Press Releases

Fashola Charges EU To Reappraise Its Relationship With Africa

May 18, 2009 - Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) on Monday charged the European Union (EU) to step back a little and reappraise the kind of relationship it wants to have with the African continent.

Governor Fashola who spoke when he received the Czechoslovakian Ambassador in Nigeria, Mr. Jaroslav Siro on a courtesy visit at the State House, Ikeja added such an reappraisal will enable the European Continent realize that today, globalization has made the world very compact.

He explained that today the possibility is more pronounced that the fate of a woman and man in Africa in being able to eat breakfast or not would be determined by what happens in a bank in Florida in the United States which he has no input into or connection with.

He added today the only message is for the developed countries to open new markets which can be approached as one which need just mere supports or those that require total buy-ins which represents a major turning point for interaction and decision making for everyone.

The Governor added that even in the environmental sector, the planet is facing apparent peril because what happens in one planet affects the other, saying the threat to the environment anywhere is a threat to the environment everywhere.

Now, he added is the time to consider how the people make use of the energy, nature’s resources and what are the options open to the people to keep the planet sustainable bearing in mind the stories of lost civilizations that once existed and have perished.

He affirmed that clearly, the choices that man makes today will determine how long the civilization will last for, saying that he recently learnt of the melting of 100 meters expanse of ice in the Arctic which would ultimately lead to an increase in the water level globally.

Governor Fashola said he sees vast opportunities from the challenges for mutual developments that exist in Africa, adding that the state is however ready to open its doors and take on mutually beneficial ideas.

He said some of the projects which the European Union expressed interest in are those which he believes provide vast opportunities for creating new markets in the Lekki Free Trade Zone such that it would enable European businessmen set up shops instead of treating Africa as areas for extraction of raw materials only.

He said the same vistas of opportunity could be gotten from the expansion of the Lagos /Badagry Express Way which is also critical to the integration of the ECOWAS sub region cross border trade.

Governor Fashola said that opportunities also exist for concessioning in the provision of light rail project which the state is committed to providing.

Speaking earlier, the Czechoslovakian Ambassador in Nigeria, Mr Jaroslav Siro who is also the Head of the European Union Diplomatic mission in Nigeria said he was at the State House, Ikeja as part of the proposed working visit to Lagos by European Union Ambassadors in Nigeria.

He added that the ambassadors intend to get acquainted with what is going on in Lagos in terms of developmental projects and would like to visit the important projects sites.

He reiterated that several areas of co-operation exist for the European Union and Lagos in the areas of peace, security, human rights and development issues, saying till now, the EU represents the largest trading partner of Nigeria.