Nigeria is focused to become one of the world’s top 20 economies by the year 2020, Nigerian Ambassador to China, Aminu Wali, said in Beijing on Thursday.

Wali said at a reception organised for friends of Nigeria and Nigerians resident in China to mark Nigeria’s golden jubilee that the Federal Government had mapped out strategies for the achievement of the vision.

“I believe we will be there,” a correspondent  quotes him as saying.

The ambassador said it was a matter of pride for Nigeria to celebrate its golden jubilee and appealed to Nigerians resident in China to be good ambassadors of their fatherland.

“Every Nigerian in China is an ambassador because he or she is duty bound to promote the interests of the country as well as keep the good name of Nigeria.

“We ought to be proud to be Nigerians. A lot of things are happening in China which we need to address and see how best to give our country a good reputation,” he said.

Wali also urged Nigerians in China to cooperate with the staff of the Nigerian Embassy in order to promote the good image of their country.

“You have to support us in order to move our country forward and promote the good image of the country.

“I want us to learn from China. We know where the country was 25 years ago; we were in the same category but today they are ahead of us.

“We have a lot to learn and emulate from them (Chinese). They have been able to achieve progress in making life better for their people; we hope to aspire and be like China,” he said.

Wali later explained to newsmen the reason for the delay in marking the national day.

“It was not possible for us to celebrate on October 1 because we share the same birthday with the host country.

“If we want to get the attention of the Chinese Government, we have to organise our celebration after the Chinese must have resumed from their holidays,” he said.

The highlights of the celebration included cultural display, songs and music with the theme, “Music of our fatherland”, rendered by the Lagos-based Muson Cultural Group.

Meanwhile, some Nigerians in China told Tide source that they would wish their country to be like the U.S. and help other African countries to come out of poverty.

Maryam Mohammad, a 300 level student of Shenyan Aerospace University, said she was happy to witness the celebration of Nigeria at 50.

“I’m proud of my country. I want Nigeria to be number one country in the world and by the time we are celebrating our centenary anniversary, I want Nigeria to be greater than America.”

Pastor Andy Obiora, a businessman based in Beijing, said Nigeria had the potential to be greater than China or any developed country.

He stressed the need for the Federal Government to develop the country’s abundant resources in order to have success stories to tell when the nation celebrates its 100 years of existence.

The three-day activities to mark the golden jubilee began with a novelty match on October 12 and ended with a gala night for members of the diplomatic corps.