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It is against this background that the recent cancellation by the Nigerian government, of contract awards already earned by Siemens in Nigeria is being viewed from the standpoint of its adverse economic impact on this old industrial heartland of coalmining with a specific focus on employment.

Collateral impact of the Siemens Fallout
Written by Frisky Larr

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While tremors and aftershocks of the Siemens corruption scandal continue to rock the political and business establishment in Nigeria, a section of the German news media is still busy licking the open wounds of a bizarre and uncommon story. In a detailed analysis carried in its Economy section over the weekend, a widely read German regional newspaper Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ) examined the economic impact of the Siemens fallout in Nigeria on the economy of the west German region of the Ruhr Basin. The old industrial region of the Ruhr Basin covering a segment of the geographical area in the vicinity of, but not including the metropolis Düsseldorf, has a population of about 5.3 million people housed in an area of 4,435 square kilometres. The mainstay of the region over several years had been mining and non-high-tech-oriented industrial economy. With the gradual displacement and successful phasing out of traditional economic pillars like coalmining and the like however, the region has been slowly but steadily coming to terms with the consolidation of other economic sectors that have successfully redefined the structure of the regional economy. No doubt, Information Technology, which bears the brunt of Siemens economic activities has continued to play a significant role in this respect. It is against this background that the recent cancellation by the Nigerian government, of contract awards already earned by Siemens in Nigeria is being viewed from the standpoint of its adverse economic impact on this old industrial heartland of coalmining with a specific focus on employment. The company Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) is a Nokia-Siemens joint venture with its headquarters in Finland and Dubai. NSN has a long-standing $130 million contract with a so-called Nigerian national company Celtel to build-up a 4,000 kilometer long glass fiber cable for the upgrade of telephone lines. The glass fiber cables were expected to be run through a 5.3 million meter long plastic pipe to be supplied by the German company Vogelsang GmbH & Co. KG domiciled in the town of Herten deep in the heart of the Ruhr Basin. Given the uncertainty surrounding the extent and scope of the cancellation of Siemens contracts announced by the Presidency in Nigeria in the wake of recent developments in the bribe-for-contract scandal involving past Nigerian Ministers, the proprietor of the German company Horst Vogelsang is continuing to insist that “We have binding orders placed for these projects”. A crucial question mark is even conspicuously highlighted in seeking to comprehend if any understanding can be deemed “binding” in a country rated by Transparency International as one of the 35 most corrupt countries on the surface of the earth. The idea is even greeted with a sideswipe underscoring an impressive sense of cynicism that Nigeria of all nations is seeking to pursue precise investigations in graphic details, of German corruption in Nigeria almost casting doubts on the subtle but inevitable issue of whose corruption should be on the dock in the first place. While the focus is being placed on the possible implication of the eventual loss of this lucrative Nigerian contract on the medium-scale German company, representatives of Siemens are quoted as hinting that Nigeria’s market is indeed not one of the most important for the multinational company Siemens. The Nigerian market does not even account for up to one percent of the company’s total turnover. While the regional German daily reports of frantic efforts and desperate telephone calls in helter-skelter reaction on the part of Nokia-Siemens-Networks in Finland and Dubai to ascertain the true status of existing contracts, bewilderment and wonders continue to dictate the general mood along the corridors: “Of all nations in the world, the kickback state Nigeria intends to take on a corrupt German group!” This in itself, has its own dynamic force of expression, while many questions still remain unanswered. Watch the latest videos on YouTube.com