African students join a volunteer team in Beijing's Yuanmingyuan Park in August 2018. Photo: VCG
Nigerian teachers and students told the Global Times that learning Chinese language and culture will contribute to the realization of the “Nigerian Dream” of Nigeria's younger generation and enable them to better adapt to the nation's development, highlighting the broad prospects for China-Africa education cooperation.
“Many Nigerian students want to learn Chinese because they believe that by learning Chinese they can realise the Nigerian dream, just like the Chinese dream that the Chinese talk about,” Adetoro Banwo, deputy director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Lagos, told the Global Times ahead of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing.
“Learning language is inseparable from culture,” he said, adding that a peaceful, violence-free Chinese society is due to Chinese culture's emphasis on self-cultivation, self-restraint, humanity, mutual love and mutual assistance. In this regard, Chinese values āācontribute to the Nigerian dream of Nigerian youth and the country's development in the process of modernization,” he added.
He elaborated that the Nigerian dream is a dream of prosperity and possibility, and that it is the youth's dream to have a better society, a society that is safe, where people can work and earn a decent income, where they have access to electricity and all the other basic necessities of life.The Confucius Institute in Banwo and 13 other education centres dotted around Lagos have a total of about 4,000 students.
“Nigerians have embraced China and Nigeria as partners in development because China has changed the face of Nigeria,” Banwo said. “We have great highways, we just built a light rail line, we have a new airport. People are happy and excited. Plus, we have a lot of Chinese companies bringing in goods and services and employing local people.” Chinese companies are also imparting valuable technology to Nigerians, enabling many individuals to set up their own small businesses, Banwo said.
Nurturing future talents for Africa is a consistent effort by China to support Africa's development. China has proposed to work closely with African countries to jointly implement “nine major projects”, including China's assistance in building and renovating 10 schools in Africa and inviting 10,000 outstanding African talents to attend training and seminars.