By MALACHY Uzendu
On Tuesday, September 17, the People’s Republic of China commenced a journey through the trajectory of activities, events and efforts that today have pushed China as a global force was celebrated in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city with a crescendo of events which pushed China from a peasant country to a global power horse it has become today.
For 75 years, culminating in the celebration of the Independence of the PRC on October 1st, China has through the resilience and measured activities in the leadership prisms of its leaders, pushed the country top notch at every turn of its national journey.
Aside from kicking off the event at the Shehu Yar’Adua Center, with Chinese musical performance entitled “Half a Lifetime” which was performed by the “China Corner” students of the Government Secondary School, Garki, Abuja. The performance was well synchronized by the students, who made the August guests nod in agreement with the wonderful synchronisation of their dance steps as if they were Chinese youth themselves.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris (represented), expressed optimism that with the long standing shared relationship between Nigeria and China, he hopes that it would continue to grow stronger. He commended the Chinese government on their independence and promised to continue to promote cross-cultural and other exchanges to promote the long standing relationship.
The Chinese Ambassador, Yu Dunham, who welcomed the guests noted that Nigeria is populated with friendly people, welcoming people who have always welcomed him warmly everywhere he went to since his resumption of office fes weeks ago.
He recalled the shared cordial relationship between China and Nigeria, recalling that the recent visit of President Bola Tinubu, to the PRC had led to the signing of several bilateral agreements, which strengthened the Cino/Nigeria long standing relationship. He promised continued industrial , agricultural, security, technology and diverse cooperation between Nigeria and China.
He stated that the celebration of the Chinese independence would only lead to strengthen further the unification of the relationship between the two countries, commending the leaders of both countries for their commitment and resilience in highlighting especially the news and media, cultural exchanges, etc, promising to further strengthen shared ideas and relationships.
The Editor-in-Chief of China Media Group and Vice-Minister of Publicity Department of CPC Central Committee, Shen Haixiong, made an online presentation during which he recalled the glowing memories between Nigeria and China which further strengthened media exchange between the two countries, stressing that across Africa, the CMG has impacted greatly in disseminating the vast positive cultural activities of the people of Africa and of China as well.
Chief Chris Isiguzo, National President, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), while speaking in the Theme: Written in the Sky: My China Story”, he said the relationship between China and Nigeria, have been based on mutual respect, shared partnership and growth in several aspects.
He stated that as the president of Conference of African Journalists, he has witnessed a promising future where African stories and perspectives are being shared globally through the emergence of Africa/China Media relationship. He eulogized the great efforts of the President of China, Shi Jinpeng, in promoting African Journalists support in expressing the voices of African journalists globally fostered by the NUJ and CAJ which in no small measure fortress the ties that bind us in pushing forward beautiful stories of Africa across the globe.
Mr. Jafaru Yakubu (Taraba State), Chairman, House Committee on China/Nigeria Parliamentary Friendship Group, expressed his delight in the mammoth gathering of Nigerian journalists to the event, as a proof of the cordial relationship and networking capability of the Chinese government on our nation’s media. He also noted that he has first hand witnessed the profound cordial relationship between China and Nigeria which he noted is creating jobs, promoting technological development, cross cultural exchanges and agricultural and infrastructural development, stressing that Nigeria’s participation in the Belt and Road Initiative is a proof of the positive impact of China/Nigeria partnership which he noted can only bring about a brighter future and contribute to a more peaceful and prosperous world.
Several other speakers, including Mr. Charles Onunaiju, Coordinator of the Center for China Studies, spoke of the several assistance offered to Nigerian journalists towards advancing professionalism, promoting professionalism, adding that those supports have in no small measure assisted in uplifting cultural and other forms of exchanges among Nigeria and China journalists.
Prof. Paul Tembe, Founder and Director at SELE Encounters, Cross-Civilisation Communication Strategies and Analytics, South Africa, stated that through his academic works and research he had promoted platforms which have bridged the gap for China and Nigeria intellectuals telling their stories, fostering opportunities to close gaps that existed in scenario analysis especially in Africa, which have assisted in focusing on the future development of Africa that are research based.
He noted that unlike the European theoretical framework of master servant relationship, China has succeeded in promoting a community that would close the gap for telling African stories, from the perspective of mutually beneficial prisms.
It was indeed a wonderful evening where the guests were treated to several of the dance steps of the Chinese cultures demonstrated by Africans and of course spiced up with Chinese cuisine.
