At World Economic Forum, Shettima Markets Nigeria, Africa as Investment Destination – THISDAYLIVE

•Says Africa has, indeed, woken up 

•Holds bilateral talks with Botswana president 

•Meets WTO DG, Okonjo-Iweala

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

Vice President Kashim Shettima has said serious investors can now take unfettered advantage of Nigeria’s growing investment climate to tap from the limitless opportunities in the country and the African continent.

Shettima spoke on Tuesday in Davos, Switzerland, during a forum, titled, “Roadmap to Co-create Investment Opportunities for Africa’s Frontier Markets,” at the ongoing annual meeting of the 2025 World Economic Forum (WEF).

At the session, which was co-chaired by Managing Director of WEF, Mirek Dusek, and Senior Vice President, African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, Marie-Laure Akin Olugbade, discussions focused on the Humanitarian and Resilience Investing Roadmap for Africa.

Shettima told the forum that the tales they heard about the country and the African continent as a whole were really not that of doom and gloom, as being painted by doomsday proponents.

The vice president, in a release by his media assistant, Stanley Nkwocha, stated that Nigeria was poised to invade the global business platform with modernisation and robust investments. He assured that President Bola Tinubu, a seasoned chartered accountant, was working to make Nigeria a key investment destination in Africa.

According to him, “For 20 years, I have been in the Nigerian banking industry. I was a general manager in Nigeria’s largest bank, Zenith Bank. I grew up in that ecosystem. The president himself is a seasoned chartered accountant. So, I believe that Nigeria is ready for business, Nigeria is ready to embrace the path of modernisation with very robust investment.”

Acknowledging, however, that the country might still have certain deficits, Shettima pointed out that Nigeria was looking up to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to address the challenges.

He stated, “We are having a huge deficit but we are looking forward to the AfCFTA, and that involves investing in infrastructure, for instance, the coastal highway from Calabar to Lagos is the largest single investment in Africa. We are building corridors to the north.

“We have the West African gas pipeline. We are thinking ahead of time akin to the Belt and Road Initiative. We are partnering with 14 African countries to invest in gas infrastructure down to Morocco.”

Shettima insisted that Africa was not all about tales of doom and gloom, maintaining that the continent has woken up from its slumber.

Likening Napoleon Bonaparte’s opinion about China to the case of Africa, the vice president said, “So, Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, the stories you hear about Africa are not that of doom and gloom. From DRC to Somalia, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Cote d’Ivoire, Africa is waking up from its slumber.

“I remember what Napoleon Bonaparte said about China. He said, ‘China is a sleeping giant but when she wakes up, she will rattle the world.’

“So, Africa has woken up and we will take our rightful place in the comity of nations because as I said earlier, the trajectory of global growth is facing Africa. We are the youngest continent.”

Borrowing a leaf, also, from the late Nigerian Head of State, General Murtala Mohammed, Shettima said Africa had come of age and could no longer be treated like an adolescent.

He said, “I want to quote Murtala Mohammed – a Nigerian military leader at an extraordinary summit of the OAU, about 50 years ago. He said, ‘Africa has come of age, it is no longer under the orbit of any extra-continental power, and it shall no longer take orders from any country, however powerful.”

Meanwhile, in a show of African leadership collaboration at the WEF in Davos, Nigeria’s vice president, on Tuesday, joined South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, as special guest of honour at a high-level briefing, following his earlier participation in the Africa Investment Forum.

Similarly, Shettima and President of Botswana, Duma Boko, on Tuesday held a bilateral meeting where areas of mutual interest between both countries were discussed.

The meeting, which took place on the side-lines of the WEF 2025, was part of Nigeria’s commitment to fostering stronger intra-African relations and economic cooperation.

Both leaders emphasised the importance of leveraging their countries’ strengths to promote mutual growth and development.

Shettima congratulated Boko on his election victory, and called for deeper partnerships among African nations.

During the meeting, Shettima welcomed Director General of World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and introduced her to the Botswana president.

The vice president commended Okonjo-Iweala’s exceptional achievements, describing her as one of Africa’s finest.

Areas of interest discussed between the two leaders included trade, investment and strengthening of diplomatic ties.

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