By Henry Oladele
Lagos – The Senior Directing Staff at the National Defence College, India; Maj.-Gen. Vinaya Chandran, has advised Nigeria to focus more on agriculture as it would aid economic development.
Chandran, who led other 14 military officers on a study tour to the Western Naval Command (WNC), Apapa, gave the advise while speaking with journalists at the command on Friday in Lagos.
“The moment the Nigerian government finds something to do other than oil, like agriculture and education, Nigeria will become more economically developed.
“Nigeria has a lot of resources,’’ the visitor acknowledged, adding that their visit was the first to the country.
He noted that their experience was much better than they thought before the visit.
“Most of what we read in the newspapers and magazines are based on what the Western media published; there are very few Nigerian newspapers or magazines for us to read in India.
“We thought there was so much lawlessness and insurgency going on in Nigeria, but it is not so, rather, it is peaceful and we feel Nigeria has a great future,’’ he said.
Chandran, however, congratulated the Nigerian Navy on its 61st anniversary celebration.
The Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), WNC, Rear Adm. Fergusson Bobai, receiving the officers said the visit showed the existing cordial bilateral relationship between Nigeria and India.
Bobai said that the Navy would continue to improve on the strong partnership between the two countries.
“The most important thing that must be put on record here is that India and Nigeria are friendly nations otherwise they wouldn’t have come here.
“It is also very heartwarming that we have them here, that is, the Indian Defence College, which is one of the highest military strategic college just like our own National Defence College.
“So, they needed to come and see things first hand from what they read in foreign newspapers,’’ the FOC said.
He added that the Indian military ship would be in the country on May 31 to take part in the Navy Week to commemorate the Nigerian Navy’s 61st anniversay.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the military officers was lectured on the activities of the Nigerian Navy and on the overview of Gulf of Guinea in Zone E.