Were I in President Tinubu's shoes, I would target specific countries with investment in particular industries as part of an ambitious plan to attract about $100bn in foreign direct investment in 2026

Ayo Akinfe

[1] Nigeria needs to attract at least $50bn in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2026 to avoid total economic collapse

[2] Where on earth we are going to get it from I do not know and I am surprised that nobody is even talking about it at the moment

[3] Waiting for investors to just come to Nigeria is utopian thinking. Nobody is going to just wake up and think of Nigeria. We need to be proactive when it comes to FDI

[4] We should be the ones aggressively pursuing investors, using our control of the Ecowas market as a unique selling point. President Tinubu should declare 2026 the Nigerian Year of FDI

[5] Nigeria can provide access to the West African sub-region’s markets to any investor. We need to leverage on this big time, offering access to 15 Ecowas member states for the price of one

[6] I look forward to the day when we will have a Monroe Doctrine in place that compels all investors to consult Nigeria whenever they venture into West Africa. Our goal should be - If you want access to the West African market, open a manufacturing facility in Nigeria

[7] Nigeria's message to the rest of the world in 2026 should be very simple - Invest in Nigeria and we will grant you access to the 350m Ecowas market. Companies who are serious with latch on to this opportunity

[8] If we could attract just $10bn worth of investment from several key origins just, imagine how many jobs it would create. I do not believe that asking say Nissan, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Honda, Suzuki and Mazda to float a Nigerian joint venture is asking a lot. What is $10bn investment to these companies together?

[9] Opening say a gearbox manufacturing plant in Nnewi a chassis facility in Nsukka and then maybe an assembly plant in Port Harcourt to churn out a unique Nigerian four-by-four vehicle would guarantee these automobile manufacturers bumper sales

[10] Plants manufacturing other automobile components could be opened up across the rest of West Africa in cities like Accra, Abidjan, Dakar, Monrovia, Conakry and Banjul

Here are certain key sectors I think President Tinubu should target for investment come 2026:

[1] Scandinavia - Railway construction

[2] Russia - Steel production

[3] Germany - Electricity generation and distribution

[4] Japan - Automobile manufacturing

[5] Australia - Solid mineral processing

[6] Canada - Livestock processing and animal feed compounding

[7] US - Food processing

[8] India - Pharmaceutical manufacturing

[9] China - Machine tool manufacturing

[10] Europe’s Low Countries - Household goods manufacturing

ayoakinfe@gmail.com