Nigerian-Portuguese Relations

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nigerian-Portuguese Relations
Location of Portugal and Nigeria
PortugalPortugal NigeriaNigeria
Portugal Nigeria

The Nigerian-Portuguese relations describe the intergovernmental relationship between Nigeria and Portugal . The countries have had direct diplomatic relations since 1975.

At the end of the 15th century, Portuguese were the first Europeans in what is now Nigeria. A trade and a corresponding presence of Portuguese developed. The Portuguese-Brazilian influence decreased with the dwindling presence at the latest by the middle of the 19th century, but left cultural traces.

In 2015, 408 Nigerian citizens were registered in Portugal, while 66 Portuguese were registered as consular in Nigeria in 2014.

history

Map of West Africa around 1625

The Portuguese navigator Rui de Sequeira was the first European to reach Eko, now Lagos , in 1472 . The Portuguese were particularly interested in works made of bronze, ivory, wood and terracotta . The politically most important state in the region was the Kingdom of Benin . Political, diplomatic and trade relations then developed between Benin and Portugal. They were the most important in the region between Volta and Niger , which later became known as the Slave Coast , and where Portugal developed related activities.

The most important trade goods were slaves , which the Kingdom of Benin captured in its wars and sold to the Portuguese, who then brought them to their Fort São Jorge da Mina, founded in 1482 on the Portuguese Gold Coast (now Ghana ), and from there exchanged them for gold .

From these contacts a triangular trade developed between Portugal, Africa and Brazil in the 16th century , which, with increasing competition from the Dutch, French and English, turned into direct trade between the coast of Brazil and the Bay of Benin . With the flight of the Portuguese royal family to Brazil and the establishment of the capital of the Portuguese Empire in Rio de Janeiro at the beginning of the 19th century, there was a direct relationship between Brazil and Africa. Above all, the French ethnologist Pierre Fatumbi Verger investigated this relationship and in particular the displacement of people between the slave coast and Brazil, both in the trade from the slave coast to Brazil and in the return of many former slaves there after the abolition of slavery in Brazil 1888.

Entrance gate to the slave port of Badagry , which existed from the 16th to the 18th centuries

A number of existing family names in the region date from this period, including a. da Silva , da Costa , da Rocha, de Souza , d'Almeida , dos Santos , Marinho and Martins . Some place names also have their origin in this time, including Campos Square in the center of the city of Lagos , which in turn was named after the Portuguese town of Lagos .

From 1861 the region came increasingly under British control. Nigeria remained a British colony until the country gained independence in 1960.

However, the young state did not develop any special relations with Portugal until the end of the colonial Estado Novo regime through the left-wing Carnation Revolution in Portugal in 1974. The new Portuguese government then ended the Portuguese colonial wars, released its previous colonies into independence in 1975 and rearranged theirs international relations new.

On June 30, 1975, the now democratic Portugal entered into diplomatic relations with Nigeria. On 26 August 1976 accredited to João Uva de Matos Proença first Portuguese Ambassador to the Nigerian capital Lagos .

diplomacy

Portugal has its own embassy in the Nigerian capital, Abuja . The countries Ghana , Cameroon and Liberia also belong to their administrative district . There are no Portuguese consulates beyond the embassy in Nigeria.

The Nigerian embassy in the Portuguese capital Lisbon is located at number 3 on Avenida Dom Vasco da Gama in the Restelo district, Belém district . There are no other Nigerian consulates in Portugal.

economy

Oil production in the Niger Delta : Until 2015, fuel was Nigeria's most important export to Portugal

The Portuguese Chamber of Commerce AICEP has an office at the Portuguese Embassy in the Nigerian capital Abuja.

While Portuguese fuel imports from Nigeria dominated bilateral trade for a long time, these imports have largely ceased to exist and the bilateral trade volume has subsequently decreased.

In 2016, Portugal exported goods worth 27.7 million euros to Nigeria ( 2015 : 43.7 million; 2014 : 38.5 million; 2013 : 61.4 million; 2012 : 89.2 million), of which 18 3 percent agricultural products (especially malt ), 13.0 percent metal goods, 9.2 percent machines and devices, 8.3 percent textiles and 6.8 percent paper and cellulose.

In the same period, Nigeria delivered goods worth 9.4 million euros to Portugal ( 2015 : 104.2 million; 2014 : 541.7 million; 2013 : 747.5 million; 2012 : 925.8 million), of which 32.3 million Percent wood (especially charcoal ), 18.2 percent textiles (especially cotton threads), 16.3 percent leather and hides, 14.6 percent food and 6.0 percent plastics. Until 2015, fuel was Nigeria's main export item.

In 2015, Nigeria ranked 69th as a buyer and 98th as a supplier for Portuguese foreign trade, while in 2011 it was still 42nd among buyers and 12th among supplier countries.

In 2015, Portugal ranked 21st among buyers and 53rd among suppliers in Nigeria's foreign trade; in 2011 it was Nigeria's 12th largest buyer and 39th largest supplier.

Culture and language

The Portuguese cultural institute Instituto Camões is represented in Nigeria with an editing department as part of a cooperation agreement with the West African Economic Community (CEDEAO).

In Nigeria there are some traces of the Portuguese-Brazilian presence from the late 15th to the 19th century.

Architecturally , the Brazilian quarter in Lagos should be mentioned, and in Badagry you will find the first Catholic church and the first mansion (port. Sobrado ) in Nigeria, built by the Portuguese in the 16th century.

Even linguistic heritage can be found in the region. These include terms such as alugudon (from Portuguese algodão for cotton ), seda ( Portuguese for silk ), tabaco ( Portuguese for tobacco ), gaflu (from Portuguese garfo for fork ), kopu (from Portuguese copo for drinking glass ), subu (from port. chumbo for lead ), sapatre (from port. sapato for shoe ), arrozo (from port. arroz for rice ) and many more. This also suggests a Portuguese influence on local everyday culture.

Sports

Soccer

The Nigerian national soccer team and the Portuguese national team have not yet competed against each other. The women's national team of Nigeria and Portugal's women's team have not yet played against each other (as of May 2017).

Francis Obikwelu at the European Indoor Championships 2011 in Paris

Nigerian football players also regularly compete for Portuguese clubs, including national players such as Emmanuel Amuneke , Kevin Amuneke , Elderson Echiéjilé , Joseph Enakarhire , Christian Obodo , Peter Suswam , Rashidi Yekini , Garba Lawal or national goalkeeper Peter Rufai , who was with SC in the 1990s Farense was under contract in the Algarve .

athletics

The Nigerian athlete Francis Obikwelu came to Lisbon as a young athlete and later started for Portugal. He achieved a number of international successes for his new home, including a silver medal in the 100-meter run at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens .

Web links

Commons : Nigerian-Portuguese Relations  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Overview of diplomatic relations with Nigeria at the Diplomatic Institute in the Portuguese Foreign Ministry , accessed on May 4, 2019
  2. ↑ Official Portuguese aliens statistics by district , Portuguese Aliens and Borders Authority SEF, accessed on May 27, 2017
  3. ↑ Website on Nigerian-Portuguese migration (Table A.3) at the Portuguese Scientific Observatório da Emigração , accessed on May 27, 2017
  4. ↑ a b c Fernando Cristóvão (Ed.): Dicionário Temático da Lusofonia. Texto Editores, Lisbon / Luanda / Praia / Maputo 2006 ( ISBN 972-47-2935-4 ), p. 835
  5. ↑ List of Portuguese missions abroad , website of the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, accessed on May 27, 2017
  6. ↑ Contact details in the footer of the website of the Nigerian Embassy in Lisbon , accessed on May 27, 2017
  7. ↑ AICEP contact page in Nigeria , accessed on May 27, 2017
  8. ↑ a b c Bilateral economic relations between Portugal and Nigeria , Excel file retrieval from the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce AICEP, accessed on May 27, 2017
  9. ↑ Overview of activities in Nigeria , Instituto Camões website, accessed on May 28, 2017
  10. ↑ Fernando Cristóvão (Ed.): Dicionário Temático da Lusofonia. Texto Editores, Lisbon / Luanda / Praia / Maputo 2006 ( ISBN 972-47-2935-4 ), p. 836