Being text of the speech by Alhaji (Dr.) Umaru Kwairanga, Group Chairman of NGX at the Nigeria Infrastructure Investment Forum at Standard Bank International Headquarters London on Thursday 19th March 2026.
I join my President, His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR and the Honourable Minister for industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, OFR in welcoming you all to this discussion on infrastructure investment in Nigeria.
We are here to sell the advantages and promise of investing in Africa and more specifically, Nigeria. That pitch is based on two pillars right now. Nigeria is blessed with abundant natural resources- vast, verdant, fertile land for agriculture; abundant mineral resources including rare earth minerals; a climate that is friendly and welcoming all year round.
Secondly, Nigeria has the human resources. More than half of its population is under thirty and a large proportion of that population is highly educated and hardworking. These two pillars stand Nigeria and Africa to be the growth engine of the twenty first century but we need a third pillar to make the tripod complete.
That third pillar is world class infrastructure. Nigeria needs to overhaul its roads, ports, electricity networks, rail lines and so much more to compete globally and achieve its potentials and for that, it requires huge infrastructure investment.
We are not asking for freebies. An investment in Africa and more specifically, Nigeria now is akin to an investment in China in the 1980s. It will be repaid many fold when the right mix of abundant natural resources, ample human resources and excellent infrastructure ignites and our economy starts growing in double digits.
Putting all these together requires the right leadership and a regulatory system that is structured to optimise performance and we are lucky to have finally found that in the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Mr. President and his team have spent the last three years working on fundamental and structural issues that have long held back Nigeria’s potential and I am happy to see that those reforms, painful though they have been, are beginning to have positive results for Nigerians and investors in Nigeria. There is purpose, there is clarity, there is direction.
I, therefore, invite you to be part of the turnaround story of Nigeria, Africa and the world’s next economic powerhouse.
Thank you.
Alhaji (Dr) Umaru Kwairanga
Chairman
Nigeria Exchange Group
