Poland in Nigeria

Historical view 

The Embassy of the Polish People's Republic was opened in Lagos in 1963.

During the Biafry secession (1966-70), Poland actively supported the federal government of Nigeria. Polish military participated in the International Observation Group in Nigeria. This had a positive impact on the development of bilateral relations. In 1972-81, Poland and Nigeria maintained lively political and economic relations. Visits have been exchanged, including at the level of heads of state, ministers of foreign affairs and economic and military delegations. The stagnation in the first half of the 1980s was caused by the political and economic difficulties of Nigeria (drop in oil prices, military upheavals) and the situation in Poland. In the 1990s, sporadic political contacts were maintained.

Since 2002, the Embassy of the Republic of Poland has its headquarters in Abuja. The countries of additional accreditation of the Polish Embassy in Nigeria are: Benin, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Togo. At the beginning of 2008, the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Lagos and the Department of Economics and Business operating in its structure was closed. In the near future, the Foreign Investement and Trade Office of the Polish Investment & Trade Agency will be officially opened with headquarters in Lagos. According to the plans of the Ministry of National Defense, in the structure of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Abuja, the Office of Defense Attache will soon be launched.

Political cooperation after 1989

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, Sule Lamido, participated in the international conference "Towards the Community of Democracies", which took place in June 2000 in Warsaw. At a conference in Cotonou in 2000 devoted to the problems of democracy, the Polish delegation headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski held talks with Minister S. Lamido. In 2001, President Olusegun Obasanjo paid an official visit to Poland. In 2004, Minister of Foreign Affairs Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz paid a visit to Nigeria. On February 3, 2011, the Polish-Nigerian Parliamentary Group was constituted in the Sejm of the Republic of Poland as part of the Polish Group of the Interparliamentary Union. Later, the group was transformed into the Parliamentary Team for Africa. On 28 June - 1 July 2012, Beata Stelmach, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, visited Abuja to chair a regional meeting of Polish ambassadors accredited in sub-Saharan African countries. Minister B. Stelmach also held bilateral consultations with the permanent secretary of the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Martin I. Uhomoibhi. In April 2013 Prime Minister Donald Tusk paid a visit to Nigeria. During the visit, an agreement on strategic dialogue was signed. In May 2014, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, Ms. Viola Onwuliri, paid a working visit to Poland with a courtesy talks with Minister K. Kacperczyk. On 4 July 2014, permanent secretary of the Nigerian Foreign Ministry, Martin I. Uhomoibhi, visited Poland in connection with bilateral political consultations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The talks on the Polish side were led by Undersecretary of State Katarzyna Kacperczyk. On November 3-7, 2015, a delegation of Polish entrepreneurs from the agriculture, industry, energy, construction, IT and medical sectors participated in the EU-Nigeria Business Forum in Lagos. The delegation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was headed by Jarosław Bratkiewicz, Political Director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On 23 May - 3 June 2016, high-ranking civil servants and military officers from the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies from Kuru, Nigeria visited Poland (Warsaw, Krakow, Trojmiasto and Lodz). On 27 March, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, Geoffrey Onyeama, met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Witold Waszczykowski and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Krzysztof Jurgiel. On August 20-22, 2017, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Joanna Wronecka paid a visit to Abuja. During the visit, the minister held political consultations in the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, met with the deputy minister of defense and representatives of local authorities. In December 2018, during the COP24 climate summit in Katowice, the President of Nigeria Muhammad Buhari met with President A. Duda and Prime Minister M. Morawiecki. In March 2019, Deputy Minister of the Environment, Michał Kurtyka, paid a visit to Lagos.

Trade between Poland and Nigeria is growing steadily, although over the last three years it has been adversely affected by the effect of falling crude oil prices on global markets (the main source of income for the Nigerian budget). According to the data from 2018, the mutual turnover amounted to USD 291.42 million, of which Polish exports - USD 90.2 million. This means, therefore, a significant increase in turnover between the two countries - this is mainly caused by the purchases of Nigerian oil by Poland. Polish export is dominated by mineral and animal products, mechanical and electrical equipment and vehicles. Poland imports: oil, synthetic materials, wood, vegetable and food products. In December 2014, the Arms Factory "Łucznik" concluded a contract for the supply of 1000 pieces of Beryl carbines for the army and Nigerian security forces. Another contract was concluded at the beginning of 2015 and included the sale of 500 Beryl carabiners and 10 Mini Beryl carabiners. The PGZ Group companies also provided supplies of training systems dedicated to Beryl carabiners. On March 26, 2018 at the headquarters of Arms Factory "Łucznik-Radom", MoU was signed between PGZ and Defense Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) regarding technology transfer for the production of Beryl M762 carbines in Nigeria. Poland also delivers military cars "Honker" manufactured in Poland. In addition, in June 2018, the Polish company Level 11 won a tender for the supply of ammunition for the Nigerian navy. The cooperation between defense industries in Poland and Nigeria are continued, including the sale of Polish products and the launch of assembly lines in Nigeria. The Polish and Nigerian side also promote cooperation in the maritime sector. The Polish company, Asseco, is well established in Nigeria, supplying software in the financial and insurance sector, as well as the technology of drones.

As part of the "Modern University - a comprehensive support program for PhD students and teaching staff of the University of Warsaw", the Department of African Languages and Cultures of the University of Warsaw organized:  

• 1. A visit of Professor Abdalla Uba Adam from Bayero University in Kano (Nigeria), a specialist in media and intercultural communication (February 15-May 15, 2012). During his stay in Poland, the professor gave two university lectures: Transnationalism and Representation in African Popular Culture and Oral Tradition in a Local and Global Perspective and Al-Hausawi, Al-Hindawi: Media Contraflow, Urban Communication and Translinguistic Onomatopoeia Among Hausa of Northern Nigeria;  
• 2. 3rd Symposium on West African Languages, Languages of West Africa. Linguistic theory and communication, September 26-29, 2018.

In addition, the Department of Languages and Cultures of Africa of the University of Warsaw cooperates with numerous PhD students and academic teachers from Nigeria, including prof. Aliyu Muhammadu Bunza from Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State: http://www.afrykanistyka.uw.edu.pl/konferencje/sywal2018.   

In the last few decades many PhDs have been completed by Nigerians at the Faculty of Oriental Studies of the University of Warsaw. In addition, numerous articles are published by Nigerian researchers in the journal of African Language and Culture Departments, SALC (previously SDALC). The member of the scientific council is Hafizu Miko Yakasai from Bayero University, Kano, who completed his Ph.D. studied at University of Warsaw.

Recognition of academic qualifications

Ignacy Lukasiewicz Scholarship Programme, second degree (master's) studies. Scholarships in the Programme are financed by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education. The Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA) is responsible for the implementation of the Programme.