In 2022, Nigeria's Ambassador to Russia Abdullahi Yibaikwal Shehu told Sputnik that the West African nation would not mind becoming a BRICS member and that this would be feasible in the future.
Nigeria will strive to join BRICS within the next two years to ensure that the nation's voice is considered in major global organizations, Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Tuggar told the Western media.
He added that Nigeria will join any open bloc if its aspirations are "good, well-meaning and clearly defined," emphasizing the need for the West African nation to be a member of blocs such as BRICS and the G20.
"We need to belong to groups like BRICS, like the G20 and all these other ones because if there’s a certain criteria, say the largest countries in terms of population and economy should belong, then why isn’t Nigeria part of it?," Tuggar noted.
The chief diplomat also noted that Nigeria is a nation in its own right to determine its partners, stressing the desire for multilateral diplomacy.
"Nigeria has come of age to decide for itself who her partners should be and where they should be, being multiple aligned is in our best interest," Tuggar said.
Nigeria was one of nearly two dozen countries that formally applied to join BRICS, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor announced in early August, but Abuja has not formally announced its application.
BRICS, currently comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, extended invitations during the August summit to Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia to become full bloc members starting January 1, 2024.
During the summit, Brazilian President Lula da Silva reportedly said that his country welcomed Nigeria, Angola, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to join the BRICS alliance.
As for the other bloc, the Group of Twenty, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who was invited to attend the G20 summit in India in September, said that he would seek to join as a permanent member.
Source: SPUTNIK
