Tinubu visits France, Kenya, Rwanda but Nigerians question regular foreign trips

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu will leave Abuja on Saturday, May 2, for an official trip covering France, Kenya and Rwanda. However, Nigerians are asking the president to show them the impact of previous such trips.

According to presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, the president will begin the tour in France before heading to Nairobi, Kenya, where he is scheduled to participate in the Africa-France Summit set to commence next week.

The summit, jointly led by Emmanuel Macron and William Ruto, will centre on key areas such as energy transition, green industrialisation, digital transformation, reforms to the global financial system, and climate action.

Tinubu’s attendance at the summit, holding from May 11 to May 12, is expected to reaffirm Nigeria’s commitment to deepening strategic ties with both African countries and France.

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Under the theme ‘Africa Forward: Africa-France Partnerships for Innovation and Growth,’ the gathering will bring together African and French leaders to address pressing issues, including economic transformation, infrastructure development, climate resilience, youth empowerment, technological progress, and peace-building efforts.

After the Kenya engagement, the president will proceed to Kigali, Rwanda, for the Africa CEO Forum scheduled for May 14 to May 15.

The forum, themed ‘Scale or Fail,’ is projected to be the largest convergence of African business leaders, investors, and policymakers, with discussions focused on driving economic growth through regional integration, scaling businesses, and boosting cross-border investments.

Organised in partnership with the International Finance Corporation, the event will host more than 2,000 executives and government leaders to explore strategies for building competitive and resilient industries across the continent.

At both events, Tinubu is expected to present his administration’s reform agenda aimed at positioning Nigeria as a leading destination for investment and economic expansion.

He will also hold separate high-level engagements with global and African business leaders during the trip.

The president will travel with selected ministers and senior aides and is expected to return to Nigeria after concluding the Rwanda leg of the visit.

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Nigerians question trips

But Nigerians are raising eyebrows about Mr Tinubu’s frequent foreign visits, questioning whether they have attracted foreign direct investments to Nigeria or contributed to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). Mr Tinubu has travelled out of Nigeria more than 40 times since he became Nigerian president on May 29, 2023.

Data show that foreign direct investment accounted for less than 4 percent of total capital imported into Nigeria in 2025, despite a significant increase in overall foreign inflows.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that the total capital importation rose to $23.22 billion in 2025 from $12.32bn reported in 2024, reflecting a strong rise in foreign inflows during the year. However, FDI contributed only $923.01m, representing 3.97 per cent of the total.

This means that Nigeria has only attracted briefcase investors who come in, reap from the nation’s capital market and exit. Serious investors are not yet betting on Nigeria despite all the hype.

“In 2025, Nigeria reported rising foreign inflows,” said a New York-based economist and investment banker, Dr Abiola Oladimeji.

“But the inflows came mainly by way of foreign portfolio. And they did not come because of foregn visits. They came basically because of the reforms in the economy, and more importantly, because of the traction of the Nigerian capital market.”

FDIs occur when foreign companies set up local tangible investments such as factories, while portfolio investments are in the form of stocks, bonds and other financial securities. Most of Nigeria’s current investors are portfolio in nature. They come in, leverage the stock or bond market, and exit with their money. FDI investors who set up factories and shops aren’t yet betting on Nigeria, data show,.

According to a political economist, who does not want his name mentioned due to his political affiliation, Tinubu has been getting away with foreign trips with little or no results because there are no checks from the National Assembly.

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“When a president keeps travelling without tangible economic results, it is the duty of a functional National Assembly to bring him and ask him questions. But right now, we not only have a dumb National Assembly, but an assembly of partisan men and women who believe that pandering to the president’s whims and caprices is a trophy.

“Mind you, some of us in the ruling party aren’t enjoying this due to our backgrounds in human rights. I want to see the president challenged by his party men and party women to keep him on his toes. We fought this during the PDP era, but this is happening before our very eyes now.”

According to a development economist, Mr Dan Ali, some ppresident do not travel regularly but produce powerful economic results.

“Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, does not travel regularly. His success comes from systems and planning. Vietnam leader, Nguyen Phu Trong, does not travel regularly, but his country is now the manufacturing power house. President Tinubu should learn from them and avoid seeking opportunities that will take him away from Nigeria,” Ali noted.

“He should sit down and do the serious work of governing, not politics. Why is he attending Africa-France Summit? What does France have to offer Africa? Oil? Peace? End of the US-Iran war? Funding?”