The Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Cui Jianchun, has said that the loans Nigeria receives from China are merely to develop the nation “at this critical time”.
Jianchun said this while fielding questions at a seminar with the theme, “Learning from the Chinese Communist Party’s History and Creating a Brighter Future”, in Abuja.
He said that the narrative that Nigeria would cede its sovereignty to China if it fails to pay back acquired loans was false.
The ambassador noted that both countries were working to complement each other, as their relationship was beneficial to “the two countries”.
Jianchun said, “Some politicians have tried to use the new colonial system mindset to say that, ok, if I lend you money, if you cannot pay me back, you will lose your sovereignty.
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“But I want to let you know that the logic is that first, China loves to do something for Nigeria, not only to help, but it is also beneficial to the two countries.
“For example, the Chinese side can work with Nigeria for the railway station because now, money is a big constraint, just like in 1978, we had no money.
“I had a lot of experience at that time. In China, we did not have money, we did not have technology, and we did not know how to manage the economy.
“But I do believe that now, at this critical time, we need the money to develop this country. We cannot wait for five years, ten years later.
“Sometimes, when we were planting trees for the next generation, some people said we were borrowing money to let the future generation bear the burden.
“Now, this is not true. Every country has to do something for the next generation, otherwise, the country cannot move forward.”
