, Bolaji Owasanoye, has called for better negotiation skills in dealing with expiring international trade agreements as well as in establishing new ones.
In his paper titled, ‘From Gunboat Diplomacy to the Negotiation Table’, Mr Owasanoye said, although globalisation has made interactions with various global communities inevitable, the rules of engagement are frequently unfavourable to developing and technologically backward economies in the global south.
This “Gunboat diplomacy”, according to him, eventually forced nations without the capacity to depend on imperialists for raw materials and overseas markets. “Nigeria requires trade and investment to grow the economy. To attain this desire, we must have the potential to harness capital and technology in a manner that is not inimical to development,” he said.
Mr Dipeolu, who is also the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters in the Office of the Vice-President, said Nigeria should develop a crop of officials skilled in international negotiations in general as well as key thematic sectors.