Britain advised by Commonwealth leader to set up post-Brexit trading zone with Nigeria

Britain must embrace free trade with Nigeria after Brexit as its rapidly growing population “loves British products” and wants to buy “everything” from UK exporters, said Lord Marland, Commonwealth business leader.

“There are one or two really encouraging, optimistic places on the horizon. You’ve got the big populations such as Nigeria, which is going to be 320m people – bigger than the United States – in under 10 years.

Lord Marland, the chairman of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC), said it was time for the UK to set up a post-Brexit trading zone, with Nigeria, Singapore and Malaysia offering major opportunities.

“They love British products…it’s a huge consumer market. Fundamentally there is a lot of disposable wealth.”

Asked which other products Nigerians were particularly keen to buy, he replied: “Everything.”

“The UK doesn’t want to be seen to be initiating anything but actually people look to the UK for leadership. If the UK wants to initiate something, which is a starting block for a commonwealth trade zone, it will start,” Lord Marland said while speaking with the London Telegraph.

Britain is Nigeria’s second-largest trading partner, after South Africa, with the bilateral relationship worth around £3.8bn per year.