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By Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
The outgoing Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain to Nigeria, Marcelino Cabanas Ansorena, has revealed that there are mafias trafficking poor girls from Nigeria to Europe.
In this exclusive interview with Sunday Sun in Abuja, the Spanish envoy disclosed that it was as a result of the development that Spain is making efforts to develop a relationship with Nigeria in order to put an end to the menace.
Ansorena who has been in Nigeria since 2017, also said that Spain has the worst trade balance with Nigeria in the world, while also saying that Spain was very happy to have the worst trade balance with Nigeria because the country appreciated very much, the Nigerian oil and gas.
You arrived in Nigeria in 2017?
Exactly!
How has your stay been so far?
Very well! I mean, I have been treated very well, I feel very happy and I am one of the most experienced ambassadors and the oldest here from the European Union. I have been treated very well, I have travelled. Unfortunately, the last year, we couldn’t travel to many places because of the COVID-19, but now, we are going through and I think we are going to overcome this terrible, overcome this crisis. And it has been a pleasure and an honour to serve here as Spain’s Ambassador. You have treated me very well, especially our host here.
Since 2017, how many states have you visited so far?
I have to think about it. I have been in the North because we have humanitarian projects in Borno; I have been to the South, of course, Lagos many, many times because our commercial activities, our investors are placed in Lagos. I have been in Akwa Ibom; I have been in the Southeast and Southwest. I know now Yoruba, Hausa and I have very good Igbo friends. So, I have been very, very happy here. I will miss Nigeria very much.
What is the current volume of trade between Nigeria and Spain?
Well, I think that with Nigeria, we have the worst trade balance in the world because we buy a lot of oil and a lot of gas. But we are very happy also because if we buy Nigerian oil and Nigerian gas, it is because we want to buy them and we don’t want to depend on a single country. And Nigerian oil and gas is very good and very much appreciated in Spain and the volume of trade, I know we may buy more than $5 million oil and gas per year. But as I said, it is the worst trade balance in the world, but we are very happy to have the worst trade balance with Nigeria because we appreciate very much, the Nigerian oil and gas.
But is Spain still very much interested in the Nigerian oil and gas?
We are very much interested in the Nigerian oil and gas, but with many other things in Nigeria.
Things like what?
Nigeria is a very important country and stability for the region. We want a peaceful Nigeria; we want a stable Nigeria and we want to strengthen also, our bonds, our cultural bonds and social bonds. We have many Nigerians also living in Spain and we have a lot of Nigerian tourists who travel quite often, especially our good friends here. We have Nigerian tourists and, of course, also, very important cultural trends.
Nigeria is a priority when it comes to Spanish foreign policy in Africa. How have you been able to deepen the relations between Nigeria and Spain?
We have tried to develop in all senses, not only economic relations which are very important, but also social, cultural and political. I mean, it has to be a balanced development. You cannot say only trade is very important. Of course, investments are very important. Nigerian and Spanish investors are coming into Nigeria as well and they are investing especially in agro-business and they are investing here. We have also state developers. We have quite important trade and investment relations.
In time past, Spain provided technical assistance to the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services (DSS) and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) in the area of forensic management of crime scenes and falsification of documents. Are you seeing evidence of the training in the country?
Yes. Of course, I think that first of all, we have a very good relation in every field, but also in security and also with NAPTIP as you have said and with the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) because we try to, let’s say, to avoid and to stop all the trafficking of human beings. You know there are mafias and traffickers of human beings who take poor girls from Nigeria to Europe and we try to develop a good relation to stop it.
Is Spain assisting Nigeria in the fight against insurgency in the country?
We feel very close to the Nigerian people who are suffering the scourge of terrorism, but we don’t have a military cooperation in this field.
