Experts ask Nigeria to join BRICS, list benefits

President, Global Migration Research Institute (GMRI), Prof Williams Ijoma, has said it is time Nigeria joined the league of nations in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) bloc to rescue Nigeria from the clutch of poverty and open opportunities for rapid development.

He spoke at a one-day summit on BRICS and the global south, themed ‘ BRICS+ and Global South Collaboration: Problems and Prospects, organised by Upriver Needy’s Empirical Solution Centre (UNESC), Foundation in partnership with the Universal Migration Enlightenment Centre, (UMEC), yesterday, in Abuja.

He insisted that Nigeria, as a member of the global south, must join BRICS because global trend shows that the bloc has already overtaken the G7 bloc (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America), in terms of share of the total global Gross Domestic Products (GDP), as per Purchasing Power Parity, (PPP).

“BRICS is a very important organisation that will enhance the economy of Nigeria because Nigeria has got all it takes to be a world power. We have the raw materials and we have the human resources and I believe that joining BRICS will boost Nigeria’s economy.”

“According to BRICS, the GDP of their nations accounts for 31.5 per cent of global GDP as of 2023, compared to the 30.7 per cent of the G7 nations.”

The implication, according to him, is that economic power would bring political power.

“Nigeria joining this organisation is a gateway to boost its influence around the world, no doubt about it. This is based on the abundant human and natural resources to leverage on in the country,” he said.

Ijoma pointed out that the BRICS nations offered a source of foreign expansion for firms and strong returns for institutional investors, adding that the organisation seeks to deepen economic cooperation between member countries and stand in contrast to the Western sphere of power.

He noted that the present government was doing a lot to make sure Nigeria joined BRICS, pointing out that last week, the Minister of Foreign Affairs travelled to Moscow for the purpose and to better the relationship between Nigeria and Russia and that of BRICS also.

In terms of trade and what Nigeria stands to benefit, a fellow at the Institute for African Studies and the Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences, Prof Maurice Okoli, explained that a BRICS partnership would allow nations to trade among themselves with their local currency without the restrictions of a single currency, the dollar for international transactions.

Okoli, who is also a fellow at the North-Eastern Federal University, Russia, said that the global powers, especially the G7 countries were seen to have not done well after the second world war but emergence of BRIC, now BRICS+ offers a better option to developing nations in terms of economic development and terms of trade.

Others who spoke at the summit noted that BRICS would emerge a major economic power to counter the G7, hence joining the bloc held immense benefits for member countries.