Nigerians react as officials abandon exhibition booth at TICAD9 in Japan

Some Nigerian officials have come under fire on social media after leaving the country’s exhibition booth unattended at the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) in Japan.

Despite the presence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the summit, the booth meant to showcase Nigeria’s innovations and opportunities was deserted, sparking outrage among Nigerians online.

A participant at the summit, Idris Ayodeji Bello, shared photos and videos on X, revealing that he had to “unofficially” take over the booth. Dressed in his traditional attire, he engaged curious visitors who stopped by, noting that Nigerian officials were nowhere in sight.

Bello stated, “I hate to show negative things about Nigeria but it is sad that Nigeria is the only unmanned booth at TICAD9 in Japan. Upon all the folks who probably got estacode for coming to Japan.

“So ashamed I have now designated myself as Honorary Consul and taken over the booth to engage visitors.

“It’s been a few hours now fielding questions and inquiries on all topics under the sun from crops to real estate to wigs to chemicals to LnG to sports.”

“Thank God for residual knowledge from the life of an Afropreneur. Even had to do an interview with NikkeiAsia on why Nigeria is the choice partner for Japan in the light of the Trump administration’s trade wars,” he added.

Reacting, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed the claims, insisting the booth had “not yet been opened” and would only be officially inaugurated on Thursday.

In a post via X, the ministry said: “Contrary to a tweet made by a participant at TICAD, the Nigerian Booth at #TICAD9 has not yet been opened.

“The booth will be officially inaugurated on Thursday, 21st August 2025, after which it will become fully operational and serve the delegates of TICAD.”

Meanwhile, the incident has drawn attention to Nigeria’s coordination at international events.

Below are some comments on social media:

@donteddy15: “When we say this government is confused and less knowledgeable, una go come after person. Do you even know that, alot of our embassy staffs abroad are owed salaries and allowances? Yet they want to increase politicians e earnings. Confused government 😕”

@Ifeora9∅: “International embarrassment, let’s continue to do bigotry,we will get to the level of developed countries by magic. Ndi uchu”

@ClintonOmeri: “Bwala @BwalaDaniel posted a video of Bola in Japan, so where is he and his team. Where did they go with Airforce 1? What is this international embarrassment Nigeria 🇳🇬 is getting on a daily basis?”

@AdolphusOb76∅4∅: “They’re busy preparing for the 2027 election when the masses are hungry.”

@Aminusaid_: “I can imagine how embarrassing it will be,no disrespect sir,but I think this will not be a big surprise for you being a Nigerian.”

TICAD9, co-hosted by the Japanese government, the United Nations, the African Union Commission, and the World Bank, provides a platform to strengthen development partnerships between Japan and African nations.