exports and imports.
“More so, I know from speaking with diplomats that things like financial services in terms of expertise and stock market and so on are important growth areas in the future if the UK leaves the EU,” the Director of BBC World service revealed.
One of the spurs of Brexit is a fall back option on the Commonwealth of countries by Britain. In this regard, Nigeria seems to be a target by Britain owing to its vast market and raw materials. In recognising this, the British High Commissioner Paul Awkright early this year stated that Britain had listed the Naira as one of the acceptable currencies for trade with Britain.
Also, the education market in Nigeria has been a huge boon to Britain, with Nigerians spending hundreds of millions of pounds as school and sundry fees annually in British educational institutions across the board.
In a recent report, the United Nations said Nigeria’s population is set to overtake the US’ by 2050, and could exceed 400 million.
Home to one of the four of the world’s fastest-growing cities –Lagos – Nigeria is estimated to have a population of 201 million in 2019, and h
