Following the assault on Nigerian Diplomat, Abdulrahman Ibrahim, by the Indonesian Immigration Officials, in Jakarta on August 7, 2021, business relationship between the two nations might be unstable.
Since the incident, the two countries have enjoyed fruitful diplomatic and economic relations, in which a full-blown diplomatic dispute may erode over the assault of the Nigerian official.
A trending video had shown the Indonesian officials almost strangulating Ibrahim inside a moving car.
The ongoing diplomatic tiff between Indonesia and Nigeria might cost the two trading partners about $4.145bn economic and trade losses if it led to a break-up of bilateral relations.
Checks indicate that trade between Nigeria and Indonesia has been on the upward swing, with the balance favouring the former by more than $500m.
Business Relationship Turn Sour
Bilateral relations between the two nations started in 1965 when Indonesia opened its first diplomatic mission in Sub-Saharan Africa in Lagos.
Nigeria reciprocated in 1976 by opening a diplomatic mission in Jakarta.
The incident drew outrage from the Federal Government, which summoned the Indonesian ambassador to Nigeria, Dr Usra Harahap, on Monday.
But Harahap insisted that Ibrahim’s refusal to identify himself triggered the incident when accosted by the immigration officers, adding that he also injured one of the men during a scuffle.
However, there are concerns over the economic implication of a diplomatic spat between the two countries.
Nigeria is Indonesia’s second-largest trade partner in Africa after South Africa, and its export value from January to November 2018 was $378b, amounting to 11 per cent growth.
In 2018, Nigeria’s import growth to Indonesia was 17 per cent, while Indonesia importation growth to Nigeria for oil products was 103 per cent and 125 per cent for non-oil products.
