The statement by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole that 30 foreign trips undertaken by President Bola Tinubu have attracted proposed investments worth $50.8 billion into the country sounds exciting, but it needs to be substantiated. Curious citizens want empirical evidence of the investments and how they are boosting the economy.
Even if the claim is correct, the investments must translate into the well-being and prosperity of struggling citizens to be meaningful. At this critical time when most Nigerians are hard-pressed by the severe economy, they need concrete assurances that there is hope at the end of the tunnel.
The truth is that Nigeria needs to do more to impress the world and attract investments, not merely trotting the globe in search of illusive “investors”. The current reality is that the enabling environment to attract the desired Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is lacking, as manifested in unstable electricity power, insecurity, bad road network, official bureaucracy and red-tapism, corruption, multidimensional poverty, inequality and the slow adjudication process. These discourage business investment and raise questions about the necessity of President Tinubu’s frequent travel.
Given the high cost of travelling, with the servicing of presidential aircraft, a retinue of aides, payment of estacodes, lodging and feeding of delegates for the period of travel, every proposed trip must be scrutinised for maximum benefits. Certainly, some of the trips can be avoided. Previous presidents – Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari junketed around the globe on the same pretext, but they could not attract FDI or adequately protect Nigeria’s national interest abroad.
Now, Tinubu is on the same trajectory. Nigerians are not opposed to meaningful travels because the world is a global village; and the country needs to make her presence felt in the Commonwealth, African Union (AU), and the United Nations (UN), among others. But the President cannot hop into the aircraft at every invitation, including the ones that a minister could represent him.
Some travels are apparently on health grounds; the President should come clean with Nigerians. “Private visits” should be minimised. Nigerians deserve to know the whereabouts of their number one citizen at every time, and the reasons for his being away. Frequent trips cannot be justified, more so in the absence of visible results so far arising from those trips.
Tinubu attended the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing, China last December. During his visit, he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other business leaders to strengthen bilateral ties and discuss economic cooperation, including investments in agriculture and technology. However, the Chinese have been in business with Nigeria for a long time, and it is doubtful if any FDI into Nigeria is tied to the trip yet.
The President also visited France on two recent occasions. In November 2024, he made a three-day state visit to strengthen bilateral ties with France, focusing on areas like agriculture, security, and trade. Significantly, it was the first official state visit by a Nigerian leader to Paris in over two decades. More recently, in February 2025, Tinubu travelled to France on a private visit before heading to Ethiopia for an African Union summit. Nigerians eagerly await the fruits of these trips too.
Sadly, Nigeria has no ambassadors in those countries to adumbrate the President’s commitments. It is abnormal to keep the ambassadors at home when they are supposed to be on their duty posts abroad. Their absence is a drawback to what the government can achieve on foreign trips.
Notably, Tinubu recalled all Nigerian ambassadors, both career and non-career envoys, on September 2, 2023; with an official explanation that the action was to enhance efficiency and quality in Nigeria’s foreign service delivery. This situation has not changed a year and four months after this exercise, with the result that there is no sense of urgency in carrying out government assignments. Ordinarily, replacements should be pencilled down before the diplomats are even recalled.
So far, the foreign policy and foreign trips don’t synchronise; and the national interest suffers. The world is moving fast but Nigeria is rather sluggish. Government can do better to earn international respect and cooperation among the comity of nations. For instance, how the Federal Government handled the Binance case is a disservice to the country. It could have been handled differently with more credible results.
In the U.S., the company was fined approximately a total of $4.3 billion. It is a national embarrassment that the head of Financial Crime at Binance, Tigran Gambaryan, recently named top government officials he alleged, demanded a $150 million bribe from him thereby drawing attention to corruption and the challenges faced by businesses operating in the country.
No matter the number of trips undertaken to shop for investors, the action of the government speaks louder than words. Foreign investors need a guarantee of Return on Investment (RoI). They seek information, do a thorough assessment of the country to be invested in and also have investment advisory units in their embassies in Nigeria, which serve as a guide to them. So, where the government is doing badly at home, no amount of foreign trips will sway investors.
Also, the government’s handling of international companies that are leaving, or even domestic ones like Dangote Refinery portrays the government in a bad light. It sends a very wrong signal to the outside world when an indigenous firm complains of sabotage by government agencies. The government appears indifferent when foreign companies announce their exit plans. In other climes, the government would intervene, providing a bailout for those on essential products with a large workforce to mitigate job losses.
Since 2023, several foreign companies have exited Nigeria due to economic challenges and operational difficulties. Notable among them are GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Ltd., and Procter & Gamble Nigeria left in 2023 for similar reasons. Sanofi-Aventis Nigeria Ltd also pulled out in 2023 citing difficult business conditions.
Similarly, food delivery services companies – Bolt Food & Jumia Food Nigeria left the country by the end of 2023. Again, Microsoft Nigeria closed its Africa Development Centre in 2024, marking a significant exit from the country’s tech sector. Also on the list is Kimberly-Clark (K-C). The firm announced its decision to exit Nigeria in June 2024 due to economic challenges.
While Diageo Plc (Guinness International) exited Guinness Nigeria as part of broader divestment strategies affecting multiple sectors, PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc and other consumer goods companies decided to leave or reduce their operations in the country partly because of significant forex losses.
The question is: how can Nigeria impact the world? How can the country relate with the U.S. and other superpowers in the coming years if she consistently fails to address factors de-marketing the country? Surely, Nigeria cannot stand up against the vituperations of the likes of America’s Donald Trump unless the government builds the country to a considerable level of self-sustenance.
Tinubu should now prioritise his foreign travels, and devote the resources to correcting anomalies at home, which are discouraging foreign investors and stifling local business initiatives.
The Guardian
