THE Nigerian government is deepening ties with Brazil through the recent visit of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the country, a move which was sealed with several Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) that prepare ground for the expansion of $2.1 billion trade volume.
At the just-concluded visit, President Tinubu signed five new sets of MoUs, which signalled renewed efforts towards strengthening historic ties and trade relations between both countries.
The ICIR reports that President Tinubu’s latest visit to the South American country was the third since he assumed office on May 29, 2023.
To further consolidate the trade ties, President Bola Tinubu participated in a string of bilateral talks and sealed five MoUs with his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The two-day state visit, which started on Monday, August 25, saw both leaders witness the inking of the five MoUs to strengthen the Nigeria-Brazil bonds.
The new deals cover a range of sectors including trade, diplomacy, science, aviation, and finance.
“The trip has the potential to accelerate Nigeria’s economic growth through targeted engagements in key sectors. Yes, this is the third visit of President Tinubu to Brazil, and it is with a justifiable cause. It reflects a renewed and focused effort to build lasting economic integration between both countries,” said Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare.
Dare stressed that Nigeria and Brazil share similarities in demography, economy and cultural affinity, making the visit timely and important.
The visit also revived Nigeria’s business deal with the Brazil’s state-run oil company-Petrobras, with President Tinubu’s assurance during a press conference in Sao-Paulo that they will return to Nigeria soon.
Petrobras began operations in Nigeria in 1998 in the deep waters off the Niger Delta. It sold its stakes more than 10 years ago to raise cash for domestic projects. Since then, Nigeria has been working to address some of the problems that have limited oil and gas output.
“Petrobras is the closest to us in terms of deep-water off shore. They have similarities with us when it comes to deep-water off shore. If they come into marginal fields or acreages, it is good and signposting confidence in the government reforms,” former Chairman of Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Adetunji Oyebanji, told The ICIR.
He stressed the importance of the government officials following up with several signed MoUs to ensure it leads to a successful business deals match-making and closure.
The ICIR reports that the visit led to the signing of a Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) to facilitate a direct flight route between Lagos and São Paulo. This has been a long-standing barrier to their trade relations.
It also led to the signing of an MoU on science and technology to foster collaboration in biotechnology, bioeconomy, and energy, with a focus on technology transfer.
And, it further led to the signing of a finance and agriculture agreement to promote trade, investment, and agricultural financing.
These pacts, expected to boost the trade in merchandise, which currently stands at $2.1 billion as of the 2024 year-end, are strategies to strengthen the historic bond between these two countries with the world’s largest black populations.
The signing of the MoUs is very strategic to Nigerian development and will boost the agriculture sector, Director of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs, Olam Agri, Ade Adefeko, commented while speaking at the Arise Global Business programme on Tuesday, August 26.
He believes the signing of the MoUs is important to cement earlier meetings and discussions between the two leaders.
“So, there have been a lot of preliminary discussions and all that. With these MoUs being signed, what we need to do now when they [President Tinubu and his ministers] come back is action.
“Again, I think the President or the presidency must appoint ambassadors or high commissioners. It has been pending, and I think it’s been way too long.”
Dwindling trade relations
Over the last decade, Nigeria-Brazil bilateral trade, which had risen to as high as $9 billion in 2012, before dropping to $1.3 billion in 2021 is now at $2.1 billion in 2024.
Currently, Brazil’s 49th largest export destination, Brazil exported about $1 billion to Nigeria, primarily sugar and jams, and imported $1.1 billion, mostly fertilisers.
Previous bilateral deals
Nigeria and Brazil have been sharing longstanding cordial diplomatic relations as far back as the early 1960s.
Coming down to most recent collaborations, in 2019, the Green Imperative Programme (GIP), a $1.1 billion agricultural mechanisation project, was unveiled with the aim that Brazil would supply 10,000 tractors and 50,000 units of farm equipment for assembly in Nigeria.
In 2023, both countries signed an MoU to establish the Mechanism for Strategic Dialogue to foster cooperation in agriculture, trade, defence, energy, education, power, petroleum, and mining.
In 2024, during Tinubu’s participation at the G20 Leaders’ Summit, the two countries also sealed a $2.5 billion investment aimed at boosting Nigeria’s food security efforts, agricultural production, and creating job opportunities for the youth.
Long-standing trade barriers
As groundbreaking as the recent agreements are, there have been fundamental issues in their trade relations, dwindling the trade volume and causing it to drop $9 billion in 2013 to about $2 billion in 2024.
Of particular emphasis is the lack of direct flights between the two countries.
The cut-off of direct flights between the two countries has made it extremely difficult for businessmen and women to transact business, shrinking the volume and value of imports and exports, and dwindling their incomes.
Travels between both countries which should ordinarily last for about six to seven hours, have left travellers having to go through Europe, South Africa or Dubai to connect to Brazil, and spending about 13 hours besides having to pay more for air tickets.
Harnessing the agreements
After about six years of unveiling the programme, in March this year, the Nigerian government announced that the commercial phase of the $1.1 billion Green Imperative Project had kicked off to boost agricultural productivity and enhance private-sector investment in Nigeria.
Added to this $1.1 billion deal, which is now on course, are the $4.3 billion phase 2 of the project and the $2.5 billion JBS agribusiness programme sealed during Tinubu’s visit to Brazil in late 2024.
All these now amount to $7.8 billion worth of projects, which the Tinubu administration is expected to harness.
The green imperative initiative is believed to be the largest agricultural project in Africa that prioritises the development of sustainable and low-carbon agriculture, aiming to develop structural conditions to boost food production in Nigeria efficiently and competitively, according to the Nigerian government.
“Over the past seven years, there has been negotiation with the Nigerian government with a view to obtaining the necessary funds from private and regional development banks to finance this ambitious project, which is worth approximately $1.1bn dollars,” the Ambassador of Brazil to Nigeria, Carlos Garcete, said, according to a statement on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, by the Senior Special Assistant to Vice President Kashim Shettima on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.