EThis is Olaf Scholz’s third trip to Africa since he took office almost two years ago. This time the Chancellor is trying to establish closer relations with Nigeria; he will travel on to Ghana late on Monday evening. The federal government has set its sights on the countries of the global south. There is talk of “eye level” in Berlin. The example of migration policy shows that agreements that only have advantages for one side are not worth much.
Nigeria is the most populous African country with 220 million inhabitants. It is expected to have around 400 million inhabitants in 2050, roughly the same size as the EU currently. Nigeria is a “partner for the German economy,” said Scholz at the joint press conference with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Sunday in the presidential palace in Abuja.
There is “great potential for cooperation,” said Scholz and addressed the different levels: in the fight against terror in the region, in the difficult issue of migration and in the energy sector.
Controversial election victory
Nigeria is already the second largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa. In an interview in the Nigerian newspaper “The Punch,” which Scholz conducted before his departure, he signaled interest in Nigerian natural gas. Germany has a “significant” need for natural gas and “in the future” also for hydrogen.
Germany opened a hydrogen office in Nigeria two years ago. In the press conference, President Tinubu also appeared willing to cooperate and spoke about facilitating the shipping of liquid gas, although he did not announce any concrete steps.
On the sidelines of his trip, Scholz also commented on the German abstention in the vote on the Gaza resolution in the UN General Assembly, which Israel criticized. Germany has “worked hard to reach a resolution from the United Nations General Assembly that does justice to the situation,” said Scholz. When that didn’t work, they abstained from voting. Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, had previously expressed his disappointment with Germany’s voting behavior and called on the Federal Republic to clearly support his country at the United Nations.
Unlike the Ghanaian President, Scholz has only met Bola Tinubu once at the G20. Tinubu has only been in office since the end of May, albeit after a controversial election. Just a few days before the visit from Germany, the country’s highest court confirmed his election victory in March.
This was preceded by a heated legal and media campaign by the two defeated opposition candidates who challenged the election results. One of them, Peter Obi, has many followers, especially among younger voters, who call themselves “Obidients” and also enthusiastically follow their idol on social media.
The confirmation means that the 71-year-old Tinubu has one less thing to worry about, but still has many other, far greater challenges to face, both in his own country and in the region. Direct investments from Germany and increased trade come in very handy.
Nigeria’s economy is the largest in Africa in terms of gross domestic product, ahead of Egypt and South Africa. But according to the World Poverty Clock, a third of the population lives in extreme poverty. The statistics office classifies more than 133 million Nigerians as “multidimensional poor.” They do not have adequate access to healthcare, education and water.
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