I
can assure you that President Buhari’s sense of humor is one of his
most distinguishing characteristics, despite his stern mien.
His
comments clearly do not reflect his attitude towards women, a number of
whom he has appointed into key positions in his administration, neither
do they reflect his attitude towards his wife, Hajiya Aisha, as anyone
can see from their history together.
President
Buhari has been an invaluable support to his wife, and I know that he
has great plans for every Nigerian woman. Five of his daughters have
acquired university degrees. One of them just finished law school and
another one undertakes a higher degree program.
I
hope that all well-meaning Nigerians will put an end to the unfair
insinuations that have been generated by President Buhari's jocularity.
Seeing a well-meaning leader being so misunderstood is painful for me.
Let
us hope that God continues to give him the grace and wisdom he requires
to steer Nigeria through this difficult time in our country's history.
In
the course of this historic visit, he held formal talks with Chancellor
Angela Merkel, a roundtable with the German President Joachim Gauck, a
meeting with business leaders and an interactive session with Nigerians
resident in Europe. A number of side, but equally important meetings
were dotted in-between these.
Three
big-ticket items on President Buhari's Berlin agenda were security,
trade and investment, climate change and its consequences for the
Nigerian eco-space. A breakthrough was achieved in all areas covered by
the discussions.
Bilateral relations:
Chancellor
Merkel was the first leader of a major economic power in the world to
have foreseen what a Muhammadu Buhari administration would mean to
Nigeria, Africa and the world. As Chairperson of the "G 7" group of
industrialized nations, she extended a hand of fellowship to him upon
his victory in the 2015 elections. She asked him to be ready with his
wish list and be present at the G 7 meeting to brief its leaders.
Since
that time, there had been a big demand for President Buhari all over
the world, a demand that our officials in Foreign Affairs insisted must
be cashed on or else we missed the opportunity.
President
Gauck came here in February at the head of a business delegation, a
visit that pushed the existing relations up by several notches as
manifested by the setting up of a one-stop investment center to
facilitate foreign investment and partnerships.
Germany
has also proposed a twining of two cities, Lagos and Frankfurt to
facilitate the sharing of experience, meeting of businesses, trade and
investment as well as exchange of visits by officials.
In
the course of the visit by President Gauck, a pledge by the EU to spend
fifty million Euro (€50 m.) against terrorism in the Lake Chad basin
area was announced.
President
Buhari's state visit brought closer the relationship between Nigeria
and Germany in addition to breakthroughs in several areas of
negotiations.
Business/Investments.
The
other key success area is investment. The President and his team held a
highly successful business forum which had in attendance over 100
Nigerian and German business leaders with interests in industries across
Manufacturing, Information Technology, Healthcare, Construction,
Training, Agro processing, Power, Mining and Consumer businesses
In
a speech at the meeting, President Muhammadu Buhari decried the current
low level of trade and investment between both countries and Nigeria’s
openness for business and long-term investment from Germany. He
highlighted the steady work of renewal that has started in the country
and the progress that is being recorded in the government’s pillars of
security, governance and the economy.
He
also presented a strong case on Nigeria’s compelling fundamentals and
stated the priority sectors of the government in which investments are
being sought as being Agriculture, Industrialization, Solid Minerals,
Digital Economy and Infrastructure, especially power generation.
The
biggest gypsum producer in the world has already obtained an
exploration license for the mineral and is looking to commence local
production in Nigeria. A well-known consumer brand with over 50,000
employees worldwide is considering production of its laundry detergent
locally. The company has already invested $250 million locally, with 900
employees. The transition to local production will significantly
increase the number of Nigerians employed.
A
Nigerian-based pharmaceutical company in partnership with a German
conglomerate is also to commence a renal testing business in Nigeria
before the end of the year
Finance:
The
President stated that the Nigerian Development Bank will soon commence
operations to help provide additional funding to the Small and
Medium-Scale Enterprises (SMEs). As a large contributor to the economy,
funding to the SMEs will help spur inclusive economic growth. He
thereafter charged government officials and the business community to
enhance the process of achieving tangible results that are mutually
beneficial to both countries
Economic relations:
A
significant takeaway from the Presidential engagement in Germany is the
agreement to give vocational skills training to thousands of our youth.
Germany
is always known to be a strong developer of apprentice skills. In
addition to their reputation for quality education, the distinguishing
feature of the German economy is that emphasis on skill development.
What
President Buhari got from this trip is a commitment by Germany to share
with Nigeria their skills in agriculture, IT, telecommunications,
machinery, aviation, vehicles, healthcare, construction and so forth.
As
part of the steps towards imparting the vocational skills, there will
be collaboration between the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) and a
Nigerian conglomerate to build a technical school for artisans. The
school will train Nigerians for three years, of which 50percent of the
time will be spent in the school and the remaining 50percent of the time
spent gaining practical experience. This model will be scaled up for
the other parts of the country based on the success of this cooperation.
Agriculture:
Nigeria
and Germany had useful discussions on a program of food processing
locally, rice and oil milling with the aim of leavening that country's
experience in a new plan by the administration to create wealth in rural
communities.
There
also plans for a financing fund for agriculture in Nigeria to assist
small and medium size entrepreneurs and cooperatives in the agricultural
sector.
Energy/Power:
A
renewable power company with advanced and affordable solar technologies
is going to commence operations in Nigeria. The company is headed by a
Nigerian and have commenced the ground-work to commence operations early
next year.
Following
the MOU at the Bi-national Commission, agreements were also struck for
energy partnership in renewable energy. Several states characterized by
hot weather, mostly in North have signed for solar Independent Power
Project, IPPs. A 30 Megawatt power plant is coming up in Adamawa while
Bauchi, Benue, Gombe, Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, Katsina and some others are
on the queue.
Security:
Germany has offered Nigeria support in the war against terrorism with mine detectors, radar equipment and a field hospital.
Chancellor
Merkel also pledged increased involvement of Germany in supporting
Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs and the reconstruction of their
destroyed communities.
Immigration:
Another key area of cooperation is immigration.
There
are thousands of illegal immigrants from Nigeria currently in Germany.
On their records, 20,000 Nigerians enter their country each year. This
is a sore issue for Germany. Of these numbers, only about nine percent
of those who enter clandestinely qualify for legal asylum. To deal with
the issue, they have indicated to Nigeria their willingness to train all
prospective deportees in skills they can use back at home. In addition
to this, two other Nigerians will be given free vocational training for
every one deported illegal immigrant.
Climate Change:
President
Buhari never missed an opportunity to make a pitch for the recharging
of the Lake Chad, now only ten percent of its original size, whenever he
met the leaders of rich countries.
He
has been persuaded a long time ago that the best way to save the lake
Chad and the people who inhabit its basin from the corrosive effect of
climatic change is to divert water from the Congo Basin to the Lake
Chad.
A
study financed by Nigeria indicated that USD 15 Billion will be needed
to do this but it is the kind of money that neither this country nor its
neighbors can muster.
Having
successfully established that the climate change has a lot to do with
the drastic decline of livelihoods in the area and is at the root cause
of the Boko Haram insurgency, the President is convinced that recharging
the Lake is no longer the sole business of the Lake Chad Basin
countries but that of the wider world.
Given
her commitment to saving the environment, Chancellor Merkel had shown
keenness in the project and is willing to be a part of the effort.
Her
reported earmarking of €18 billion for the project was misconstrued
from her speech. After a repeated playback of the speech, the same
conclusions were unfortunately drawn. Angela Merkel's commitment is
however to the tune of €18 million on the Nigerian side and the rest €32
million to the rest of the Lake Chad basin countries, with all of the
money coming from the European Fund. Nevertheless eighteen Million to
support ongoing efforts in the North East is still a mouthwatering
amount.
New and Pending Issues.
The
Nigerian delegation also had useful discussions on road and rail
development, gas exploration, equipment and surveillance for the
protection of oil and gas infrastructure in Niger Delta, upgrading of
Defense Industries Corporation, DICON, cooperation in rule of law and
polio eradication.
Last
but not the least, the President used a moment of his time in Germany
to act his role a Commander-in-Chief by paying a visit to a recuperating
army officer injured in the course of duty in the North East.
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