Nigeria’s image at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) suffered a blow yesterday after its booth was left unmanned on opening day, sparking outrage, ridicule and citizen intervention, and fuelling criticism of government inefficiency on the global stage.
While other African countries actively engaged delegates, no government officials were found around Nigeria’s booth, a situation that generated concerns among some private sector participants from the country, who stepped in to prevent further embarrassment.
The Interim National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Bolaji Abdullahi, criticised the Federal Government over Nigeria’s poor representation.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Abdullahi said: “The APC government’s incompetence has followed the President to Japan. The President travelled with a large entourage, yet there was no one at the Nigerian booth.
“After this jamboree, who will follow up to ensure that Nigeria actually benefits from #TICAD9? When we asked them to appoint ambassadors, they went ahead and appointed KWAM 1. Nigerians, this is what ‘anyhowness’ looks like.”
For his part, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, in a statement, described the incident as “an ongoing show of shame,” noting that the absence of officials at such a critical international investment forum was a reflection of poor governance.
“Just like the ongoing show of shame at the empty Nigerian booth in faraway Japan, two years into this administration, we are probably waiting for an official inauguration or preferably an ‘unveiling’ of Renewed Hope before Nigerians can experience good governance,” Atiku said.
Since its launch in 1993, TICAD has served as a platform for Japan, Africa and other international partners to shape Africa’s development agenda. This year’s conference runs between August 20 and 22 in Yokohama City, with African governments, businesses and civil society groups in attendance.
