**Positions Nigeria as gateway to Africa’s expanding AfCFTA market

***Seeks deeper BRICS partnerships in AI, fintech, digital infrastructure, cybersecurity, biotech

President Bola Tinubu has called for a fundamental overhaul of the global governance architecture and international financial system, declaring that the institutions shaping the world order must be reformed to reflect contemporary economic and demographic realities.

Tinubu made the call on Sunday while addressing the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi, India, in an address delivered on his behalf by Vice President Kashim Shettima.

The President said Nigeria supported a more representative, equitable and responsive international system, including reform of the United Nations Security Council and global financial institutions.

He said the transformation being championed by BRICS should extend beyond economic cooperation to the broader architecture of global governance.

“Nigeria supports a more representative, equitable and responsive global governance architecture, including reform of the United Nations Security Council and the international financial system.

“BRICS amplifies the voice of the Global South and advances a more inclusive international order, consistent with Nigeria’s call for institutions that reflect contemporary economic and demographic realities,” he said.

Against this backdrop, Tinubu called for a BRICS partnership focused on translating political commitments into tangible economic outcomes.

He said Nigeria sought “a BRICS partnership that moves from dialogue to delivery, from commitments to implementation, and from cooperation to measurable development outcomes.”

The President also used the summit to pitch Nigeria as a strategic destination for global investment, urging investors to see the country as a gateway to Africa’s rapidly expanding single market under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

He said Nigeria’s economic resilience strategy was anchored on building an economy capable of absorbing global shocks while creating sustainable opportunities for its citizens.

According to him, the objective is being pursued through reforms under his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda to strengthen macroeconomic stability, diversify production, raise productivity, expand infrastructure and human capital, attract investment, promote private-sector-led growth and deepen climate resilience.

“We welcome BRICS cooperation in trade, agriculture, food security, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, healthcare and critical minerals, especially partnerships that advance technology transfer, local value addition, industrial capacity and employment,” Tinubu said.

The President identified Nigeria’s youthful and dynamic population as a major economic asset, noting that the creativity and enterprise of young Nigerians were helping to drive the country’s innovation agenda.

He listed digital skills, entrepreneurship, research, artificial intelligence and technology-enabled businesses among key areas of investment, citing initiatives including 3MTT, Project BRIDGE and national AI programmes.

Tinubu said Nigeria was particularly interested in expanding cooperation with BRICS in emerging technologies and the digital economy.

“We welcome deeper BRICS cooperation in artificial intelligence, digital public infrastructure, fintech, telecommunications, cybersecurity, biotechnology and advanced manufacturing, because developing countries must produce technology, create knowledge and own intellectual property.

“A nation that owns no technology risks renting its future,” he warned.

He said Nigeria viewed its engagement with BRICS as a practical platform for expanding trade and investment, accelerating technology transfer and developing human capital.

According to him, cooperation should extend to infrastructure, connectivity, energy, agriculture, healthcare, education and industrialisation, supported by development finance.

“As Project BRIDGE expands broadband, fibre and digital public services, we seek an open, secure, and inclusive digital ecosystem that advances innovation, digital trade, responsible artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity,” he added.

On climate change, Tinubu said Nigeria’s sustainability strategy was designed to balance climate action with the development aspirations of emerging economies.

He reaffirmed Nigeria’s support for affordable climate finance, technology transfer and capacity-building for Africa, while identifying renewable energy, gas, clean technologies, climate-smart agriculture, sustainable infrastructure and responsible critical-mineral development as areas for expanded cooperation.

The President said climate responsibility must be harnessed to drive wider economic growth rather than constrain the development ambitions of emerging economies.

He expressed Nigeria’s readiness to contribute to a BRICS partnership resilient enough to withstand global shocks, innovative enough to embrace emerging opportunities, cooperative enough to advance shared prosperity and sustainable enough to protect future generations.

“Our partnerships must create jobs, expand trade, transfer technology, and strengthen our nations’ productive capacity.

“We must build a future in which Africa moves from the margins of global development to the frontiers of global growth and innovation,” he said.

Earlier, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while opening the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit, said confidence in BRICS among countries of the Global South had continued to grow because their voices were being heard, their experiences respected and solutions developed with them rather than for them.

Modi said the strength of BRICS lay in the diversity of its membership and its capacity for cooperation, stressing that the bloc was expanding participation beyond governments to entrepreneurs, farmers, researchers, women and young people.

“We may be rooted in different realities, but together, we rise through cooperation and blossom for humanity,” he said.

He said initiatives such as BRICS CONNECT, the BRICS MSME Cooperation Portal and the BRICS Urban Mobility Hub were aimed at promoting skills, employment, enterprise development and knowledge-sharing among member and partner countries.

The Indian Prime Minister also underscored the importance of balancing economic development with environmental responsibility, saying sustainability must remain central to BRICS cooperation in the interest of future generations.