‘Nigeria Is China in the 1980s’: NGX Chairman Tells Global Investors Time to Buy Is Now

Umaru Kwairanga, chairman of the Nigerian Exchange Group, has urged global investors to move decisively into Nigeria, likening the country’s current moment to China on the eve of its economic take-off in the 1980s.

Speaking on Thursday at the Nigeria Investment Forum 2026, convened by the Consulate General of Nigeria in New York, Kwairanga told an audience of institutional investors, diplomats, development finance institutions and business leaders that Nigeria’s long-standing image problem was giving way to a new reality.

“The story about Nigeria used to be one of immense potential with rudderless leadership, but that is changing,” he said, pointing to a stable democracy and what he described as a “business-minded leadership” committed to the private sector and open to foreign investment.

He recalled his previous appearance in New York two years ago alongside President Bola Tinubu, when Nigeria set out its reform agenda. Those measures — the removal of fuel subsidies, the scrapping of parallel exchange rate regimes, tighter monetary policy and an overhauled tax regime — have since improved macroeconomic conditions and the operating environment for businesses of all sizes, he said.

The knock-on effect, he noted, has been felt most visibly in the capital market, which has recorded double-digit growth every year since 2023. He argued that Nigeria’s country risk profile is “considerably lower than it was three years ago,” while available returns remain among the highest globally and, in his words, sustainable.

Kwairanga said NGX has expanded market capitalisation, trading volumes and values in recent years, while onboarding millions of new investors through trading licence holders and digital platforms such as NGX Invest, a portal for primary offers.

He singled out the ongoing Dangote Refinery Initial Public Offer, which he said is setting continental records for both capital raised and number of subscribers — evidence, he argued, that the Exchange has proved itself a robust platform for large-scale capital raising.

For venture capital, private equity and institutional investors, Kwairanga flagged infrastructure financing, solid minerals, large-scale agriculture, fintech and tourism. Individual investors, he said, can access more than 300 securities listed on the Exchange’s premium and main boards, supported by over 150 active trading licence holders staffed by experienced professionals.

He added that desk officers at the Exchange are available to field investor questions and connect them with trusted local partners, with a list of licensed firms published on the NGX Group website.

“Capital moves towards opportunity, but it remains where investors have confidence in the institutions and systems supporting their investments,” he said, citing sound regulation, credible governance, transparency and market integrity as the pillars of that confidence.

A strong capital market, he added, is not an end in itself but a means to growth, productive savings, financed infrastructure, broader ownership and wider economic opportunity.

“Nigeria is akin to China in the 1980s, a giant that is about to unleash its full potential,” Kwairanga said. “I invite you to take the right step and invest in Nigeria at the best time. That time is now.”