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TICAD9: Outrage as Nigeria’s Exhibition Booth Left Unmanned
By Adedapo Adesanya
Despite a large entourage, including President Bola Tinubu, attending the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9), Nigeria’s exhibition booth was left unmanned on Wednesday.
The exhibition booth, which is one of the ways through which countries around the world converse and speak with potential businesses and investors, was without any attendant at the event compared with other countries.
A Nigerian, Mr Idris Ayodeji Bello, attending the event as a private citizen, while writing on X (formerly X), said he had to step in to answer questions that the Nigerian public sector teams should be handling.
Business Post reports that President Tinubu, who arrived in Japan on Tuesday, is expected to hold bilateral meetings with world leaders and engage with top Japanese chief executives who have significant investments in Nigeria.
The three-day summit, scheduled for August 20–22 at the Pacifico Yokohama, is bringing together African leaders, development partners, and global stakeholders to discuss strategies for Africa’s economic transformation.
However, one of the first points of contact at such summits is the exhibition, and according to Mr Bello, Nigeria had the only unsupervised booth, so he had to step in as a makeshift envoy to answer questions about the country’s investment scene.
“I hate to show negative things about Nigeria but it is sad that Nigeria is the only unmanned booth at TICAD9 in Japan. Upon all the folks who probably got estacode for coming to Japan
“Only God knows how many Japanese folks have asked me about the unmanned booth seeing my dressing.
“So ashamed I have now designated myself as Honorary Consul and taken over the booth to engage visitors,” he wrote on X, accompanied by photos of the empty booths.
Soon after, Dr Ola Brown, a Nigerian investor and founder of Health Cap Africa, joined Mr Bello to answer the questions to curious attendees at the exhibition.
“Had an interesting time manning the Nigeria booth today with Idris.
“Unfortunately, the booth was left unstaffed by the Nigerian public sector team, but we still had engaging conversations with academics, private business owners, and NGOs who asked great questions,” she wrote in X, via her @NaijaFlyingDr handle.
Responding to a post about why the booth was unmanned, the investor answered, “I am not sure. But even Cape Verde whose entire GDP is less than Zenith Bank’s revenue had a fully staffed and decorated booth. Lesotho was fully staffed with a small economy than Oshogbo.”
Many Nigerians have taken to the platform to express displeasure at the lack of Nigerian public sector officials at the exhibition.
According to @DaMinister14, “It’s one thing for our anyhowness to be local – at least we will know it’s in-house. However, taking it to the global stage is embarrassingly sad. I mean I know I shouldn’t be surprised anymore but I just can’t help it. Anyhowness has now become a feature instead of a bug.”
According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, Nigeria is using (TICAD9) as a springboard to expand trade with Japan, push for reforms in the global financial system, and consolidate its leadership role in Africa.
Speaking on the sidelines of the summit in Tokyo, Mr Tuggar stressed that Nigeria’s participation, led by President Tinubu, signals its determination to forge deeper ties with Japan while also using the multilateral platform to advocate for Africa’s interests.
Nigeria exports large volumes of hydrocarbons to Japan, with bilateral trade currently estimated at $1 billion.
Beyond trade, Mr Tuggar said Nigeria was using the TICAD9 forum to push its long-standing diplomatic objectives, including permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Mr Tuggar said central to Nigeria’s agenda, is reform of the global financial architecture to ensure African economies can thrive.
“Unless the system is reformed to address issues like debt restructuring and rescheduling, Africa will remain disadvantaged. Nigeria, as Africa’s leading economy, must champion this cause,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The United Kingdom has reaffirmed its development partnership with Kano and Jigawa States, as part of its long-term commitment to development and reform in northern Nigeria.
The Head of Development Cooperation at the British High Commission Abuja, Ms Cynthia Rowe, recently completed high-level engagements with governors of both states as well as senior government officials and civil society leaders.
The discussions underscored the UK’s modern approach to development as a genuine partnership with Nigeria, which prioritises state-led ownership and sustainable development that delivers lasting impact through strengthening systems and partnerships grounded in investment, trade, climate financing, technical expertise and joint accountability.
According to a statement, the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, via the British High Commission, said Nigeria remains one of the UK’s most significant development partners, adding that the engagements underlined the strength and ambition of the bilateral relationship reaffirmed during the recent UK-Nigeria State Visit.
In Kano, Ms Rowe met with Deputy Governor Alhaji Murtala Sule Garo and senior officials, including the newly confirmed Head of Civil Service and Secretary to the State Government. The visit recognised Kano’s progress on climate finance, health system reform and private sector investment supported through UK technical assistance.
In Jigawa, she met with Governor Umar Namadi and heads of key ministries, departments and agencies. The meeting celebrated more than 25 years of UK-Jigawa partnership, one of the most longstanding bilateral development relationships at the subnational level in Nigeria. Discussions covered the state’s continued progress on health systems reform, agriculture, and governance and the path forward under UK technical assistance.
Since 2022, PLANE has supported Kano, Kaduna and Jigawa to strengthen state-led education delivery systems, working through Ministries of Education, SUBEB and key agencies. Its RANA+ foundational learning packages have reached 1.4 million pupils across the three states, alongside wider system strengthening.
Speaking on this, Ms Rowe said, “For more than 25 years, we have worked side by side with state governments, including Jigawa and Kano states, their communities, and civil society to build stronger health systems, improve learning outcomes for millions of children, support farmers to grow their businesses, and help states attract the investment they need to thrive.
These visits have reinforced our confidence in what this partnership can achieve. We are working together to deliver lasting change, and deepening a relationship built on genuine mutual respect and shared ambition for Nigeria’s growth and development.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on data sharing to enhance economic productivity.
This was done at a meeting at CBN Head Office in Abuja, where the weather body led by its Director General, Mr Charles Anosike, on Wednesday, highlighted the importance of integrating weather and climate data into economic research, especially in sectors such as agriculture, energy, and transportation.
He noted that extreme weather events can reduce agricultural productivity and threaten food security.
He added that the collaboration aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, which prioritises food security through major agricultural investment, including the cultivation of 10 million hectares of land and the distribution of mechanised equipment.
Mr Anosike cited a 2026 World Bank report that showed that extreme weather driven by climate change is significantly affecting global food security, with more than 87 million people facing hunger in East and Southern Africa and 52 million in West and Central Africa.
He also referenced the latest Berkeley Earth Report, which projects that 2026 is likely to be the fourth warmest year on record, a trend that continues to shape agricultural and energy market projections.
In his remarks, Mr Muhammad Sani Abdullahi, Deputy Governor, Economic Policy Directorate of the CBN, said the signing of the MoU marked an important step in strengthening the partnership between two key national institutions whose mandates intersect in data, research, and policy support.
He emphasised that, in an increasingly complex and dynamic economic environment, timely and reliable data remain essential for effective policy decisions.
According to him, the Economic Policy Directorate relies heavily on timely and credible statistical information from NiMet, saying that such data are critical for inflation monitoring, agricultural sector assessment, and broader economic policy advisory functions.
He described the initiative as both timely and important, adding that strong institutional partnerships are essential for strengthening evidence-based policymaking and improving the robustness of national data systems.
At the close of the event, Mr Anosike and Mr Sani Abdullahi signed the MoU on behalf of their respective institutions.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Tunji Disu, has ordered an immediate nationwide ban prohibiting Point-of-Sale (POS) operators from running their businesses within a 200-metre radius of any police station, divisional headquarters, or police formation across Nigeria.
This directive, released via an internal police wireless message, addresses critical systemic challenges regarding extortion and corrupt financial practices within law enforcement facilities.
The order is to be strictly enforced nationwide, with senior officers overseeing various formations to be held accountable for any breach of the directive.
The Nigeria Police Force stated that the measure is intended to strengthen transparency, accountability, and public confidence in the policing system.
The decision comes after an alarming proliferation of POS businesses near police facilities, with investigations and public complaints revealing that some operators were actively complicit in facilitating extortion, bribery, and illegal cash transfers forced upon civilians or suspects during police encounters.
Under the directive, Assistant Inspectors-General of Police (AIGs), State Commissioners of Police (CPs), and heads of formations will be held vicariously liable for any breach within their jurisdictions.
The IGP’s order states: “Any officer or POS merchant found flouting the 200-metre operational boundary or colluding in illicit transactions will face immediate disciplinary and criminal actions under extant laws.
“If you are a POS agent or looking into regulatory compliance for financial services in Nigeria, let me know. I can provide details on current Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) radius registration guidelines or share methods to report officer misconduct directly to the Force Headquarters.”
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