Tinubu Seeks Global Financial Reforms to Accelerate Africa’s Growth
• Holds talks with Madagascar president
•Ruto says Africa wants investment, equal partnership, not aid
• Macron canvasses ‘strategic autonomy’ for Africa, Europe
•Guterres : Absence of Africa on UN security council historic injustice
•Dangote, Abdul Samad Rabiu, Elumelu, Aig-Imoukhuede, ministers attend event
Deji Elumoye in Nairobi, Kenya
President Bola Tinubu yesterday made a special case for stronger economic integration that prioritises Africa’s growth and prosperity, highlighting Nigeria’s position on the need for reform of the international financial architecture.
Speaking at the ‘Africa Forward Forum’ in Nairobi, Kenya, where he joined 30 other African leaders and global partners to discuss economic transformation, innovation, strategic partnerships, and sustainable growth across the continent, the president warned that the international system must reform or risk irrelevance.
The summit, co-chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron and Kenyan President William Ruto, brought together heads of state, policymakers, investors, and business leaders to also deliberate on key issues, including energy transition, industrialisation, digital transformation, climate action, and reforms of the global financial architecture.
“Last September, from the podium of the United Nations General Assembly, Nigeria warned that the international system must reform or risk irrelevance. We spoke not only of the Security Council but of the financial and trade structures that quietly de-industrialise our nations. The evidence is before us. Despite decades of independence, Africa’s share of global manufacturing value added remains below two per cent.
“We export raw minerals, crude oil, and agricultural commodities, and we import processed goods at a premium. This pattern is not an accident. It is the product of a global financial architecture that starves our industries of affordable capital, tolerates massive illicit financial flows, and imposes policy constraints that our competitors themselves never observed when they built their own industrial bases.
“Nigeria does not come to this discussion as a supplicant. We come as a nation that has taken painful, homegrown decisions to put our house in order — removing fuel subsidies, unifying our exchange rate, recapitalising our banking system with over US$3.4 billion, and exiting the FATF grey list,” the Nigerian leader stated.
According to him, these reforms were sovereign choices, not external conditions, pointing out that they have delivered a declining debt-to-GDP ratio, now projected at 32.3 per cent in 2026.
Besides, he noted that the reforms have delivered stronger external reserves of $45.5 billion, and a return of investor confidence, but explained that even a reforming nation like Nigeria is being forced to de-industrialise by a financial system that is stacked against it.
Tinubu added that in 2026, Nigeria will spend about US$11.6 billion on debt service — nearly half of projected revenue.
“Every single dollar that leaves our treasury to pay punitive interest rates is a dollar that did not go into our steel sector, our textile mills, our agro-processing plants, or our digital industries. It is a dollar that did not train a young Nigerian engineer or provide affordable power for our factories.
“Our industrial base is being starved of the blood it needs — long-term, affordable finance — while creditors and rating agencies treat African sovereigns as permanent high-risk borrowers, regardless of our fiscal performance.
“So, I ask this gathering: How can an African manufacturer compete with a competitor in Europe, Asia, or North America when the cost of borrowing in our nations is five to 10 times higher? How can we build cross-border industrial value chains under the African Continental Free Trade Area when our infrastructure projects face a financing gap deepened by the very institutions meant to bridge it?
“The answer is plain: we cannot. The international financial architecture, as currently constituted, is an instrument of industrial disarmament for Africa. Nigeria is not asking for charity. We are demanding a financial system that intentionally enables Africa to industrialise — to process its own minerals, refine its own crude oil, manufacture its own pharmaceuticals, and compete fairly in global markets.
“We will continue to borrow responsibly, but we insist that our creditworthiness be measured by our economic fundamentals and our industrial potential, not by outdated stereotypes,’’ he noted.
Besides, the president stated that immigration issues must be addressed by expanding safe, orderly, and legal pathways to improve security, adding that cooperation must address root causes in countries of origin.
“People who have jobs, security, and hope at home do not typically risk their lives in the back of a smuggler’s truck. That is why Nigeria has embedded migration management within our broader economic transformation agenda—removing fuel subsidies to invest in infrastructure, recapitalising banks to fund enterprise, and modernising agriculture to create rural livelihoods, among other initiatives.
“But we cannot do it alone. International partners must move beyond rhetoric and match words with investments that make staying at home a genuine choice—investments in climate adaptation, energy access, digital skills, and the productive sectors that employ young people.
“As we intensify the implementation of these domestic measures, I therefore call on our development partners to ring-fence a portion of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for programmes that demonstrably reduce the desperation that fuels irregular migration,’’ he stated.
On Nigeria’s position on peace and security, Tinubu urged African countries to work together in building a global migration governance architecture that is fit for purpose.
The president also highlighted Nigeria’s potential in the blue economy as one of the cornerstones of Africa’s development. Governments and the business community had long neglected this potential due to insecurity and uncertainty.
He stressed that Nigeria’s maritime sovereignty and ocean governance are the non-negotiable foundations of Africa’s Blue Economy transformation.
“We will continue to earn that sovereignty — through institutions, through assets, through law, and through iron-clad regional solidarity that turns our waters from a theatre of risk into a story of shared resilience,” he emphasised.
Tinubu also welcomed the outcomes of the 10th France-Nigeria Business Council Meeting, held at the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, describing them as a clear signal that Nigeria and France are moving from dialogue to delivery.
With trade between both countries reaching $4.7 billion in 2025 and Nigeria remaining the top destination for French investment in sub-Saharan Africa, the president said the relationship now carries real economic weight and must be translated into more jobs, industries, infrastructure, and shared prosperity.
The meeting, which was also attended by Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, and France’s Minister Delegate, Nicolas Forissier, saw leading Nigerian and French businesses provide updates on key projects and commit to further expanding collaboration between both countries.
Tinubu, at the summit, commended the current Chairman of the France-Nigeria Business Council, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, for convening a productive session that brought together leading Nigerian and French private-sector players.
The president also acknowledged the participation of Aliko Dangote, Abdul Samad Rabiu, Tony Elumelu, Wale Tinubu, Kola Karim, Kashim Bukar, Patrick Pouyanné of TotalEnergies, Rodolphe Saadé of CMA CGM, Danone, Accor, and other partners, whose presence he said reflected growing confidence in Nigeria’s reform direction and long-term competitiveness.
Tinubu particularly welcomed the signing between Accor and Shoreline Group for Nigeria’s first national hotel platform, describing it as a major vote of confidence in Nigeria’s hospitality, tourism, services and investment future.
On the sidelines of the summit, Tinubu held bilateral engagements with the President of Madagascar, Col. Michael Randrianirina, as both leaders explored avenues for strengthening diplomatic and economic cooperation between Nigeria and Madagascar.
Speaking during the meeting, the president reiterated the need for stronger intra-African collaboration and strategic partnerships capable of accelerating economic growth, expanding trade opportunities, and promoting innovation-driven development across the continent.
Highpoints of the bilateral meeting included emphasis on the need for stronger continental cooperation as both leaders discussed ways to deepen Nigeria-Madagascar ties as part of broader African cooperation. The focus was on leveraging the summit platform to advance intra-African partnerships.
The talks also centred on economic growth, sustainable development, and exploring new avenues for trade and investment between the two countries.
The meeting between the two leaders was framed as part of Nigeria’s commitment to building strategic alliances across Africa and advancing its leadership role in shaping the continent’s future.
Also, Tinubu met with Confederation of African Football (CAF) President, Patrice Motsepe, on the sidelines of the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya.
On its verified X handle, CAF yesterday, disclosed that its president discussed with the Nigerian president on ways to strengthen collaboration between governments, the football ecosystem, and the private sector to drive development initiatives in Nigeria and across the African continent.
It wrote: “CAF President, Dr. Patrice Motsepe and the Nigerian Head of State, His Excellency Bola Tinubu, met today on the sidelines of the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi. They discussed several topics, particularly cooperation between the government, football, and the private sector in Nigeria and in Africa.”
Tinubu was accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole and Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani.
Chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote; Chairman of BUA, Abdulsamad Rabiu; Chairman of the UBA Group, Tony Elumelu; and Chairman of Access Holdings Plc, Aig-Imoukhuede, attended the summit.
Others were the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPCO), Aisha Rimi; the Minister of State designate for Foreign Affairs, Sola Enikanolaiye; the Director General of the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC), Mrs Omotenioye Majekodunmi; and the Nigerian Ambassador to France, Ayodele Oke and Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mohammed Mohammed.
In his remarks at the summit, Kenya’s Ruto declared that African nations no longer want aid from Europe or any global funding institutions, insisting instead on investment, fair trade, and equal partnerships that will unlock the continent’s vast economic potential and drive sustainable development.
Speaking at the official opening of the summit, Ruto stressed that Africa wants investment and equal partnership, not aid. According to him, the continent was tired of one-sided relationships and was ready for African-led economic transformation.
The Kenyan president also pushed for reform of the international financial architecture so that Africa would no longer be penalised with high borrowing costs. He argued that credit rating agencies overstate Africa’s risk, driving up interest rates.
Setting the summit tone, Ruto described the summit with the theme: “Africa-France Partnerships for Innovation and Growth” as a turning point toward a better partnership with France.
Ruto also welcomed the 30 heads of state and framed Africa as a “continent of solutions” capable of driving innovation and industrialisation, not just receiving aid.
Also, in his speech as co-host of the Summit, Macron canvassed “strategic autonomy” for Africa and Europe, saying both continents face the same challenge of reducing dependence on the US and China for technology, AI, and critical minerals.
He said: “A lot of solutions are made in the US or made in China… we have a common fight, a common battle together to build our strategic autonomy for Europe and Africa.”
Macron stressed that AI and digital growth can’t happen without energy, calling for more investment in renewables and grid capacity.
On youth and digital skills, the French president announced plans to expand ‘Orange Digital Centres’ to train one million young Africans by 2030 through 50 new centres.
Emphasising on moving past the old relationship, Macron reiterated that the Françafrique model is over. According to him: “Previously European chiefs would lecture African leaders on what they needed, but this is no longer what Africa needs or wants to hear.”
He also said colonialism can’t explain all of Africa’s current challenges, and called on African leaders to improve governance. He also commented on cultural restitution declaring that the return of looted African artworks remains “unstoppable,” referencing a new French law passed days before the summit.
Macron told the African leaders that France is a co-investor in Africa’s tech and energy future, not a donor.
In his goodwill message, United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, called for reform of global institutions saying, “we live in a situation that is deeply unfair,” pointing to high borrowing costs for African countries despite strong potential.
He pushed for permanent African seats on the UN Security Council, adding for emphasis that, “There will be no justice before there will be permanent African members in the Security Council.”
According to him, the lack of African representation on the United Nations Security Council is a “historic injustice”. On finance and climate justice, Guterres expressed concern at Africa being labeled “high-risk”, which drives up borrowing costs.
He stated that climate-vulnerable African countries are “still waiting for the support they were promised,” while calling for deeper reforms to the international financial architecture and more investment on fair terms.
Commenting on the issue of peace and Sudan, the UN scribe flagged the worsening crisis in Sudan, saying civilians are paying “an unconscionable price” and called for an immediate ceasefire and Sudanese-led civilian transition.
Guterres used the summit to link Africa’s economic potential with the need to fix an “80-year-old” global system that excludes Africa from decision-making. He said his message at the summit would focus on multilateral reform and strengthening UN-AU partnership.
