THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
The German chapter of the Nigerians In Diaspora Organization (NIDO) will hold its annual summit in Hamburg on 30 September-1 October. The event will feature a business conference and an award ceremony.
The 4th Nigerian Business & Investment Summit is dedicated to discussions on the necessity for, and opportunities in, the diversification of the Nigerian economy, which is currently experiencing difficulties arising from its over reliance on oil exports. 
Prof Brando Okolo of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, who is also the general secretary of NIDO Germany, will speak on the imperative and processes for creating production driven skills in Nigeria while Ambassador John Ejinnaka, Consul-General of Nigeria in Frankfurt, will give a talk on “Diversifying the Nigerian Economy and Attracting Foreign Direct Investment”.
Jens Ullmann of the Potsdam Chamber of Commerce and Industry will provide “Insights into the Processes of Developing a Sustainable German-Nigerian Business Partnerships” and Prof Peter Eigen, founder and president of the Berlin-based Transparency International, will deliver a speech entitled “Corruption as Obstacles to Institutional and Economic Development”.
Kayode Obembe, the principal consultant of Kayode Obembe & Company, a Lagos-based firm of real estate developers, will also speak on “Why the Nigerians abroad should invest now in Real Estate in Nigeria”.
According to Kenneth Gbandi, the president of NIDO Germany, the event will put the spotlight on the enormous opportunities in the non-oil economic sectors in Nigeria. “Our agriculture potential is largely untapped, we have many solid minerals that are yet to be exploited and our manufacturing is still at its infancy. So, we should consider the current economic crisis as an opportunity to diversify our economy,” he added.
The summit, according to Gbandi, brings together German business people, their Nigeria counterparts from home and the diaspora and experts to deliberate on opportunities for trade and investment in Nigeria and explore possible partnerships.
The business session will also feature special presentations including on the new German technology for producing bread from cassava flour and on the benefits of MoneyGram’s money transfer services to Nigeria. The global remittance provider is a major sponsor of the NIDO Germany Summit this year.
The NIDO Germany Day will be rounded up on 1 October with the 2016 Leadership Award Ceremony & Dinner at which Nigerians who have shown remarkable leadership qualities in their areas of service will be conferred with the NIDO-Germany Leadership Service Awards 2016.
“This act of recognition is a NIDO Germany tradition. The current NIDO executive in line with our past NIDO leaders and founding members has resolved to honour Nigerians and friends of Nigeria at home and abroad for distinguished service at various levels of leadership,” Gbandi said. // Sola Jolaoso
More information on the events at: www.nidogermany.de
