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By Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye just back from Paris-France
To kill two birds with a stone, Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communications, and Strategy, Dele Alake, alongside the Chairman/CEO of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, and Nigerian Embassy in France, cleverly included in the itinerary of President Bola Tinubu’s first foreign trip to the recent Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris, France, from June 22-23, 2023, a session for the President to interact with Nigerians residing in or visiting France.
During the interaction, as the President would later reveal, there was a debate due to the short notice regarding limiting the number of attendees. However, he decided to accommodate as many that were willing to attend. As he stated, “So your President is here. I campaigned for it, I danced for it, and I have to continue to be prepared for it,” which received applause from the audience.
The dialogue with Nigerians in France generated excitement as President Tinubu engaged in an open and candid conversation. The platform allowed him to explain why he made some of the decisions and unveil his overarching vision and agenda for driving Nigeria’s economic prosperity. Additionally, he urged the Nigerians present to continue representing Nigeria positively in France, emphasising that his administration’s ongoing reforms aim to foster an environment conducive to thriving investment.
Participants that spoke at the forum shared the President’s optimism about the positive outcome of the reforms, which will result in economic development.
Abiodun Odunuga, the co-founder for Friends of Nigeria based in France who said he had been at the forefront of promoting Nigeria’s attractiveness to foreign investors for five years, noted that Tinubu’s actions in three weeks has made the rough road he was travelling on to attract investors smooth.
“I just must confess to your Excellency. The table has changed in the past three weeks. The hurricane effects of your leadership have been felt in Denmark, Romania, Belgium, Luxemburg, and Bulgaria. I have been there myself for the past three weeks.
“I went to Romania a few weeks ago and I was making a presentation about investing in Nigeria. The EU invited me to make a presentation and just before I made the presentation, one of the major stakeholders came across to me and asked, where are you from because you speak like a Nigerian? And I said yes. She said, all we know about Nigeria, is the scams, and the Nigerian prince. When I got the mic, I told her about the things happening in Nigeria and your policies that have happened in the past three weeks. The whole delegation wrote and told me they will be happy to come to Nigeria in the next few weeks.
“Your Excellency, I want to thank you for this special moment. It has made a difference for us that you hear us, and I want to make a promise to you that we’re behind you. And together we believe that if all these things can happen in the space of three weeks in Nigeria, one can only imagine what will happen in eight years under your administration.”
For Dr. Aninu Amoo, the founder of Africa Women Series Network, a network of over 5000 women leaders across Africa, Tinubu administration’s reforms are already bringing some positivity in the international community. “We hope that that will lead to the investment that we need in our country, and the market reforms that are required for development. So, thank you very much for that.”
She added that “research has shown that gender balance leadership leads to better outcomes for society and organizations. I would like to respectfully ask that you include senior women leaders who are very competent in your cabinet so that they can help to elevate our economies and society.”
For Adekunle Ahmed, a businessman that frequents Europe, Tinubu’s three weeks reforms have done the magic and removed the obstacles. He said: “What we do is to bridge the gap between the enterprises here in Europe and our counterparts in Nigeria. We have been doing this for a very long time and we are a familiar face to the embassy in France, Netherlands, Belgium, everywhere. And before you came in, it was a very difficult experience for us. But you did the magic. In fact, the information we’re having from our partners here now, they are even giving us information that we don’t even know, they are taking notes and projecting what they are going to make from Nigeria, what they stand to benefit because of the futuristic policies. We appreciate this.
“In July, 21 delegates will be coming to join me here in Paris on an invitation from the regional government. They are the ones asking us now that they want to do business with us. We thank you for giving life to us.”
Renowned scholar, Professor Emmanuel Iga, known for his expertise in geopolitics and international business, lauded Tinubu as the first Nigerian President to break free from the influence of a godfather, emphasising that Tinubu himself is the driving force behind his success.
He also praised Tinubu’s administration for its removal of subsidies and efforts to streamline foreign exchange processes. He expressed anticipation for the implementation of palliative measures to support the Nigerian populace.
He said: “First of all, to say the great impression that you have made in the past three weeks, I never expected that this would happen. And I am very sure many Nigerians were not expecting it. So, the job done in just three weeks of your being involved has shown that we can have a competent leader, a leader who is bold, courageous, capable of taking decisions that need to be taken.
“I can also say you are the first president in recent times that we can say is a president without a godfather. Very, very important for Nigeria, because we now know where the buck stops. It stops at your desk. So, anything that comes from there, we are expecting a very vigorous response.
“We have been very impressed by the decision you took to eliminate fuel subsidy. The only thing we are waiting for, which we know you are going to be capable of doing, is putting in place the palliatives, which will help the citizens to support your decision even better. The other thing is all the efforts you have already made to start cleaning up our financial system. What we need to do, I think, is what you understand very well that if we have a very transparent and solid financial system, controlled by a central bank, which inspires confidence and trust, then of course, we are going to quickly turn around the fortunes of our country. And I think that you have demonstrated that you perfectly understand.
“You have also understood coming from the difficulties that we have had in the past years in terms of unity of the whole nation. You have taken very vigorous steps. You have made appointments that have inspired confidence that you are going to really be the president of the entire population of Nigeria. And that is what unity is. You are showing the way. Honestly, Mr. President, I think all the sceptics about your coming are changing. They are converting to supporters of Mr. President. So go on, forge ahead in the direction you are going, and you will be supported by the entire population to make us a great nation once again.”
In response, President Tinubu acknowledged the fraudulent nature of fuel subsidies, describing it as a 40-year-old scam detrimental to economic growth. He said the system was making smugglers rich and burdening the nation with the cost of the commodity. His administration’s decision to address this issue demonstrates a commitment to rectifying such distortions in the economy,” he said.
According to President Tinubu, “Some countries were bleaching us. Courage was missing. Sometimes I became an advocate of it. But God gave me the opportunity when I danced around, strategized with my team. We won the presidency.
“A few friends visited me, rejoicing. So I asked the question. You asked me to bring this trophy, this victory. What do you do with it?
“I brought it. I won. We must achieve with it. We must change Nigeria with it. And then Wale Edun and co, we started debating, putting my speech together without anything on subsidy. I got to the podium, I was possessed with courage, and I said ‘subsidy is gone.’
“They thought it was the joke of the century until I called NNPC. We are tired of feeding smugglers, making a few people rich and subsidising the next door neighbours.
“I met with the President of Benin Republic. Everybody is equal now, we are friends. We are conjoined twins joined by the hips. How we will separate each other is with this fuel subsidy. Let us see whether we will survive or not, but we are going to survive.”
In response to Prof Iga’s comments on the nation’s financial system and the need to restore confidence in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), President Tinubu took the opportunity to address the suspension and arrest of former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
President Tinubu stated that under Emefiele’s leadership, the financial system had become corrupted. He highlighted that certain decisions made by the apex bank hindered Nigerians residing abroad from sending money to their families due to multiple exchange rates. He expressed relief that such issues belong to the past and assured that steps have been taken to rectify these challenges.
To Amoo’s plea to appoint women in his cabinet, Tinubu said: “You have touched on the part of democratic values, gender equality. On gender equality, we are going to try. We inherited an attitude from our grandparents and great grandparents. We have not been able to tear apart that toga.
“So, advocacy is on it. We have Abike Dabiri and Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire doing SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) programmes and I am doing a whole lot to bring pride to the womenfolk. I am a man raised by a single mother. I cannot forget it. Unfortunately, she passed on at a good ripe age of 97, but the memory is there. She was a great mother.”
Tinubu reassures those concerned about the security situation in the country that with new security chiefs in the saddle, he has given them a free hand to operate but they must produce results.
He said: “On our business development, security is very, very important to equally get the development to Nigeria. Before I came in here for this interaction, I was delayed by a call by the new Chief of Defence Staff informing me of some other postings. I told him to go ahead. He has a free hand to decide. All I need to see is an improved security.
“We will get security in place and whatever technology that we can use in addition to our old fashion we will do it to get Nigeria back on track for economic investment.
“Your country is not drifting. Like, I stated, we the people are the foreword of any constitution. We will be constitutional in our efforts. We might not be able to satisfy all but we will beat the imaginations because we are the children of the same father living in the same house, only living in different rooms.”
