The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi Ojaja II, has welcomed a high-profile delegation from Kazakhstan to a business summit in Abuja, reinforcing economic ties between Nigeria and the Central Asian nation. The delegation, led by Kazakhstan’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alibek Kuantyrov, included business leaders and top government officials exploring investment opportunities in Nigeria.
Speaking at the maiden edition of the Nigeria-Kazakhstan Business Council International Conference, held at Transcorp Hilton, the Ooni commended President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, acknowledging the initial challenges but noting that they are now yielding positive results.
“We all know the challenges of our dear country. I will give a simple example of a plane at the highest altitude dropping. Any casualty can come up in that process. But we thank God Almighty that things are normalising on a gradual basis in our country. These are all the fruits of the great things we are seeing as a nation now.
We want to send a message on behalf of the private sector and the traditional institution of this country that we are getting there gradually as a nation.”
The Ooni also highlighted a significant financial milestone, stating:
“For the first time in 20 years, the arbitrage between the parallel market and the official market has been closed completely. It is quite evident that now our country is investor-friendly. Our capital market is repositioned for a better inflow of foreign investment. Also, many Nigerian entrepreneurs here are looking forward to connecting with their associates from Kazakhstan as well.”
As chairman of the Nigeria-Kazakhstan Business Council, the Ooni noted that last year’s meeting between President Tinubu and his Kazakhstan counterpart, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, laid the foundation for the growing bilateral relationship.
Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, also addressed the summit, acknowledging the Ooni’s role in bridging traditional leadership and economic development. He confirmed a significant drop in food prices and attributed it to improved supply and government interventions, including a ₦200 billion initiative by President Tinubu.
“They’re monitoring and giving us real-time, day-to-day prices of foodstuff, and we have seen how it crashed within the last month by 40 percent. However, we are also pleading with food processors to pass down those benefits of the price drop to Nigerian citizens,” Kyari said.
When asked about the reasons behind the price decrease, he explained:
“As an economist, I know market prices are determined by supply and demand. What happened before was that we were challenged by high demand and low supply. But for 2024, we had a positive harvest, which means we have more supply than in previous years.
“It was a deliberate attempt by Mr. President to make sure that we bring down food inflation to the bare minimum. And we are still not relenting. We are looking at price stabilization mechanisms. Within the next two weeks, we want to roll out the stabilization to further bring down the price without discouraging local production.”
Kazakhstan’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alibek Kuantyrov, praised the Ooni for fostering economic collaboration. He emphasized Kazakhstan’s advanced digital economy, stating that over 90 percent of the population conducts transactions without cash. He also urged Nigeria to consider opening an embassy in Kazakhstan to enhance trade and diplomatic relations.
“Unfortunately, Kazakhstan doesn’t yet have an embassy here in Nigeria, just as Nigeria doesn’t have one in our country. We are hoping Nigeria will open one soon. That is also why our delegation is here. So, we will also be discussing how to fast-track our diplomatic arrangements and other logistics,” Kuantyrov said.
The summit followed a recent visit by the Nigeria-Kazakhstan Business Council’s delegation to Astana, Kazakhstan’s capital, under the chairmanship of the Ooni. The delegates which included the council’s Executive Secretary, Chief Adeniyi Adesoji, a member of the council; Otunba Yera Olafare and the Kazakhstan’s Honourary Consul Nominee in Nigeria Mr Bruce Ayonote Brai where they engaged with government officials, manufacturers, and trade leaders to attract investment to Nigeria.
This delegation went for one week and held series of talks with government officials, manufacturers, International Trade merchants, business entrepreneurs and other relevant stakeholders who had been mobilized by the Astana based wing of the Nigeria – Kazakhstan Business Council some of whom are also directors of the Ojaja Silkway Corporation established in Kazakhstan and registered by the Astana International Financial Center(AIFC) to trade in commodities exchange and other investment interests between Nigeria and Kazakhstan.
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