Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, affirmed on Monday that President Bola Tinubu’s participation in the ongoing Africa-France Summit was strategic, noting that six of the seven thematic discussion areas align with the administration’s Renewed Hope policy agenda.
He highlighted that the focus of economic engagements on the African continent is gradually shifting from merely attracting foreign investors to encouraging African investors to drive development from within the continent.
Bwala who spoke with journalists in Nairobi, Kenya, on the sidelines of the Africa-France Summit, said the new thinking among African leaders is to mobilise local capital and expertise to unlock the continent’s enormous economic potential.
He said: “The whole concept of this summit is to create this sense that Africa by itself can create the economy that they deserve rather than this dependency from the rest of the world,” Bwala said.
According to him, Africa has for years struggled to properly project its investment potential due to what he described as negative portrayals by sections of the Western media.
The fact is that Nigeria and Africa is an investment friendly climate environment. We have a lot of natural resources. The rest of the world look to investing in Africa.
“The problems over the years has been Africa has not stated the case enough for the investors to come because of the negative coverage that is portrayed or pushed by the western media about opportunities that lie in Africa.
“But I think this meeting is good because now the focus of the meeting is shifting away from just winning investors to come, to steer our own people to rise to the occasion to utilise what they already have and what they are doing,” he added.
Bwala explained that President Tinubu considers the summit important because many of the themes being discussed reflect reforms already being implemented in Nigeria
He cited international financial restructuring, agriculture, blue economy and artificial intelligence as areas where Nigeria has already taken significant steps.
“Take for example when they talk about the international financial restructuring, we have seen the financial restructuring which has taken place in Nigeria which has given confidence on Nigeria,” he stated.
On technology, Bwala said Nigeria’s youthful population places the country in a strong position to benefit from advancements in artificial intelligence.
He also highlighted the country’s agricultural potential, saying Nigeria possesses between 20 and 30 million hectares of arable land capable of driving food security and investment opportunities.
“We have between 20 to 30 million hectares of arable land because agriculture is forming part of the key component of the session,” he said.
The presidential aide disclosed that President Tinubu would participate in three plenary sessions at the summit and would later proceed to Kigali, Rwanda, for further engagements with African business leaders and chief executives.
“The President of Nigeria, who is a leading figure in Africa, is happy to lead in this endeavour,” Bwala said.
He, however, declined to disclose details of the President’s speech at the summit, saying it was inappropriate to pre-empt presidential remarks without direct authorisation.
“Sometimes, unless you have direct instruction, you don’t pre-empt the speech of the President,” he said.
Nevertheless, he noted that Tinubu would showcase Nigeria’s reform efforts, particularly the unification of the foreign exchange market, agricultural reforms and initiatives in the blue economy sector, as examples of policies that can be replicated across Africa.
“In other words, I am doing something to tell you I believe in it, I am seeing the result and I am asking you to come and participate,” Bwala said, while describing Nigeria as not just seeking investment inflows but partnerships capable of delivering returns on investment.
