BRICS has become a significant source of motivation for many African countries, encouraging them to assert their independence and challenge Western influence, the International Municipal BRICS (IMBRICS) ambassador in Nigeria has told RT in an exclusive interview.
Samsondeen Olagunju represents the International Municipal BRICS (IMBRICS) in the West African country, which is responsible for fostering cooperation among politicians, scientists, corporate executives, and other key figures with a view to achieving shared strategic goals.
Speaking on the sidelines of the IMBRICS forum, a gathering of local governments and municipalities from BRICS members held in Moscow, Olagunju discussed the positive impact that the group has had on the African continent.
“This cooperation has been a source of motivation to so many countries, especially in Africa,” he said. He explained that BRICS had demonstrated to the nations of the continent that they can thrive, even in the face of Western sanctions. “We only needed someone to show us the light. And the BRICS bloc so far has shown the light in Africa.”
The ambassador pointed to countries like Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger as examples of nations standing up for their rights. “They are standing up for what is theirs,” he added.
Nigerians want “to be a part of a bloc that would give us a meaningful life, a meaningful economy, and meaningful amenities,” Olagunju said.
He called for African countries to break away from being “puppets of the West” and to take advantage of the opportunities provided by BRICS to achieve self-reliance.
Meanwhile, Dawit Zegeye Haile, the IMBRICS ambassador in Ethiopia, also spoke about the importance of the forum for African countries. Ethiopia joined BRICS in January, along with Egypt, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.
He said BRICS offers his nation the chance to learn from the experiences of countries like Russia, China, India, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. “We [Ethiopians] would like to work to transfer technology and to learn different things from those countries, particularly in the smart city technology, in education, in traffic management.”
BRICS was founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa joining in 2011. Russia currently holds the chairmanship of BRICS.