By Ayodele Johnson

After addressing world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, it was off to Nasdaq Marketsite next for President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria. Over there at Times Square, he had the honour of a historic visit to the second-largest stock exchange in the United States of America.

The evening at Nasdaq started with President Tinubu’s introduction by Karen Snow, a top exec and the Global Head of Listings at the exchange. It was part of an annual tradition of hosting symbolic global voices a mile from the general assembly.

So many times has the Nigerian leader announced his appetite for driving investment to his financially strained country. Right there at the marketsite, his intention was reiterated once again.

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Having joined Snow at the podium alongside Scott Eisner, the President of the U.S.-Africa Business Centre, and also a Senior Vice President, at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, it was time to give a response to the glowing tribute he received earlier from the hostess, a reply that was rounded up to a speech touching on why investors should travel down to his country.

“Thank you very much, Scott. It is a great honour for me to be here.

“I am happy to bring Nigeria to your doorsteps and honoured that we are here today with a bubbly market that will evolve. In the West Africa sub-region, the greatest economy is Nigeria. There is immense opportunity in Nigeria that you can invest your money without fear.

“We have removed a lot of bottlenecks. We have cleared the oil subsidy that is corrupt, and we have also retooled the exchange rate to a reliable, dependable one-figure floating of the exchange Naira.

“You are free to take in your money and bring out your money. I count on you to invest in Nigeria.”

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Interesting speech, but many of the promises made by the president, especially when it concerns the confidence that willing investors should have about getting their money after investment, remain to be seen.

At the moment, foreign airlines operating in Nigeria are dealing with funds repatriation problems because of dwindling Forex in the country.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has a record of the amount owed to its members in the markets they are operating. Its figures show a sum of $812.2 million, mainly from ticket sales that have been trapped in the Nigerian market, which has brought about consequences like the scaling down of operations.

President Bola Tinubu should be looking at how to quickly clear the backlog and start on a clean slate. That’s what can guarantee the investors’ confidence he has been visualising.