Nigeria’s anti-corruption crusade yielding results – Danish envoy

Abuja – The ongoing anti-corruption agenda of the Federal Government is yielding positive results, the Danish Ambassador to Nigeria, Amb. Torben Gettermann, has said.

Gettermann said in Abuja that the anti-corruption crusade was vital to attracting foreign investment into the country.

“The government has started out on a very high profile anti-corruption drive and it seems to be yielding results. It is something Nigerians needed for a long time.

“Fighting corruption is something that the world outside Nigeria wanted to happen.

“The more you can do to reduce or eliminate corruption in Nigeria, if possible, the better it will be for prospects to be able to invest in Nigeria.”

“Of course, they (Danish investors) have to look at this and they look closely at it. The results we can see from the anti-corruption drive are promising,” he said.

Gettermann regretted the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast, but commended the resolve of the government and military, which he said, had weakened the insurgency.

“The fight against Boko Haram and insecurity in the Northeast, from what I can see, is yielding positive results.

“The government and the armed forces are trying to oust Boko Haram from the areas they occupied a year ago and they have been very successful.

“We still see attacks, unfortunately, but not on the scale that we have seen previously. So this shows that they are under pressure, which is very important,” said the Danish envoy.

He called on the Federal Government to find amicable solutions to the insecurity in the Niger-Delta region for the quick economic recovery of the country.

“The issues of the South-South have to be handled in a way that will ensure that this lifeline (crude oil) continues to flow.
“This is because, for the time being, that (crude oil) is the major source of income,” he said.

On education, Gettermann said quite a number of Nigerians were studying in Denmark with the aim of coming back to use their knowledge for the benefit of Nigeria.

“That is what we want we want to see – go out, learn something new, get some new ideas, come back and then implement them in Nigeria.

“That’s the future and that way, you help us to build your country, being in Nigeria, learning from the outside but also learning in the Nigerian context.

“We come as foreigners and want to do many things but we always have to remember to do it in Nigeria’s context to benefit the people and not only for commercial gains or purposes.