Germany mutes bi-National Commission with Nigeria

Babatunde Fashola and Mrs Dorothee Janetzke-Wenzel

Germany mutes bi-National Commission with Nigeria
Abdul Semiu Babalola, Lagos

A new chapter in international relations will soon open between Nigeria and Germany, this is because the European country is considering the possibility of starting a Bi-National Commission that will further boost their bilateral relations.

The German Ambassador to Nigeria, Mrs Dorothee Janetzke-Wenzel, gave the hint when she paid a courtesy visit to the Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola, at the government house in Lagos, Nigeria’s nerve centre.

Proposed Commission

She said Germany intends to focus on economics, politics, energy and culture in the proposed Commission. She called for inputs from the Lagos State Government on the Commission, stressing that the city remains the abode of most Germans in Nigeria.

Responding to a request on developing partnership in boosting technical and vocational education in the state, the envoy said: “We also want some topics on vocational training that undertakes the kind of education we have in Germany where on one hand you have practical training within a company and on the other hand, the young people go to school to learn the basics of a trade with the practical”.

Governor Fashola said the State was also reviving its technical and vocational education through status upgrade that is ranking in equality to state owned standard secondary schools.

According to him, “certification is by two different agencies, but clearly the qualification at both levels whether you finish at the technical and vocational education or regular secondary school, entitles you to progress on to the University. One is not a substitute to the other. There are different channels for achieving the same purpose. Some students just don’t do well with too much reading. They are very practical hands on people”.    

He explained that Lagos state was developing a curriculum to meet the needs of those students in a way that they can be themselves without being tied to the structures of formal grammar and still turn out to be very productive and successful citizens.

“Economically, every opportunity to improve our trade relations will be most welcome. We have some partnership with some German companies especially in hospital and health care development and we seek to deepen that as we go on”, the governor said.

The Governor also said that there is a lot to share between Nigeria and Germany culturally in terms of languages, fashion, food and temperament.

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