Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has urged international investors to look beyond the security challenges facing Nigeria, saying that the reported geopolitical risks were exaggerated, eroding foreign investors’ confidence in the country.
Speaking when he featured on CNN on Tuesday at the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Tuggar noted that incidents of insecurity being recorded across the country are “isolated cases” and not the reality across the country.
According to him, instability in the Sahel had spilled into Nigeria.
“We are urging investors to treat us the same way they treat other countries. The fact that there were isolated incidents in some places in the country does not mean that it’s the entire country.
“Conversations that are taking place here also have to do with risk buyers, where the issue of geopolitical risk, in particular, is over-hyped when it comes to Africa, which doesn’t apply in other parts of the world.
“It’s very important to see the conflict for what it is. It’s a regional conflict that has spilled over into Nigeria. It is not removed from the conflict in the Sahel. It’s not removed from what happened in Libya many years ago,” he said.
“It’s not removed from the proliferation of weaponry, of fighters, and climate change issues, and so many other complex issues.”
Tuggar said the government is working with international partners, including the United States, to target bandits and terrorist groups in their hideouts.
The minister also said Nigeria is actively engaging investors and pushing back against an exaggerated risk narrative around Nigeria’s economy.