Nigeria has no reason importing food
In this interview with our diplomatic correspondent Joshua Odeyemi, the outgoing South Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, Kim Young-Chae, said Nigeria has no reason to import foodstuff. He also spoke on his country’s relationship with Nigeria, the population e
What inspired you to become an ambassador, and how did you get started in your career?
I was born in the countryside in Korea, my parents were farmers. When I was in elementary school, I once saw a calendar and in the calendar, I saw a palm tree and an emerald sea. It was very beautiful and I thought that was paradise. From that time, I wanted to go outside Korea and then when I entered the university, I wanted to study in a foreign country, but my parents could not support me financially so I needed to have a scholarship to study. Luckily, at the time, my foreign ministry gave us an opportunity to study up to two years in a foreign country for language studies. So, I saw that information and then I decided to become a diplomat.
First, I had a chance to study in a foreign country and then I can travel to many countries. I was lucky, I passed the Foreign Service exam. I studied at the Pennsylvania State University in America, and at that time, I couldn’t speak English and couldn’t understand. I just read and write. So, in terms of spoken English, I was at the basic level. I had to listen to a lot of lectures and watch CNN. Sometimes, I watch CNN for 10 hours straight. Six months to one year later, I began to understand in class. I pursued a master’s degree in International Relations later.
After that, I lived in San Francisco and Manila, Philippines and Tana Netherlands and then Singapore, Pretoria in South Africa, Libya and Jakarta in Indonesia. This is my final foreign posting. So, I think I have quite an extensive experience. I have visited North America and Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. It is quite a good experience for me. And then I think I am sort of a specialist in African Affairs.
Having served in many countries, how would you describe your experience as the South Korean ambassador to Nigeria in the last three years?
It’s quite rewarding. You may not understand the life of ambassadors but for ambassadors to serve in a big country is very important. Nigeria is a big country and of course, we have challenges, but it’s been a rewarding experience. We’ve had to handle a lot of issues - political, economic and cultural issues. Our job is quite diverse. But it is good for me to learn more about Nigeria as well as Africa.
What are the things you learned about Nigeria?
Let me tell you a little bit about Korea. And then we will talk about Nigeria. First, let’s discuss about poverty population. In Korea, we do not produce a lot of babies. Young people do not marry. Even if they are married, they do not produce babies. Even if they produce babies, they produce only one. So, we have a very serious problem now in terms of population. The opposite is happening in Nigeria. You are producing too many babies and it will hurt your economy. When I look at the situation of my country and the situation of Nigeria, I think there should be some balance in terms of population growth. I think it is very crucial for the country’s existence. All the problems in Nigeria, currently, is related to the population. In my country on the other hand, according to some projections maybe 50 years later, the population will be half so our people will reduce. Maybe in 200 years
time our people will disappear from the planet. So, it’s a very serious problem.
At the same time, Nigeria is in a big problem, there are too many babies. So, we have to get a balance. I am the youngest in my family. I have two brothers and two sisters. Before the 1960s, Korea also produced a lot of babies like five, six, seven and sometimes eight. But from the 1960s, Korea began to introduce all sorts of family planning and then we began to have only two children per family. At the same time, Korea began to have economic development. A lot of people migrated from the countryside to cities, to factories. So, we succeeded in that regard in terms of population planning. At the same time, we also succeeded in economic development. Up to the 1970s, 80s, and 1990s, the Korean economy began to rise, thanks to manufacturing, agricultural transformation etc. So, from 2000 to 2010, it was quite okay. But from 2010, Korea’s growth rate dropped rapidly. It’s currently 0.7percent. So, we see dramatic changes in terms of culture among young people. Young people do not marry. Even if they are married, they marry very late.
Are you advising Nigeria to copy the Korean model of economic development?
What I want to tell Nigerians is that Korea’s economic development model is good for Nigeria. So, please study the Korean economic development model and then make Nigeria prosperous. What I observed is that each year, Nigeria adds 10 million people. So, every five years, you add 50 million people and then you have to feed them, you have to educate them, you have to train them and then you have to give them jobs. But your economy cannot do that. That’s why we’re having all sorts of problems in Nigeria. I was told in the 1970s or 80s, Nigeria was one of the richest countries in Africa and then the people from Ghana came here but now the reverse is the case. Nigerians go to Ghana to find jobs because they cannot find jobs here.
I thought population was the main source of the Nigerian problem, but Nigeria has three big problems in my personal view. The first is rapid population growth because your economy cannot keep growing compared with the population growth. I do not want your population to be like that of Korea but put some level of control. The second problem is that Nigeria doesn’t have manufacturing companies, you import everything. You even import rice, chicken, beef, even basic items. So, you cannot find jobs for the population. You have to study how Korea developed its manufacturing sector. Without investing in the manufacturing sector, you can’t build skilled labour. Thirdly, food. You have to be self-sufficient in your food production. You have more than 200 million people. It’s very dangerous to rely on foreign food. In spite of your land, abundant water and fertile soil, you are importing a lot of rice. You have to ask questions.
What is your suggestion to the government concerning agricultural development in Nigeria?
My suggestion regarding agriculture is that you have to be self-sufficient. In order to achieve that, you will have to help farmers to be more efficient. A lot of things need to be done. You need to bring in new varieties of rice, new breed of cow to produce more milk and tender meat. You need to have new breed of pork, vegetables, cucumber, tomato, strawberry, watermelon, and all sorts of things you need. Even if I leave, my successor can continue to pursue some agricultural cooperation between Nigeria and Korea. Regarding agricultural cooperation from our point of view, we are not for money because we know poverty. Korean people have a genuine aspiration to help people in the farming sector.
Nigerian society is not helping farmers in general. Farmers do not receive any subsidy from the society. If we look at the economic point of view, it’s like farmers are giving subsidies to people in cities. In Korea, it is the reverse. The people in the cities provide subsidies for farmers. Look at the price, so cheap. So, the society and government need to provide some support to farmers in order to jump-start.
They don’t know new technology, how to market a product, they do not have fertilizer, and they don’t have machines. All sorts of problems are there, and in order to solve the problem, the whole society needs to help farmers so that they are more productive and if they are productive, Nigeria will be self-sufficient in food consumption.
How have you been able to use your office to attract manufacturing companies from Korea to Nigeria?
I actually tried to bring some manufacturing companies to Nigeria but they are hesitant. You know the reason? Insecurity. It is a huge problem; people cannot move freely. It is killing the economy. People are feeling insecure even though they are in Abuja. It is killing the economy and prohibiting investment by Nigerians and foreigners. Without investment, you cannot have factories and you cannot have enough jobs. Manufacturing is key for job creation. You do not need very high technology, some middle-level technologies are okay. Your land is huge, your labour costs are not high. So, you can compete internationally.
You mentioned high population as a major problem facing Nigeria. Looking at how sensitive this issue is in Nigeria, especially in the North, do you think birth control is an option?
Population is a very sensitive issue religiously and politically. When we introduced family planning in Korea, we had some resistance. There was a time in Korea when we had men higher than women in terms of social status but now, men and women are equal in every legal right.
Writers and movie makers are crucial in terms of influencing people’s thinking. At the same time, what I am suggesting is not to reduce the population because currently, in Korea, we have a huge problem of low population. So, I’m suggesting population management. Your living standard is getting lower and this means everybody will suffer.
At the same time, a population can be a great source of happiness and power. Population is also a source of economic growth. But you have to educate, you have to train, you have to create the jobs. Without that, population would be a dangerous thing. So, if you set your house in order, then you can have more people. In Korea, we need more people now considering our situation.