German Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. Bernhard Schlagheck has disclosed that “Nigeria is the future of not just Africa but of the whole world and mankind”. Schlagheck stated this when he received the delegation of “Follow the Money and Connected Development (CODE)” an NGO, in his office on Friday in Abuja.
He said that Germany and Nigeria shared similarities in various areas, adding that Nigerians could contribute to their country’s growth by following governance processes to ensure accountability.
The German Ambassador to Nigeria further added that “there are developments in every society that must be tracked, to achieve that there is a need for the distinction of people to do such. Nigeria as the future of Africa is the future of the world of mankind that we can ask many important questions and of course this is also applicable in places like Germany, in Europe.”
“Although there are obstacles in development processes, Nigerians should strive to focus on the cross-fertilization of good ideas to bring about meaningful growth in future.”
He commended the delegation for their effort in tracking expenditure of public funds to promote accountability and transparency in the governance process in the country. According to him, this is something that can change things positively, I am quite happy to see many young activists willing to do so.
Earlier, Mr. Hamzat Lawal, Founder, Follow the Money and Chief Executive Officer of CODE, said that they were at the German Embassy to appreciate Schlagheck for his support to the organization. He noted that the support by Schlagheck had helped young people learn best practices on modern methods to track public fund spending.
The German Ambassador, we were in Germany this year and won the SDGs awards under mobilize-category, despite the fact that we applied for our papers late. “Europe and U.S. are struggling with illegal migration because people from other parts of the world are tired of how governments are not ensuring that the services delivered are efficient. We believe that by following the money, Nigeria will be more like Germany and we will not have to worry that people travel illegally, rather explore such places and come back.”
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the high point of the event was the presentation of a plaque to the German Ambassador.
