Mr. Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, has said that Nigeria went to the ongoing 9th Tokyo International Conference for Africa Development (TICAD) in Yokohama, Japan. He explained that the country was not in Tokyo to attend any trade expo.
Onanuga’s response is sequel to the swirling controversy over the empty Nigerian stand at the Trade Expo while other African countries were fully represented and active at the trade expo.
According to Onanuga, “the Nigerian official delegation working with Corporate Nigeria, represented by some of our leading business leaders, didn’t come to Yokohama and Tokyo to attend any Trade Expo, designed as an open forum for participating nations”
Onanuga further stated that the Nigerian ministers in the delegation “are busy with bilateral sideline discussions”, while President Tinubu will “lead meetings with the executives of Toyota Corporation, CFAO, UN-Habitat, UNDP and the International Finance Corporation”.
Onanuga berated the social media for misrepresenting facts. “Social media posts are often sensational and do not tell complete stories, just as the trending video does not capture Nigeria’s participation at TICAD-9. Our country is fully and well represented and part of the essential conversations and negotiations that are going on at TICAD-9.
However, the media is still agog with worries and many unanswered questions. Why is Nigeria’s stand at the Trade Expo completely empty while other African countries’ stands are fully manned and active, showcasing their various products? If Nigeria did not go to Japan to attend the Trade Expo, why was the Nigerian stand mounted at all? Does it mean that Nigeria has no products at all to exhibit at the Trade Expo? Did the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Investment not coordinate with the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) to showcase any Nigerian products at all at the Trade Expo?
These are some of the questions that were not answered in the explanations given by Mr. Bayo Onanuga.
- Alex Ekemenah
