The fifth edition of BRICS summit slated to hold in South Africa on Tuesday and Wednesday will provide flourishing opportunities for all member-states and also Africans in general, former vice president of Nigeria Abubakar Atiku told Xinhua in an interview.

Atiku said he believes a gathering such as the BRICS summit would open a window of flourishing opportunities waiting to be grasped by leaders of the participating countries and other African leaders looking for a number of partnerships, especially in the areas of trade and investment.

"I think Africa should open up to the BRICS member states so that they can play a more prominent role in our development. This is because, all along, since colonial time and post-independence, it is Europe that has dominated the field in Africa. I think we should have an alternative," he said.

On the other hand, according to Atiku, the BRICS member-states will also benefit immensely from the pool of opportunities or foreign reserves to be obtainable at the summit since Africa, though a developing continent, is generally seen as a fertile place to invest by the international community.

"Most importantly, Africa will be contributing immensely as far as market opportunities are concerned, because we have a very large population. Besides, we also have the natural resources that other countries within the BRICS group may be looking for," he envisaged, noting the South African government has already set up what they termed "think tank" to guide the BRICS interaction with Africa.

He said this goes a long way to show South Africa has acknowledged its role in the BRICS as one that can, if handled properly, serve the interests of African manufacturing, industrial and technical needs, as well as provide access to funds for critical areas.

BRICS is an acronym of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, emerging market economies in the world, which are becoming the new centers of manufacturing and growth.

Currently chaired by India, the BRICS member states are all developing or newly industrialized countries, but they are distinguished by their large, fast-growing economies and significant influence on regional and global affairs. Altogether, the five BRICS countries represent almost 3 billion people, with a combined nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of 14.9 trillion U.S. dollars and an estimated 4 trillion dollars in combined foreign reserves as of 2013.

"My expectation is that the BRICS member states will be later enlarged. I definitely want to see Nigeria, my country, as part of it and I hope in other parts of the world, emerging economies as big as Nigeria will also have the opportunity to be part of the BRICS membership in future.

"I think it is wrong for Nigeria not to be in the BRICS. I don't know the criteria for admission into the group, but if it is the second largest economy in Africa as widely known, definitely, it should be a member. And if it is market or population, Nigeria should be a member. I think Nigeria should qualify to be within the BRICS group," said the former vice president.

Concerning the Development Bank of BRICS which will be founded at the fifth summit to enhance cooperation and development, Atiku expressed delight at the idea which, according to him, "is one of the most exciting and hopeful developments for people in Africa and indeed the developing world at large."

"I do not think such a bank would be replacing or competing with, say, the World Bank or other developed countries' multilateral finance institutions. Rather, I believe it is more about complementing, augmenting and even improving opportunities for all countries. It is a very, very encouraging development which I intend to follow closely," he said.

By establishing a development bank, he hoped BRICS members and other African countries can work more closely and readily to meet their objective needs and even strengthen their voice in other international or global financial bodies.

He further pointed out that the development bank, which will be based in South Africa, will be more beneficial to sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 525 billion dollars per annum is needed for investment. "Where is such funding going to come from?" the former Nigerian vice president asked rhetorically, saying the global financial crisis, if anything, shows there is a need for evolving alternative, additional and more sustainable means for raising such funds.

"A BRICS development bank as I said, is good for all countries in the long run. I do believe there is need for new and alternative centers of finance to strengthen the world economy. This will ultimately lead to greater cohesiveness and equity among nations, and I truly believe a more peaceful world too," he added. Endi