Opinion
By Steve Nwabuko
THE ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos is an annual routine global gathering of the world’s economic, investment, production and technology experts to showcase latest global inventory of expertise, discoveries, knowledge, solution packages, multilateral and bilateral partnership compositions.
World Economic Forum is for leadership appurtenances that creatively drive countries and organisations to growth and development and a one-stop-supermarket to sign and close new deals, negotiate new synergies, entreat collaborations, combinations and cooperation, open networks to access global economic contacts for trans continental affiliations and digins.
World Economic Forum is the gathering of global leaders of industries Scientific, Political, Technological, and creative minds that holds the world in awe of new things, thinking, patterns and pathways of survival backups for lifting countries out of the throes of decadence self inflicted debt traps.
There are two major events where global leaders gather and share common platform for national expressions and these are:
United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
World Economic Forum (WEF).
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made a great debut appearance at the 72nd Edition of UNGA 2024, In New York, USA in November 2024, which is largely a forum for political and peace reportage for documentation purposes by the United Nations General Assembly.
What would have been President Tinubu’s second global appearance is the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos that he disappointingly chose to skip and sent the Vice President of Nigeria in his stead and failed to personally present his his Diplomatic Economic Package called Tinubunomics at the world stage.
Nigeria is carrying a debt burden in excess of eighty seven trillion naira, a confirmed 35% unemployment figure, over one hundred and forty million multi dimensionally poor citizens across all strata, inflation rate in excess of 28%, insecurity is at feverish levels and Nigerians are groaning over subsidy withdrawal without adequate palliatives to cushion the pains of national economic mismanagement.
Nigeria is faced with problems of oil theft, solid minerals theft, foreign exchange crises, energy crises, food security crises, education crises, health crises, capacity underutilisation and gross infrastructure deficits that requires President Tinubu to stand and speak to world leaders for their support in ameliorating the myriad problems facing Nigeria.
The World Economic Forum is host to global institutions like Wold Trade Organisation where Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala holds sway, African Development Bank, where Dr Akinwumi Adesina is chief pilot, AfriExim Bank, where Professor Benedict Oramah is the Chief sailor, global rating agencies like Fitch and Fitch, J.P Morgan, International Finance Corporation are clients looking for country leaders to sign up deals with or recommend them to global economic empowerment gateways.
World Economic Forum 2024 would have been a great occasion for President Tinubu to snatch global attention, grab the klieg lights of global corporations and big ticket investors and run with renewed hope of global support profiles with the accompaniment of Nigerians sitting atop global financial institutions.
It is disheartening that President Tinubu was present at smaller bilateral conferences like G20 meeting in India, Africa summit in China, another second rate conference in United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia but bowed out without cogent reasons from the greatest economic gathering on earth in World Economic Forum ongoing in Davos, Switzerland.
The implications of President Tinubu’s absence from World Economic Forum 2024 is that Nigeria will spend more money to fund President Tinubu’s official tours to some selected countries in the world that he failed to meet at the 2024 edition of the World Economic Forum at tax payers expense.
Sending the Vice President to represent the President in the World Economic Forum is a tacit way of telling the world that Nigeria can handle her economic problems without seeking global networks and synergies.
The Vice President’s representation is half cup content of a thirsty country needing an ocean of water to quench it’s drought.
The difference between the President and Vice President is in commitment, assurances, accuracy, authority, dependability and finality.
The international community is less enchanted dealing with delegated authority or power of attorney that the Vice President wields in this occasion.
The currency of international economic diplomacy is couched in Presidential exacerbation.
God bless Nigeria.
A.
Tags: Steve Nwabuko World Economic Forum 2024
