... EVEN BEFORETHE FIRST SHOT WAS FIRED
By Bashorun J.K. Randle
The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin spared neither money nor effort when he hosted African leaders at the Africa Summit in St. Petersburg (formerly known as Leningrad) from 27th to 28th July 2023.
The choice of St. Petersburg was deliberate. The City has its own remarkable place in history:
The city of Saint Petersburg was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on 27 May 1703. It became the capital of the Russian Empire for more than two hundred years (1712–1728, 1732–1918). Saint Petersburg ceased being the capital in 1918 after the Russian Revolution of 1917.
On 1 May 1703, Peter the Great took both the Swedish fortress of Nyenschantz and the city of Nyen, on the Neva river. Tsar Peter the Great founded the city on 27 May 1703 (in the Gregorian calendar, 16 May in the Julian calendar) after he reconquered the Ingrian land from Sweden, in the Great Northern War. He named the city after his patron saint, the apostle Saint Peter. The original spelling in three words Sankt-Piter-burkh (Санкт-Питер-Бурх) uses Latin: Sankt, as in Sankt Goar and some other European cities (it is a common misconception about the "Dutch cultural origin"; for local versions, there are Sant or Sint in modern Dutch. Besides Netherlands, Peter the Great also spent three months in Great Britain so it is preferable to speak about the general European experience which influenced the tsar.)
St. Petersburg is actually used as an English equivalent to three variant forms of the name: originally Санкт-Питер-Бурх (Sankt Piter-Burkh), later Санкт-Петерсбурх (Sankt Petersburkh), and then Санкт-Петербург (Sankt Peterburg). The full name is often substituted by the abbreviation SPb (СПб). Sankt was usually confined to writing; people usually called it Петербург (Peterburg) or the common nickname Питер (Piter). Petrograd (Петроград), the name given in 1914 on the outbreak of World War I to avoid the German sound of Petersburg, was a Slavic translation of the previous name. The name was changed to Leningrad (Ленинград) in 1924.
The city was built under adverse weather and geographical conditions. The high mortality rate required a constant supply of workers. Peter ordered a yearly conscription of 40,000 serfs, one conscript for every nine to sixteen households. Conscripts had to provide their own tools and food for the journey of hundreds of kilometres, on foot, in gangs, often escorted by military guards and shackled to prevent desertion, but many escaped; others died from disease and exposure under the harsh conditions.(4)
The new city's first building was the Peter and Paul Fortress, which originally also bore the name of Sankt Petersburg. It was laid down on Zayachy (Hare's) Island, just off the right bank of the Neva, three miles inland from the Gulf. The marshland was drained and the city spread outward from the fortress under the supervision of German and Dutch engineers whom Peter had invited to Russia. Peter restricted the construction of stone buildings in all of Russia outside St Petersburg so that all stonemasons would come to help build the new city.
At the same time Peter hired a large number of engineers, architects, shipbuilders, scientists and businessmen from all countries of Europe. Substantial immigration of educated professionals eventually turned St. Petersburg into a much more cosmopolitan city than Moscow and the rest of Russia. Peter's efforts to push for modernization in Moscow and the rest of Russia were completely misunderstood by the old-fashioned Russian nobility and eventually failed, causing him much trouble with opposition, including several attempts on his life and the treason involving his own son.[6]
Peter moved the capital from Moscow to Saint Petersburg in 1712, nine years before the Treaty of Nystad. Called the "window to Europe", it was a seaport and also a base for Peter's navy, protected by the fortress of Kronstadt. The first person to build a home in Saint Petersburg was Cornelis Cruys, commander of the Baltic Fleet. Inspired by Venice and Amsterdam, Peter the Great proposed boats and coracles as means of transport in his city of canals. Initially there were only 12 permanent bridges over smaller waterways, while the Great Neva was crossed by boats in the summertime and by foot or horse carriages during winter. A pontoon bridge over Neva was built every summer.
Peter was impressed by the Versailles and other palaces in Europe. His official palace of a comparable importance in Peterhof was the first suburban palace permanently used by the Tsar as the primary official residence and the place for official receptions and state balls. The waterfront palace, Monplaisir, and the Great Peterhof Palace were built between 1714 and 1725. In 1716, Prussia's King presented a gift to Tsar Peter: the Amber Room.
Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov, Peter's best friend, was the first Governor General of Saint Petersburg Governorate in 1703–1727. In 1724 St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences was established in the city. After the death of Peter the Great, Menshikov was arrested and exiled to Siberia. In 1728 Peter II of Russia moved the capital back to Moscow, but four years later, in 1732, St. Petersburg again became the capital of Russia and remained the seat of the government for about two centuries.
The African leaders who attended the Summit included the Vice-President of Nigeria, Alhaji Kashim Shettima; Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso; Paul Biya of Cameroun; Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, etc.
Vice President Kashim Shettima says Nigeria is now at a new dawn to chart and re-position its destiny for greatness going by the current measures adopted by the Bola Tinubu administration to diversify the economy and address emerging challenges.
Mr Shettima stated this while addressing political and business leaders at the second plenary session of the Russia-Africa Summit held in St. Petersburg on Friday.
“The government is taking decisive steps to fight crime, punish offenders, directly tackle the insurgency, and do everything necessary to secure lives and investments in the country,” he said.
Highlighting the Tinubu administration’s economic agenda, Mr Shettima said, “We have resolved and are firmly determined to consolidate on industrialising Nigeria and diversifying its economy into sectors that the country has a comparative advantage.
The administration of President Tinubu recognises the private sector as the engine of growth and a veritable partner in our economic agenda and will therefore give the fullest possible support to foreign and domestic investors.
The administration has identified key growth drivers and sectors that are very important to the diversification of the Nigerian economy, including power, transportation, infrastructure, maritime, agro-processing, mining, manufacturing, petrochemicals, food processing and textiles etc. The Nigerian government considers these sectors as key priority areas that will drive the country’s economic agenda,” the VP added.
Speaking further about investment opportunities in Nigeria, Mr Shettima said, “In view of the current geopolitical situation, we must begin to think of real-time investment in addition to trading in commodities. We call on Russian companies to take advantage of the vast potentials in Nigeria, being the largest market in Africa, to invest in strategic areas and to derive maximum benefits.”
On peace and security, the VP said, “No meaningful development can take place without peace. The Russia-Ukraine crisis is impacting all nations in different ways.
The ongoing situation between two brotherly countries is unfortunate. Nigeria remains non-aligned in any conflict situation, but we are deeply concerned about the potential impact of the crisis on global peace and security, and we call on parties to resolve the conflict through diplomatic means as that is the best option for resolving conflicts and fostering international peace and security,” he said.
Vice President Shettima then commended President Putin and the Russian government for convening the Summit, noting that “it is very significant to Nigeria in many respects.”
According to him, “the second session of the Russia-Africa Summit is coming at a time when the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is implementing a home-grown and private sector-driven Economic Agenda that is predicated on good governance, infrastructure and human capital development, as well as business climate reforms with the expected outcomes in job creation, and poverty alleviation.
The need, therefore, to invite private sector participation in the Nigerian economy cannot be over-emphasized. Moreover, the timing of the summit is very appropriate, as it is a case of “Investments meeting Opportunities.”
Earlier in his opening remarks, the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, paid glowing tributes to the continent’s founding fathers, noting their contributions to the development of the current African State.
President Putin, who spoke on a wide range of areas of cooperation between both countries, including security and defence, commerce, agriculture and climate agenda, reiterated his country’s commitment to the full economic transformation of the African continent.
He said, “Russia is sincerely ready and willing to stand by African countries in their efforts to address challenges confronting them. We cherish our relationship with each African nation and will make efforts to sustain it.”
Altogether, 17 African Heads of State, five vice presidents, 10 Heads of government, and some business leaders from Russia, Africa and beyond, attended the second edition of the summit at St Petersburg’s ExpoForum.
The outcome of the Summit were as follows:
African leaders have presented a proposal to help defuse the conflict, which Putin has acknowledged could be a basis for peace.
Restoring the Black Sea Grain Initiative
There is no doubt that the reduced turn out of Africa leaders and straight talking about the need for peace and a grain deal will have sent a clear signal to Moscow.
What was most remarkable was that while the Summit was going on there were several major distractions – the endless charges filed against the former President of America, Donald Trump and the women football world cup in Australia. Just pure bad luck for President Putin at a time when he expected the rest of the world to grant Russia centre stage in the global arena. The worst offender was the coup d’etat in Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world. The President of Niger Mohamed Bazoum was toppled on July 26, 2023 and the former head of the presidential guard, General Abdourahmane Tchiani immediately announced himself as the new Head of State. He dissolved the constitution and declared military rule.
Goodbye to democracy.
That was when the real drama erupted. ECOWAS (Economic Community of West Africa States) under the Chairmanship of Nigeria’s President, Senator (Asiwaju) Bola Ahmed Tinubu would have none of it. It gave Niger a seven day ultimatum to return to civil rule or face grave consequences – economic blockade; border closure, and the threat of military force. Nigeria then proceeded to switch off the supply of electricity to Niger. Darkness in the dark continent !!
Matters rapidly got more complicated when the United States of America and France entered the fray. The American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken and the President of France, Emmanuel Macron did not mince words – Democracy must be restored. However, matters took a dangerous dimension when Russia (through the Wagner Group) and other African states under military rule – Chad; Burkina Faso; Mali etc took the side of the defiant military rulers. They were all firmly against France, their former colonial rulers. While all this was going on, the military ruler of Niger appointed a new Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zeine (who was formerly the Minister of Finance) and a twenty-one member cabinet.
Anyway, during the closing ceremony of the Africa Summit the retired partners of KPMG who are still waiting for their pension and gratuity were shocked to hear over the loudspeaker system that they should come on stage to be introduced to President Vladimir Putin. However, that was not the end of the drama. Almost immediately afterwards, Yevgeny Prigozhim head of the Wagner Group who had attempted to topple Putin a few weeks ago surrounded St. Petersburg. He was no longer interested in toppling Putin. He wanted to talk to the retired partners of KPMG. He offered us a deal. He would pay us our gratuity and pension but we must be prepared to join the Wagner Group at the warfront either in Ukraine or Niger !!
It suddenly dawned on us that it was time to flee Russia !! What was strange was that Russia media kept repeating Nigeria when in fact it was Niger to which they were referring.
To make matters worse, we were accused of neglecting our professional duties by not setting up XKPMG offices in Niger as a counter to coup d’etats and looting of the treasury.
As “Breaking News”, the video of the Nigerien Minister of Finance, Ahmat Jidoud under President Mohamed Bazoum in tears when the new military gave him twenty-four hours to divulge where the looted funds had been stashed or face execution by firing squad went viral.
As for the retired partners of KPMG, we put up a stout and very robust rebuttal when we were accused of failing to warn Nigeria. We promptly produced the video of the “SECURITY SUMMIT” hosted by J.K. Randle Professional Services in 2011.
As for Niger, our only offence was to cross the border through Katsina into Zinder to savour Nigerien (tuared) music and French food and wine.
That was almost thirty years ago when the Nigeriens were proudly Francophone.
The retired partners of KPMG were lucky to escape the drone attack on St. Petersburg by the indomitable President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The drone carried a special message: “Nigerians beware of getting dragged into war with Niger – your own kith and kin. It is all about lithium and uranium further complicated by French and American military buses in Niger.”
Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner group leader had a special message for the J. K. Randle Family: “You should hire us to recover your family property at Onikan, Lagos which has been hijacked by the government. It looks like an abandoned project. Great shame. St. Petersburg is proud of its history. In your own case your heritage is being plundered.”
- Bashorun J.K. Randle is a former President of the Institute of the Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and former Chairman of KPMG Nigeria and Africa Region. He is currently the Chairman, J.K. Randle Professional Services
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