Strategic importance of Rajnath Singh’s Nigeria visit

India recently courted Egypt with military drills, a visit by the head of the Indian Army, and the presence of its president as the chief guest for Republic Day. With this very first trip by an Indian defence minister to Nigeria, the West African superpower, it is broadening its range of engagement.
Source: The Hindu
Following the end of the Cold War, India’s booming economy has encouraged a concentrated engagement with Africa, with numerous summits between the two continents. This is done in awareness of the fact that India’s aspirations to become a global force, best illustrated by its emphasis on multilateralism, are dependent on Africa. A fully connected Africa and African middle powers in and of themselves are potential poles in the envisioned international system. 
India is doing its utmost to project the defence sector while keeping in mind its advantages. The second iteration of the India-Africa Defence Dialogue took held in 2022 at Gandhinagar, Gujarat, with the Defence Expo.
Due in part to African militaries choosing Indian technology and munitions because they are cost-effective, technologically middle of the road, and user-friendly, defence exports have reached Rs 16,000 crore.
India can achieve its goal of becoming a atmanirbhar by increasing investment in defence manufacture and R&D thanks to consideration of options outside. The emergence of economies of scale as a result of an export market may tempt the profit-driven private sector to enter this industry.
Military interactions advance India’s training agreements with nations in Africa, from Lesotho to Uganda. 25 African countries participated in conducting humanitarian operations under the banner of the United Nations (UN) during the Africa-India training exercise at the foreign training node at Aundh in March.
Given that African solutions to African problems is what Africa stands for, India might expand the scope of its support for peacekeeping to also cover peacemaking and peacebuilding. The three combined make up the three sides of the peace triangle, suggesting that for India to truly contribute, it must help support the two sides in addition to maintaining the peace.
Indian special envoys will be needed to support regional and UN measures in order to bring about peace. India must set aside more finances for the UN agencies, funds, and programmes’ recurring requests for voluntary contributions on a worldwide scale in order to maintain its participation in the peace-building process. It might even launch its own international relief organisation. For Africa, which is rife with military coups, its strengths in security sector reform stem from its apolitical military.
Even as the presence of the United Kingdom and France fades, Singh, as defence minister, cannot not but be aware of the emerging race for Africa between the United States, China, and Russia. This ought to indicate to him that India, as an up-and-coming big power, must also have a strategic approach to Africa.
Last but not least, India has so far served as an example of progressive sociopolitical and economic development in Africa. The ‘Vishwaguru’ aspiration of India should inform its current policies, which would otherwise unintentionally undermine its soft power. To win over Africans, it must make the most of its G20 leadership chance as the voice of the global south.
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