President Bola Tinubu is not flying around the world enough to attract foreign direct investment to Nigeria. He should go on more foreign trips, says foreign minister Yusuf Tuggar.
Nigerians have urged Mr Tinubu to discontinue foreign trips at the expense of the vulnerable public, urging the president to cut costs and prioritise insecurity and widespread hunger plaguing his compatriots.
However, Mr Tuggar said, “I don’t think that is a fair assessment. In fact, if you ask me, we are not travelling enough. We should do more. How much does travelling cost compared to the benefits?”
The foreign affairs minister stated this in an interview aired Sunday on Channels TV.
“The administration is new. The president is still new. He came into office in 2023. So, in global terms, he is still new,” Mr Tuggar explained. “He needs to interact with his fellow colleagues and heads of state to be able to establish relationships.”
The minister pointed out that Mr Tinubu’s foreign trips are already yielding positive results, citing some investment opportunities secured by the president.
The minister further accused Nigerians of judging the Tinubu administration “unfairly”, insisting the country stands to benefit from the president’s trips.
Mr Tinubu’s nemesis, former Governor Peter Obi, disagreed with the president’s need for frequent foreign trips.
Though I have never—and will not—compare the United States of America, with its over $28 trillion GDP, to our country, Nigeria, with a GDP of about $250 billion, less than 1% of the USA GDP, I want to simply observe, and note where investment flows and why: to places with an inevitable, favourable environment,” Mr Obi, who ran for president against Mr Tinubu in the last election said Monday in a statement on X.
The Labour Party politician added, “A typical example, the $1.1 trillion investment inflow into the USA this month, was because of desirable environments and intangible assets. This was achieved without the President jetting around the world to attract such investments.”
The former Anambra governor insisted that “with the right leadership, prioritising intangible assets, security, rule of law and resources allocated to productive sectors appropriately, that will unleash a productive society and allow entrepreneurship to thrive.”
This, in turn, according to Mr Obi, will attract investments “comparable to those in other developing nations with large populations, just like ours.”
“For example, Indonesia, with a similar population of around 265 million—just 10-15% more than Nigeria’s 230 million—has invested in critical areas like healthcare, education, and poverty alleviation. This focus has enabled them to achieve significant development and attract foreign investments.
“Countries like Indonesia, with a nominal GDP of approximately $165 billion in the year 2000, now have a GDP of about $1.39 trillion in the year 2024—an increase of over 8 times. Countries like India, with a nominal GDP of approximately $476 billion in the year 2000, now have a GDP of about $3.73 trillion in the year 2024—an increase of nearly eight times,” said Mr Obi.
He also cited Vietnam, with a nominal GDP of “approximately $31 billion” in 2000, as now having “a GDP of about $506 billion” in 2024, an increase of over 16 times.
“Our country Nigeria, with a nominal GDP of approximately $70 billion in the year 2000, now has a GDP of about $210 billion in the year 2024—an increase of over three times.
“What we require at this stage is to learn from these comparable countries what they have done to achieve such growth and religiously apply those strategies. Indonesia now attracting about 10 times the foreign direct investment than we do.
“This is the kind of economic shift we should aim for by replicating the strategies of nations that have succeeded in similar circumstances,” the politician stated.
