Nigeria/Iran: Points of convergence and divergence

JOHN ALECHENU, who was among some Nigerian journalists, who recently visited Iran, examines levels of development in Nigeria and the Islamic country as well as how they differ.

Nigeria and the Islamic Republic of Iran share a lot in common. For one, both countries fall among nations classified as “developing.”

Both are also members of the non-aligned movement as well as the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries among several other international organisations.

Nigeria has signed a number of agreements with the nation of 70.4 million people (2007 est) occupying a total land area of 1.636million Square Kilometres.

One of such agreements is the Preferential Trade Agreement signed by members of D8 countries after a summit in Abuja, last year.

Under the agreement, member states which currently account for 3 per cent of the total world trade set a target of 15 years over the next 10 years.

The agreement also stipulated the reduction of tariffs charged on goods and services among member states to be pegged at a maximum of 25 per cent.

An area where Iran appears to have got it right and Nigeria is still crawling is Iran’s capacity to meet the electric power generation and distribution needs of its people.

While Nigeria, a nation of about 150 million people is still struggling to sustain the generation and distribution of roughly 3,000-4,000 megawatts of electricity, Iran has been able to generate and effectively distribute close to 60,000 megawatts.

Chief executives at the Shahid Rajaee power plant, one of Iran’ power generating plants located at the 25th km-highway of Qazvin in the capital Tehran explained why.

Deputy Managing Director of Maintenance, Asghar Zoghaghi told a delegation of Nigerian journalists on a study tour of the Persian nation, that the plant produces a total of 2,040 megawatts representing five per cent of the national total.

Interestingly, the nation which requires about 40,000 megawatts of electricity generates 60,000. It uses up 40,000 and keeps the remaining 20,000 in reserve.

The first phase of the Rajaee plant which came on stream in 1984 consists of four steam units which produce 250MW each. The first unit of the thermal power plant was started in 1992 with the second, third and forth units beginning in 1994.

As Zoghaghi puts it, the amount of electricity generated and used by a society to a large extent determines the level of its economic development.

The power generation and distributing capability of the country has impacted positively on Iran’s manufacturing sector.

Two beneficiaries of this are: the Mubareketh Steel Company and the Iran Khodro Group, manufacturers of a wide range of automobiles.

The Steel Company located at Esfahan; produces most of the steel sheets used for the manufacture of vehicles, roofing sheets, house hold goods such as gas cylinders, refrigerators, and washing machines.

Mr. Rasool Mehmandoost, the company’s spokesperson offered Nigeria a few tips on how best to revive its ailing steel industry.

He said Nigeria must among other things; avoid the pit fall of selling its raw materials adding that government and the private sector must collaborate if any progress was to be made in the quest to develop.

The steel expert explained that it took his country close to 30 years to reach its current level of self sufficiency.

Mehmandoost, a trained engineer who doubles as the company’s interpreter/ Public Relations Officer also stressed on manpower development.

He said company the was built in the early eighties and was initially sustained through public funding before privatisation but it was now running at a profit.

Although it had challenges during the eight year Iran-Iraq war, the company is currently the largest iron industry in the Middle East with an annual production capacity of 5.2 million tons of steel sheets annually.

Mehmandoost said, “I think your country should use its raw materials to its benefit. Instead of selling the material, it should make it into something with more added values.

“This facility was first funded using government funds, and then it was sold to indigenous private companies.

“It is currently 100 per cent Iranian owned company. Of course, there have been attempts to buy the company.

“Different elements have resulted in the success of this company but management has taken into consideration, paying special attention to manpower and how they should be developed.”

On the effect of international sanctions, he said, “If the sanctions had any effect it has been very low. We constantly have research projects with the universities in the country, so we can constantly modernise different parts of the plant.”

Mehmandoost also advised Nigeria to seek the expertise of Germans and the Japanese in this area.

The Iran Khodro Group on its part was rated the 19th automaker in the world in 2009. It sells its products in over 30 countries across the world, selling about 680,000 units in 2009 with a sales figure of N8.5bn.

What appears to be pertinent is the question, has Nigeria or will Nigeria ever benefit from its relations with Iran?

Diplomatic relations have been upbeat between the two nations albeit on the surface.

There are complaints of a lack of respect for Nigeria by the Iranians on the way citizens’ request for visas are treated. A case in point is the four month delay in the issuance of a visa to a Nigerian Embassy Staff member in Tehran.

This was without prejudice to the fact that the member of staff was armed with a diplomatic passport and a genuine letter of posting to Tehran.

The Deputy Nigerian Ambassador to Iran, Mr. Ganiyu Lawal, explained that there were a few, if any opportunities for Nigerians to tap from.

He told the delegation of visiting Nigerian journalists, that, “The opportunity is not actually there to attract Nigerians to come and stay in Iran.

“You talk of the system of government, you talk of the economy, as far as I am concerned, there is not much difference between Nigeria and Iran. We are all members of the developing world. Were are in the same D8, the non-aligned movement, G15 all organisations involving developing countries –Iran is there.

He noted that over 100 international sanctions had worsened the already difficult position of Iran in the area of trade.

Lawal observed that trade between Nigeria and Iran had been reduced to petty trade with cash exchanged for mostly household goods.

He said, “I think Iran is battling with about four international sanctions coupled with almost 100 unilateral sanctions from the United States and the European Union.”

The Iranians who have long accused the West of spreading false propaganda launched an attempt to reverse the negative perception.

In July 2010, the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, began what analysts see as the most ambitious attempt to win over African leaders to end the growing isolation of his country.

The President attended the July 4-8 Developing Eight (D8) summit in Abuja, where he drummed up support for his show of resistance against growing US-led international pressure against Iran.

He also visited Mali, Zimbabwe and Uganda. Perhaps as a result, Iran now has observer status in the African Union.

His efforts hit a record low in the minds of Nigerians following the events of October 2010.

On October 26, 2010, less than a month after the 5 0TH Independence anniversary bomb blasts which killed several Nigerians in Abuja, 13 containers of arms were intercepted at the Apapa Port.

The arms could provide sufficient fire power for a well-trained force to carry out destructive attacks over several kilometers.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the arms originated from Iran. An international shipping company based in France, CMA CGM, picked up the containers of weapons disguised as building materials in the southern Iranian Port of Bandar Abbas.

The shipment stopped over in India before docking in Lagos. When the report of the preliminary investigation was made public, the then Iranian ambassador, Hussein Abdullahi, quickly denied his country’s culpability.

Efforts by the investigating team to interrogate one of the two Iranians allegedly involved in the shipment was stalled because the Iranian authorities refused to release suspects who had taken refuge in the Iranian Embassy in Abuja. The Iranian ambassador was quickly recalled.

Nigeria cancelled an international soccer friendly match earlier scheduled to hold in Tehran.

This prompted the visit of the Iranian Foreign Minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, who had audience with the Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Odein Ajumogobia.

Although the visit to some extent defused what would have been an all out diplomatic row, the matter is still in Court and Nigeria as a responsible citizen of the comity of nations promptly reported the incident to the United Nations.

How the arms matter will be resolved will to a large extent define the next phase of relations between the two countries. The media exchange appears to be the first phase of improving relations between the two countries.