Mohammed Idris Malagi is the minister of information and national orientation. In this interview monitored on Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) by BENJAMIN SAMSON, he speaks about the outing of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the ongoing 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
How would you rate President Tinubu’s first major outing on the global stage at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)?
Well, it’s been a fantastic outing for the President of Nigeria, as you know, and as you have said, this is the first major outing he has had since being in this leadership position. He was there not just for Nigeria but for Africa as a whole.
He has shown strong commitment for Nigeria to lead the African nations. He has also shown the commitment of Nigeria under the present administration to expand the horizon and open up the Nigerian economy so that people can come in with their money and take it out whenever they need to. But the President has given an open invitation for businesses to come to Nigeria; Nigeria is open for business, and that’s the central message that Mr. President has been reading.
Clearly, it’s a massive opportunity to sell Nigeria. In this regard, what are the low-hanging fruits arising from some of the president’s past engagements?
Well, as you know, even before coming to New York, Mr. President had been to India; he also had a stopover in the United Arab Emirates.
He came here with a strong message, first from Nigeria, to tell the world that Nigeria is open for business in that direction.
He met with the UN Secretary General and the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, our own Amina Muhammad. He also had strong discussions with world leaders.
He had a commitment, especially from ExxonMobil, and the president of ExxonMobil upstream has pledged 40,000 additional barrels of oil per day as a new push for further investment in the country. He has also had engagements with African leaders, other world leaders, the business community, people in the ICT community, the oil industry, and so many others.
So, a lot of low-hanging fruits; we’re already beginning to see investors promising to come to Nigeria to invest massive amounts of money for the progress of our country and the development of the world.
His message all the time is that Nigeria shouldn’t be pitied, and Africa shouldn’t be pitied. There should be a level playing field, and there should be some kind of mutually respectful relationship between Nigeria and the rest of the world.
Time had passed when Nigeria and Africa were looked at as continents that people could pity.
We have said to open up the field, let’s compete. We have the right skills for Nigerians and for other people from the rest of Africa to play their own part in the development of the world.
Alright, can you give a preview of some of the other engagements of the President in New York and how these meetings on the sidelines of the UNGA might benefit Nigeria?
Well, first he met with the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa; he met with the President of the Union of Comoros, Mr. Azali Assoumani; he met with King Hussein of Jordan; he met with the President of Angola; and all of them, you know, are ready to rally round Nigeria to ensure that Nigeria also takes its rightful place.
It appears that the world is welcoming Nigeria back to its fold. So much is happening, and Nigeria is being expected to lead the way.
Nigeria is becoming a very important nation once again and is taking its rightful place, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, like I said earlier, is not just speaking for Nigeria, but for the rest of Africa.
Open up the space we are in; we will participate and compete, and Nigeria and Africa will be the best for it.
