By Gidado Ibrahim
“The greatest economy is Nigeria with immense investment opportunity.” – President Tinubu at 78th UNGA
That President Bola Ahmed Tinubu participated in the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) from September 20-23, 2023 and delivered his maiden address to the General Assembly on September 20, in which he spoke on a range of issues is no longer news. What is news, however, is that matters arising from the presidential global engagements has continued to dominate headlines and possibly for sometimes to come.
The Lion of Africa is beginning to roar. That’s what experts in social and economic diplomacy are saying against the backdrop of the flurry of economic diplomacy unleashed by President Tinubu and his Vice, Kashim Shettima, since assumption of office on May 29.
Suffice it to set the ball rolling by reiterating that the prestige of any country among comity of nations is proportionally dependent on its social and economic realities. That is why governments around the world do everything to create an enabling environment to attract both local and foreign investments.
President Tinubu knows the weight of expectations hanging on his Renewed Hope Agenda. That was why he started firing from all cylinders the moment he and Shettima took the oath of office. Beyond the avalanche of domestic reforms being implemented to create investments friendly, the president and his vice have also assumed the position of Nigeria’s marketer-in-chief.
With head swell ovation, our president was welcomed to the floor at the just concluded United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) where he became the bride or, better still, the Star Boy. He used that exalted podium to tell the world to work with Nigeria as true friends and partners. Noting that Africa is not a problem to be avoided or pitied. “Africa is nothing less than the key to the world’s future,” he added.
The charisma, character, candour and composure with which President Tinubu interact with other world leaders calls for joy. Without a doubt, Tinubu is making the Nigerian case loud and clear at the global stage. Most dignifying is his mastery of global interplay of social and economic factors. He’s a player, so he needs no coach. Tinubu bares global economic indices on the palms of his hands.
Following an illustrious private sector career as a professional accountant in the oil & gas industry, Tinubu possesses the capacity to take difficult decisions as president and is best prepared to solve problems and crush all bottlenecks standing in the way of new and large-scale capital flowing into Nigeria’s oil & gas industry.
Instances of the acknowledgement of Tinubu’s leading role in repositioning Nigeria as a giant global player include when he went down in history as the first African president to conduct the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) closing ceremony during its trading session.
On the sidelines of UNGA, Tinubu played host to a delegation consisting of the global leadership of an Oil & Gas transnational giant, ExxonMobil, on Monday in New York, where he made his position known that Nigeria is no longer settling for crumbs and leftovers on the investment agenda of the world’s most prolific energy conglomerates, saying “Nigeria has never been more ready for business than it is now.”
As the president continues to assure Nigerians and investors alike about addressing the knotty issues, he said the situation requires direct supervision on his part. “Despite many contending obligations, I will sit down and oversee the process of removing these encumbrances to job and wealth creation for the Nigerian people. We know the industry. We grew up in it. We are positioned to solve the problems, and we are pragmatic, and we will solve the problem,” he added.
Nothing can be more soothing than having a leader who cannot be mislead because he’s clueless on subject matters.
The good thing is that reputable multinationals are keying into Tinubu’s message and are ready to do business with Nigeria. For instance, the ExxonMobil president of Global Upstream Operations, Liam Mallon, assured Tinubu that he is well placed to reciprocate the president’s efforts with new investment. He pledged new production of nearly 40,000bpd in its Nigerian operations in phase one of a new investment push in Nigeria.
This efforts are being roundly acknowledged around the world. One of such came from the US Deputy Secretary of Treasury, Wally Adeyemo. While speaking at the Lagos Business School (LBS) at a forum with business leaders in Lagos, Adeyemo, who spoke on the US-Nigeria Economic Relationship, praised the early steps taken by the government in terms of the fiscal policy and unification of the exchange rate.
In his speech to the August gathering, the charismatic Nigerian president touched on issues of Climate change: Tinubu called for urgent action to address climate change, which he described as “the greatest threat facing humanity today.” He urged developed countries to provide financial and technical support to developing countries to help them mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change.
He met with world leaders, including US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, to discuss bilateral relations and global issues. He also attended the High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development and the High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response.
Tinubu’s participation in UNGA was a significant opportunity for him to showcase Nigeria’s leadership on global issues and to promote Nigeria’s economic interests. His address to the General Assembly was well-received, and his meetings with world leaders were productive. It is a sign that Nigeria is committed to playing a leading role in the international community.
On his part, Vice President Kashim Shettima participated in the G77+China Leaders’ Summit in Havana, Cuba, from September 15 to 17, 2023. He represented President Bola Tinubu at the summit, whose theme was “Current Development Challenges: The Role of Science, Technology and Innovation.”
Shettima participated in a number of events at the summit, including the opening ceremony where he addressed the assembled leaders on the importance of South-South cooperation in addressing the challenges of development.
Others are panel discussion on the role of science, technology, and innovation in promoting sustainable development; bilateral meeting with the President of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, to discuss ways to strengthen relations between the two countries, and a meeting with the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, to discuss the global development agenda and Nigeria’s role in it.
Shettima also held bilateral meetings with other world leaders on the sidelines of the summit, including the president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa; Indonesia, Joko Widodo; the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi: the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Ismail Sabri Yaakob; Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif.
In his discussions with other leaders, Shettima emphasised the importance of international cooperation in addressing the challenges of development, particularly climate change, food insecurity, and poverty. He also called for increased investment in science, technology, and innovation as key drivers of sustainable development.
Shettima’s participation at the G77 summit is seen as an opportunity for Nigeria to reaffirm its commitment to South-South cooperation and to play a leading role in shaping the global development agenda.
This is the extent to which President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima can go to turn around the dwindling economic fortunes of Nigeria. But all these efforts can be archieved only when our foreign partners begin to notice that our institutions of government are working. The Tinubu administration should ensure our anti-corruption agencies and the judiciary are strengthened and are capable of prosecuting corrupt politicians, government officials and other defaulters whenever the need arise.
– Ibrahim is director, Communications and Strategic Planning of the Presidential Support Committee.