The Chancellor wants to establish strategic partnerships in Nigeria. It’s about gas deliveries and skilled workers. But when it comes to one of the most important topics, Scholz is not heard much.
On Monday evening, the Chancellor drove through the less busy streets of Abuja. Olaf Scholz has just met President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for dinner in Nigeria’s capital. Now we go to the airport.
The surroundings are dark. Only a few lights shine. Here and there people gather in front of a car headlight. This is because half of the population in Nigeria does not have electricity.
Given the difficult conditions, it is hardly surprising that many people in Nigeria are striving for a better life – including one in Germany. This was one of Scholz’s central themes at Tinubu, and it has two sides, one of which we don’t like to hear in Africa.
Nigeria wants economic support
It is the Federal Chancellor’s third visit to the African continent. The second one this year. It is important to Scholz to expand relations between Germany and Africa, which have only been sparsely maintained in recent years. Meanwhile, China and Russia became increasingly present in Africa.
Strategic partnerships with countries like Nigeria are important for Germany. For example, because the region is rich in oil and gas. Germany needs energy sources for the transition in climate transformation and Scholz is likely to be keen to have as broad a range of supplier countries as possible in the medium term. Since the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, Russia has been no longer the largest gas supplier.
The discussions were primarily about migration issues.
On the one hand, there is a desire for qualified specialists from highly populated countries, especially given the demographics in Germany. Around 220 million people live in Nigeria alone. The population is growing rapidly.
On the other hand, the government must succeed in agreeing migration agreements with several African countries in order to expedite the returns of rejected asylum seekers. There are currently around 12,000 people from Nigeria who are obliged to leave the country living in Germany.
The situation in the country is difficult. It is the largest economy in Africa with a gross domestic product (GDP) of $477 billion. However, it is still in a severe economic crisis. Inflation is currently around 21 percent. And if you calculate the GDP per capita down, it’s just around $2,000. In Germany it is 25 times as high per capita at $50,000.
And there is a lot to discuss. This is evident from the fact that Scholz and Tinubu waited until they reported on their first conversation on Sunday evening. The president sets the course: “We are open for business.”
He talks about the development of his country, about the many young, healthy people, about investments, about gas deliveries. It is his vision of the future of a modern African state. The return of rejected asylum seekers? Doesn’t play any role in it.
Scholz has to get two points tied together
So how does Scholz get the two points tied together? That on the one hand, those who are urgently needed in the German labor market come. At the same time, those who have no right to stay are returning. Or don’t come at all.
The Nigerian president is more than open to the former. After all, skilled workers who emigrate to Germany earn significantly better there than in their home country. Many of them send money every month – to friends and family. It is a source of income that benefits the country.
At first glance, however, the president’s interest in taking people back seems to be limited. When Scholz addressed the point in the press conference, Tinubu took off his headphones through which he heard the translation. One briefly asks oneself: Does Tinubu want to know nothing about the topic? In fact, he probably just canceled it because of sound problems.
You can still see it as a symbol. He initially did not want to answer a journalist’s question. Whether Scholz hasn’t already said everything. At the end he reluctantly explains something else: everyone who is Nigerian is warmly welcome in his homeland.
