TT-Nigeria have future in energy

FORMER President Arthur NR Robinson believes that Trinidad and Tobago and Nigeria would find a lot to exchange in the energy sector in the future. Robinson, who received a courtesy call at his Ellerslie Park, Maraval residence by the staff of the Nigerian High Commission and representatives of the Nigerian Community in Trinidad and Tobago yesterday, said that although Nigeria was just beginning to develop in the petroleum industry, the nation had a lot of potential for natural gas. The former President had visited Nigeria in 1991, when the senior title Olokun Igbaro of Ife was bestowed upon him. He was the first serving Prime Minister to visit Nigeria.  

The 16 Nigerian nationals, dressed in their regal traditional garb, was headed by acting High Commissioner of Nigeria Buba T. Tekune. Tekune, in his address to Robinson, said the courtesy call was influenced by the support that he (Robinson) had given to the Nigerian Mission in this country, both in and out of office. He said there had been a lot of positive yields in the relations between Trinidad and Tobago and Nigeria since Robinson’s historic visit to Nigeria. One of these, he said, was the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA), that would pave the way for an air link between the two countries. The BASA was signed by both governments at Port-of-Spain in November and negotiations are continuing. In addition, he said, both governments had given hope that relations between the two countries would be further strengthened in the not too distant future.

According to Tekune, in his culture, it was customary for Nigerians to seek blessings from their elders at the beginning of a New Year, and as the only distinguished traditional holder of note in Trinidad and Tobago, Robinson was visited “to tap on (his) wealth of experience and wisdom.” Robinson was presented with a gift of a statute of an African king, for which he promised he would find a special place. He thanked the Nigerians for the “warmth and elevated reception” that they had given him in his own home.