The Vietnamese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Bui Quoc Hung, has advised Nigerians to stop eating garri and concentrate more on consumption of rice and fruits for a better development of the brain.
He said garri makes the brain to be dull and the body heavy, stressing that those that consume too much cassava are largely clumsy and less productive.
He said that rice production grows the economy better because it is an internationally acceptable stable food.
The envoy, who was in Abia State with his team on a three-day business trip, used the opportunity to call for greater business and industrial cooperation between his country and Nigeria in the areas of agriculture, trade, textiles, commerce and tourism.
He believed that any cooperation of both countries would be of immense benefits to them, even as he pledged to have a bilateral relationship with Abia State in the many areas especially rice, vegetable and fruit.
Hung disclosed that the southeastern nation will invest heavily on rice cultivation using its well established hi-tech to plant, harvest and export a high quality rice seedling if the government of Abia State and Vietnamese government reach a bilateral agreement.
He described rice as one of the best foods an individual should regularly consume because of its nutritious, enriching and brain developing value, saying that it is 100percent better than cassava as a stable food.
“What we eat in Vietnam is rice. We are the 3rd largest producer of rice in the world. I have not tasted garri in the last 40 years. People should stop eating garri; cultivate and eat rice often because it develops your people, enhance your economy and makes you smart and hard working like those of us in Vietnam. We’re here to help you cultivate highbred rice and export it in large quantities with modern technology”, he maintained.
He further stated Nigeria has higher population than Vietnam; but that the southeastern country’s gross domestic product (GDP) is far higher than that of Nigeria due to the use of technology and application of hard work.
He added that Abia would become a large exporter of rice in Africa if it begins an agricultural and trade partnership with Vietnam as the nation is willing to bring its vast technological knowhow in the state
He regretted that despite its huge population, Nigerian economy is not doing well at the moment as the its currency, the naira, continues to slide negatively. “You should think technology, diversify the economy, ensure stability in all sectors”, this is the way to go”, he counseled.
Hung disclosed that like Nigeria, Vietnamese suffered from colonialism from China in the ancient days, France, Britain and America in the modern times, emphasizing that in all cases, the southeastern nation stood firm, fought and defeated the colonialists.
“Today, we’re in good terms with all of these nations who were once our enemies. We do business with them, not minding that they tormented us in the past. This is how it should be: economic growth first, no enemies.
Earlier, the Counselor for Trade in the Vietnamese Embassy, Mrs Nguyen Chi Mai had stated in a lecture that Vietnam as a founding member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is interested in investing in Nigeria especially in Abia because of its vast human and natural resources.
The Abia State Commissioner for Trade and Investment, Hon Kingsley Nwokocha acknowledged the vast of production of rice, fabrics, vegetables, fruit etc by Vietnam and assured that the government of Abia State, in its bid to diversify its economy in all sectors, will partner with the Vietnamese government.