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T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, MARCY 21, 2017
PERSPECTIVE
The Senate’s Diplomatic Shuttle As the nation continues its search for ways out of the economic recession, Chuks Okocha reviews the Senate leadership’s trip to Germany to attract investments
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hen the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki led a delegation of the Senate to Germany, it had only one purpose in mind: to help fast track Nigeria’s efforts to get out of economic recession. This diplomatic shuttle was aimed at exploring how to use legislative initiatives to attract the much needed foreign investment to the country and help address the current economic woes. During the legislative diplomatic visit, the delegation met with fellow members of parliament in that country and discussed how to ensure increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to Nigeria. Responses so far show that the trip was a success. In the course of the visit, the Head of Bundestrat, the upper chamber of the German Parliament, Ms Malu Dreyer said that Nigeria as the leading country in Africa should be economically strong and therefore deserves the support of a European giant like her country. Speaking when she received the Nigerian Senate delegation in Berlin, Ms. Dreyer said that Germany attaches great importance to the strong relationship with Nigeria and Germany and would support the on-going economic recovery programme in the country. She said the country would look towards extending the special partnership and grassroots co-operation which it presently has with Rwanda to Nigeria and that more exchange programmes between the two countries would be initiated. The Bundestrat President explained that in line with the country’s federal constitution, Germany would address the request made by Saraki for a stronger economic co-operation with the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel and Secretary in charge of Economic Co-operation and Development, Mr. Muller. “The partnership between Nigeria and Germany is very important and should be nurtured. This partnership at a very high level can help the entire population in Nigeria. We have to do all that is necessary to support Africa to prevent internal crisis that would later plague Europe. “We should empower African nations to enable the people and their governments take their fate into their own hands. We have a gain to make from this co-operation. We are faced with refugee situation and to save ourselves the escalation of this problem, we have to tackle the root cause of migration by helping African countries to be economically strong and buoyant. That is why we must help Africa.” In the area of renewable energy, Dreyer said Germany would be ready to help Nigeria through exchange of technical information and exchange programmes adding that clean source of power is the future of energy resource in the world and her country had made much progress in this area. In his response, the President of the Nigerian Senate reiterated the need for Germany to partner with Nigeria in the areas of economic co-operation, security and renewable energy as both are continental leaders whose well-being would have positive implications for Africa and Europe. He noted that the Senate delegation was in Berlin to strengthen the existing relationship between both countries as represented by the visit of the German President to Nigeria last year in company of some German businessmen. “We appreciate cordial relationship between Germany and Nigeria. We need German support as our government works hard through progressive policies and legislation aimed at overcoming our current challenges and engaging our youths who form about 70 percent of the population. “It may be true that we have economic challenges but the fundamentals remain good and even the prospects are better. That is why we are seriously working to diversify the economy and move away from dependence on oil. We are moving into agriculture, mining of numerous mineral resources and manufacturing. These areas alongside energy production and funding
Saraki...... believes German investments will help
of key infrastructural projects are areas that German business people can invest in”, he said. He described power as one area where Nigeria required serious help. According to him, power inadequacy of power supply affects the success of businesses and limits the productive ability of the people. He urged Germany to provide necessary support to Nigeria through business investment in the sector, provision of technical assistance and sharing of knowledge and expertise. The Senate President added that German support was needed to solve the security crisis in the North-East of Nigeria and that the country was at the point where the displaced people have to be rehabilitated, resettled in rebuilt homes and environment as well as be re-assured that cases of isolated attacks by the insurgents would cease. The Senate delegation also visited the Feldheim village where the people are self-sufficient and totally dependent on renewable energy. It also held talks with members of the Berlin House of Representatives, the Bundestag and Bundestrat (lower and upper chamber of the German Parliament) and visited the MediaTeam IT Education Centre in Berlin, one of the success stories of Nigerians living in Germany. It was the benefit of the visit that warranted the Senate President to hint that Nigeria would have to amend the laws on power generation, transmission and distribution in order to replicate the feat recorded by the German Village, Feldheim, where residents combined efforts and local resources to produce clean and renewable energy. Saraki, who was moved after inspecting the project in the energy self-sufficient village
It may be true that we have economic challenges but the fundamentals remain good and even the prospects are better
located 70 kilometres outside Berlin, said the achievement of the Germans was possible in Nigeria if only the leadership and the operators get serious and demonstrate the will power. He said the issue of power supply remained top in the agenda of the Senate as it is a key instrument for eradicating poverty and unleashing the potentials of the people. Saraki said: “That is why we had a workshop on the sector last month. It is also why we are here to see the experiment and success of the people of Feldheim and see what our people can learn from it.” According to him, the laws will have to be amended to allow communities to generate energy that is more than 10 megawatts and even the laws about power transmission and distribution have to be amended to allow more creativity and involvement from the private sector.” Briefing the senators, the Project Leader, Mr. Werner Frohwitter said the project was one in which “citizens take their energy supply into their own hands” as they contributed money to build bio-gas plants which use slurry and manure from their pigs and cows and wind farms. He added that though the village has a population of 140 people, it hosts about 4,000 visitors’ yearly comprising students, politicians, researchers, scholars and journalists who want to learn about how the people’s efforts led to the generation of 10mw of electricity, from which they sell the excess to the national power grid. Frohwitter said Feldheim is now a community which produces “safe, local, economic and ecological supply of heat and electricity organised by and under the responsibility of the citizens independent from the grids of conventional power utility companies”. The delegation, on return to Berlin, also had discussion with Mr. Thomas Silberhorn, the Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Co-operation and Development on issues bordering on how to forge strong economic co-operation, assistance for rebuilding of the war-torn North-East zone and how to benefit from the advanced technologies for energy supply. Saraki who was accompanied by Deputy Senate Leader, Bala Ibn Naallah, Senators Enyinaya Abaribe, Monsurat Sunmonu and Abubakar Kyari arrived the Bundestag at a time when the German lower House was discussing Europe-Africa relations and the Senate President said Germany was the first country the 8th Senate visited at the leadership
level. While thanking the Germans for their contributions to funds towards the rehabilitation of the North-east zone of Nigeria during last month’s meeting of the European Union in Oslo, Norway, Saraki said the next challenge was how to rebuild the devastated region, rehabilitate and resettle the people. He said the areas affected by the Boko Haram has two million displaced people, a figure greater than that of the Syrian crisis which he said, was getting all the attention and commitment of resources from the international community. He urged Germany to go beyond the provision of intelligence and training as well as light equipment for the military. He said Germany could influence other countries to sell durable and more efficient military hardware to Nigeria so as to strengthen the armed forces “I am happy at the coincidence that as we are visiting you, you at your plenary session are discussing the role of Europe in Africa. Though a lot is already happening in our relations with your country, however, we need more German investments in our country, even as we take deliberate, well planned steps to diversify our economy and pay more attention to agriculture, mining of mineral resources and manufacturing. “No economy in the world has the kind of potentials that Nigeria has and if we talk of Africa, you are talking of Nigeria as the leader. We, in the parliament, are working on several Bills that will open up the economy and make it easy to do business with great rate of return on investment”, he said. The Senate President explained to the Germans that Nigeria now gives visa at the point of entry to genuine business people and tourists, a fact testified to by a member of the German-African Business Association present at one of the meetings. The Senate President in his address to Singhammer, Vice President of Bundestag, and the Parliamentary Friendship Group led by Charles Hubber, also sought the co-operation of the German lawmakers in granting legal stay to law abiding and skilful Nigerians who have been living in Germany for a long time so that they can meaningfully and positively contribute to the economy of their host country. The Senate President also explained that Nigeria was about to experiment with having some educational and health institutions operate independent sources of power not connected to the national grid.