Correspondent, Sam Nwokoro, writes on efforts by Germany to strengthen business relations with Nigeria.
Nigeria and Germany have a long history of mutual trade, even before the latter’s independence from colonial rule. The first contact between the two countries was a circumstance brought about by the World War I.
At the treaty of Versailles; during the distribution of the African continent by the victorious powers – the United States (U.S.), Britain, France and Russia – a large part of Africa fell into the hands of Germany. But when Germany was defeated in 1945, she was made to cede much of the territories she held in Africa to Britain, which eventually colonised many parts of Africa, including a part of Nigeria known as Bakassi Peninsula, which later became a subject of international litigation.
Thus, it was no surprise that much of the durable landmarks in Nigeria today were built by German companies. It was a kind of carryover from the common European economic interests in Africa that made it such that even after Britain had taken reign in Nigeria, she retained German technological presence in those territories which Germany surrendered to the victorious powers.
Nigeria boasts a handful of some of the legendary landmarks that made Germany a reference point in the industrial revolution of Europe. Most of the notable bridges in Lagos and Abuja were constructed by the German construction giant called Julius Berger. The company has always been the flagship of Nigerian-German relations since Independence and even after. In fact, much of the highways in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, were handled by Julius Berger.
Much of the trade balance between Nigeria and Germany has since the 1970s oil boom era been at par, meaning that Germany has made a lot of money from Nigeria’s ever demanding infrastructure building as much as Nigeria has obtained parallel amount in terms of foreign aid and other forms of technical assistance that benefitted civil society groups in the country and private sector operators.
Multinational companies like Siemens once dominated moribund Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) supplies and installations. Most telecommunication service providers in Nigeria operate on German technologies. Nokia is a reference point of how new Nigeria’s economic frontiers has enriched German firms.
Tradition of mutual respect
Nigeria and German relations on world stage has been most cordial. Perhaps, Germany remains one country Nigeria seldom has anything to complain about its conduct. No serious diplomatic face-off has ever taken place between the two countries. Bonn has a way of avoiding diplomatic distraction in any country where its businesses are flourishing and are not suffering any problem.
On global politics, it rarely opposes Nigeria’s views, even if she may not be vocal in supporting Nigeria’s quest. For instance, when Nigeria campaigned for the Presidency of World Bank in 2012, whereas France, U.S. and Britain were against Nigeria’s Finance Minister as World Bank boss, Germany neither opposed nor supported her nomination.
Ditto when Nigeria campaigned for membership of the United Nation Security Council. Bonn did not oppose it nor played any positive role in actualising it. But she has not been short of compliments for Nigeria’s struggling reform programmes and has been active in technical support in forms of training of civil society in deepening democracy in Nigeria and promoting arts through such known bodies as the Goethe Institute and the Fredrick Ebert Foundation.
To underscore how strategic Nigeria’s economy is viewed in Bonn, head of a trade delegation from Germany who visited Nigeria in March in 2012, Roland Meibner, disclosed in Abuja that “under a new policy being promoted in Bonn, Nigeria may soon emerge the country’s major trade destination in Africa”.
He also said: “When you think about Nigeria, you think about her oil and gas industry. But I think that the Nigerian government is about planning to diversify her sectors, which means there are other sectors to invest in apart from the one I have earlier mentioned.”
Between 2002 and 2014, Nigeria recorded a trade surplus running into billions of naira.
Stressing that the re-jigged interest in Nigeria’s economy has the backing of Bonn, the head of the German delegation also disclosed: “The new bilateral trade configuration under a proactive policy with focus on new investments in healthcare, maritime and financial services including banks, would put Nigeria above South Africa as the European nation’s major trade destination.”
Confirming, President of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Andre Ron, said trade between the two countries hit four billion euros (about N880 billion).
He said sectors like telecommunication, construction, healthcare, maritime, as well as financial services, are interesting sectors for investment purposes, especially for German companies willing to do business in Nigeria.
Thus it was no surprise that the leaders of the German business community recently made further moves to consolidate their interests in the Nigerian economy through a well-crafted collaboration between the two countries on energy efficiency, intended to boost power distribution in the country.
The Consular General of the German Embassy in Nigeria, Michael Derus, at a seminar on ‘Energy Efficiency’ in Lagos recently, told newsmen that the partnership between both countries is calculated at making Germany and Nigeria deliberate on sustainability of energy supply, distribution and development, in furtherance of the renewed partnership agreement signed by both countries earlier.
Derus explained: “Germany is interested in questions like sustainable energy development, making link with energy generation and consumption, in relation to the environment. Germany and Nigeria signed a memorandum of understanding in 2008. It is called the Nigerian Germany Energy partnership (NGEP) which was renewed in 2013.”
Expatiating on the significance of the energy summit on the partnership between the two countries on energy, he said it is to serve as an opportunity, not only in government setting, but aimed at getting stakeholders in the energy sector together.
“We know that Nigeria is a very dynamic country in the economic and social field. We know that one main impediment of getting more advanced in the area of energy and power gas is the insufficiency of energy and the likes.
“We have the opportunity to liaise with Nigerian experts to convey our own experience in Germany as an industrialised country, with workable solutions to tackle some of the past mistakes. It is an opportunity for Nigeria and Germany to have an in-depth exchange of decisions,” he added.
Also, the Head of Unit, Energy Efficiency, Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP) in Abuja, Charles Dakoa Diara, in his address, explained that Nigeria needs to conserve its energy against a backdrop of shortage in power supply common with the country.
According to him, NESP is formulating guidelines useful in both the industrial and home setting, and that the agency is working with many bodies to ensure that global best practices in consumption and conservation of power is adhered to forthwith.
No doubt, Nigeria will need a lot of technical assistance as it tries to empower private sector operators to take over energy supply in the country.
Already, the former Minister of Power, Professor Barth Nnaji, and current Minister of Trade and Industries, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, have brought a few German investments in the energy sector in the area of power generation and distribution. Some states in the country building their Independent Power Projects (IPPs) already plan to leverage on German technical know-how.
Some planning industrial parks like Bayelsa state are already contracting the German model. In Akwa Ibom state, German firm Julius Berger built the newly commissioned 30, 000 all seat-covered FIFA rated stadium. In short, German firms dominate Nigeria’s construction sector, especially infrastructure as for example the new second Niger Bridge which is being executed under Private-Public Partnership (PPP) arrangement.
Development expert, Chuks Osuji, suggests that Nigeria should nurture her bilateral relations with Germany in view of what she stands to gain in form of technological know-how and as a possible fall-back in her international relations with the western world, especially Britain and America.
“Germany runs the most humane capitalist economy in the world. She has not totally jettisoned the welfare system on which the economy, which is the strongest in Europe today, was founded. It is still a mix of free market and the welfare state.
“There is much in common between Nigeria and Germany. Both are multi-ethnic democratic states, and her (Germany’s) system takes care of the poor without undermining free competition. It is a creative form and is good for Nigeria,” Osuji said.
