🗣️ Speech at TICAD 7 — Yokohama, Japan

PRESIDENT’S SPEECH AT TICAD 7

I am delighted to have been invited by the Government of Japan through my institution, Afrijapan-Africasia, to organize an official side event to the TICAD 7 program. I am sincerely grateful to all the members of the Japanese Government and the co-organizers of the TICAD, namely the United Nations, the UNDP, the World Bank and the African Union for this opportunity for presenting Afrijapan’s actions on the African continent that have fostered change in the living conditions of grassroots people in Africa. This is the 4th TICAD Side Event that Afrijapan has organized consecutively since TICAD Inception in 2012.
Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to give you an overview of our actions that have contributed to the change of lives of thousands and the strategies that were used.

The Speech read at the Side event of TICAD VII
His welcome speech at the side event held during TICAD 7, was read to the participants by Ms. Rose Oyedele, Director of International Affairs of Afrijapan-Africasia, after Mr. Ferdinard Blaka’s usual courtesies to dignitaries in attendance :

“I am delighted to have been invited by the Government of Japan through my Institution, Afrijapan-Africasia to organize an official event to the TICAD 7 program. I am sincerely grateful to all the members of the Japanese Government and the co-organizers of the TICAD namely the United Nations, the UNDP, the World Bank and the African Union for this opportunity for presenting Afrijapan’s actions on the African continent that have fostered change in the living conditions of grassroots people in Africa. This is the 4th TICAD Side Event that Afrijapan has organized consecutively since TICAD Inception in 2012.

Ladies and gentlemen allow me (now) to give you an overview of our actions that have contributed to the change of life of thousands and the strategies used.

Context of Creation

In October 2001, when we realized the importance of the TICAD process and found that this instrument was not well known to many officials and the people at the grassroots, we proposed to the government of Japan to work towards filling that gap and trigger the enthusiasm of people at all levels in Japan and Africa.
Therefore, our strategy was to approach a young diplomat who was the director of the First Division Africa of the Foreign Affairs, Mr. Norio Maruyama who quickly understood the need for our project and introduced us to his Minister Mrs. Maksiko Tanaka. Having understood the accuracy of our approach, he mandated the Director of the First Africa Division and the Director of the Special Unit, TICAD / UNDP, Mr. Ernest Nzekio to preside over the launching ceremony of this instrument of cooperation, that is, AFRIJAPAN-AFRICASIA in Cote d’Ivoire
Expansion. Through the process of its development till date, the organization is established in eighteen African countries, employing both Africans and Japanese including eight Asian countries with board members.

Initiatives:
At first, we started with TICAD seminars by inviting Japanese speakers and experts from the United Nations, then we negotiated study trips for farmers in Japan, officials, governors, mayors, NGOs, and housewives, and we sent young Japanese to Africa. We organized sponsored trips and scholarships for about One Thousand and Five Hundred (1500) people, including students, researchers, mayors, journalists, and other African workers. At the grassroots population, more than eight hundred and fifty (850) ambulances were distributed free to service the various communities, and five hundred (500) hospitals were rehabilitated and equipped.
We had created a union group of Japanese and African mayors, and each year we undertake exchange trips in order to bring them closer to the base. We thank the Mayors of Nagoya, Gifu and Tokyo who have been very active in this program.

The biggest success program is in Burundi where we have transformed the lives of more than eight hundred thousand (800,000) pygmy families and the construction of villages for these communities. The success of this program allowed the president of Burundi to facilitate the elections of two pygmies to the parliament to represent their community. Over three thousand (3000) people with HIV/AIDS were supported directly and indirectly, and we have fed close to five (5) million poor people/families in Ivory Coast, Mali, Ethiopia, and Burundi. This was made possible through the support from our partners.
More than one (1) million low-income rural Africans received our annual donations of nutritious foods and other goods/materials.

Business Support Initiative:
We proceeded with the program of access to corporate finance, and through these programs we participated in the youth employment project initiative and the financing of SMEs / SMIs.
Today the African Development Bank (ADB) will sign a $ 6 billion agreement with the Japanese Government for SME financing.
Also, we have attracted companies and technology transfer to Africa; for example, we initiated a big program of technology transfer with the University of Tokyo, Tamagawa.
We must not stop at the level of small projects, not at all. Afrijapan-Africasia has the extended capacity to appropriate state and national projects and has created a donor forum with specific funding instruments. As of today, the institution is able to facilitate funding(’s) no matter how big is the amount of the infrastructure project is. As of September this year, 2019, about $300 million in funding of a state-owned project is being arranged and concluded in Nigeria.

There is also a consortium of nearly five hundred (500) private companies, universities, and Asian regional councils who joined the Africasia Department and it is part of the consortium that built the rails of Addis Abba, the new city of Kilamba in Angola and important achievements in Mozambique, Algeria with private investments of $100 billion annually.
It must be said that since its creation in Japan in 2001, Afrijapan-Africasia has mobilized with the TICAD/UNDP special unit headquartered in New York, led by Mr. Ernest Nzekio more than 600 billion CFA francs for the African countries that placed requests for funding, including Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, and Tanzania.

Ladies and gentlemen, the next initiative of our institution is to turn things around. Someone once wrote that the day Asian countries wake up the world will shake. But from this platform of TICAD 7, I state with absolute confidence that the day Nigeria wakes up, the nations of the world will come to Africa, because from next October we will return to Nigeria to make her the first African country to lend to the rest of the world and a Country that will build hospitals in Europe and in Asia.

Top athletes since 2003 have officially been sworn in as ambassadors of Afrijapan at Hesperia Hotel in Madrid under the supervision of UNDP and the Government of Japan.
Present at this ceremony include Cyrille Domoraud and Didier Drogba.
Yes, Afrijapan wants to reverse the trend. Africa must no longer beg but lend to other nations. We have the solution

Thank you.