00:00good evening everyone it's absolutely fantastic to be with you all here today
00:13Anita Toki thank you so much for the invitation you are absolutely incredible people and I'm so
00:25blessed to have yours my friends taking all of these planes was nothing compared to the adventures
00:32and the projects and the changes we will make in the world in the future so thank you I was asked
00:43to talk about Nigeria 65 and my perspective as an outsider and I like to focus on the word outsider
00:53I'm not Nigerian I'm from Luxembourg and I see a lot in the news I know a lot from Anita but there's
01:03always that underlying unknown and so please take my keynote with a pinch of salt distinguished guests
01:14proud Nigerians fellow global citizens thank you for inviting me a Luxembourgish businesswoman to
01:25share in this significant moment as you mark 65 years of Nigerian independence I stand before you
01:34not as someone who knows all your stories I really do not not as someone who has lived your struggles
01:41but as someone who has watched with deep respect and growing conviction that the world has gotten your
01:49story wrong let me be clear from the start as I said I do not know all your stories but and definitely I've
02:02not navigated your 250 ethnic groups your languages your rich histories that exist long before colonial borders
02:11tried to contain them what I do know is business I know media I know diplomacy and from those vantage points
02:20I have seen something that troubles me deeply the gap between who you are and how you are betrayed
02:29in my research for today I came across words written by your literary giant
02:38Shinua Akebe in 1983 the trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership there's nothing
02:50basically wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything else you have a beautiful
02:59beautiful beautiful country what struck me about these words was not that they were critical but that
03:07they were spoken with such profound love only someone who believes deeply in a nation potentially the
03:17the nation's potential speaks this way almost like a parent to their child
03:24a baby refused to let Nigeria off the hook because he knew what she was capable of as an outsider looking in
03:38I see the truth in this observation your challenges have never been about capacity they have been about
03:46about quality of stewardship about systems about the courage to demand better from those who lead
03:53when I look at Nigeria and 2025 here's what I see I see 220 million people who create opportunity where others see only obstacles
04:07I see Afro beats dominating global charts and I love it your artists are not just making music they exporting culture shifting perceptions claiming space that was never freely given I see Nollywood the second largest film industry in the world by volume do you understand what that means you are telling your own story
04:36in your own words on your own words on your own terms that my friends is power I see tech innovations in Lagos in places like Yaba where fintech companies are solving payment challenges across the continent where startups attracting millions in venture capital this rivals anything I have seen in Berlin and Amsterdam I invest in companies all around the world
05:04I see fashion designers whose work race international runways and I was wearing tonight Tulu Bali which I absolutely loved absolutely amazing to work with her as well the love the drive just a vision to portray Nigerian excellence to the world it was an honor to wear her and everything she represents
05:34I see entrepreneurs I see entrepreneurs building solutions for African problems with African ingenuity but there is what there's something that frustrates me the world is not seeing what I see and that is not an accident
05:53in my years working in my years working in media advice vice media as director for EMEA in RTL the oldest news TV and journalism channel in the world and my work across boardrooms in Europe and Asia I have encountered the gatekeepers
06:15they sit in editorial meetings in London New York and Paris they control investment committees they shape policy in Brussels and Washington and many of them have a vested interest in keeping the narrative about Nigeria and Africa broadly frozen in a single story chaos corruption incapacity
06:37why because the narrative serves their interests when Nigeria is portrayed only through crisis it justifies extractive business practices it justifies unfair trade terms it keeps you positioned as recipients rather than partners as problems rather than competitors when your innovations are ignored when your success
07:07when your successes are treated as when your successes are treated as anomalies when you're potentially systematically underestimated that protects market share for those who fear what happens when you're fully awakened to your power
07:14I have sat in rooms where investment decisions about African ventures were made not unmarried but on outdated perceptions I have watched media outlets choose in which African stories to tell based on what confirms existing bias
07:36existing biases rather than what challenges them
07:43so this is not a conspiracy this is business as usual and it needs to be disrupted but I must also speak honestly about what I observe with humility knowing I see only from the outside
07:57outside I have four little points leadership I keep his words from 1983 still echo today the opportunity remains for leadership to become more synonymous with service with long-term vision with building institutions that outlast individual terms I have also read about leaders who embody this model
08:20Alex Ebro as described as described by those who knew him was a man who protected him to as so sorry Alex Ebro as described by those who knew him was a man who protected him to achieve the objective
08:48he had to set out to achieve his dedication to charity was worthy of emulation and he believed in justice and fairness this is the kind of leadership rooted in protection of purpose committed to others and unwavering principle that transforms nations number two you have over 250 ethnic groups that is mental
09:17mental amazing this should be your superpower in Luxembourg we have three official languages in a country smaller than many of your states and we have made multilingualism an economic advantage
09:34your diversity could be the same but only if you refuse to let it be weaponized against you
09:42three three infrastructure you cannot build a 21st century economy on infrastructures that do not support it we have heard panels today of people with amazing companies who are doing incredible things let's support them let's support each other let's support the local economy with entrepreneurs who are making Nigeria the Nigeria of tomorrow
10:09brain drain
10:10brain drain
10:11brain drain
10:12brain drain when I met young Nigerian in London Zurich New York and Anita knows that brilliant minds extraordinary talent I always ask why would you go back if the conditions were right
10:26always the answer is yes that tells me that the problem is solvable
10:34Last, it's kind of like the elephant in the room, and I wasn't sure if I should mention it, but Anita was like, Tessie, you must, because it's part of everything as well.
10:46It's part of everyone's story. We don't just have it here, we have it all over the world.
10:50We have it in Europe, we see it in France, we see it in Germany, we see it in the UK.
10:56Corruption. This is perhaps the hardest to discuss as an outsider, but I must.
11:02It's just corruption is not uniquely Nigerian, as I mentioned, and therefore, but its impact is magnified when resources are scared.
11:16It erodes trust, discourages investment, and punishes merit. Let's all work towards being better within that.
11:27So why am I here?
11:31When I spoke to Nigeria, when I spoke to Anita today, she said to me, you know, there's one question I want the speakers to answer.
11:39Why are you here?
11:41So I thought I added this.
11:43Well, as a Luxembourgish businesswoman, why do you care about the 65th anniversary of Nigeria?
11:51It's true. It's not really on the agenda of many people, but because I have learned that this is my journey from the military to diplomacy, to media, to business, and whatever I have done.
12:07Transformation happens when people stop accepting what diminishes them.
12:14I have seen it in my own country.
12:16Tiny Luxembourg became a financial powerhouse, not by accepting limitations, but by building systems that work.
12:23I have seen it in my humanitarian work. Communities transform when they take ownership of their own narratives and futures.
12:33And I see that same refusal to accept limitations in every Nigerian I meet.
12:39You do not need outsiders to save you. You need outsiders to get out of your way.
12:46And sometimes to call out a system that holds you back.
12:51There is wisdom in what Lady Maiden Ibra once said.
12:55Keep things simple. Elegance comes with simplicity.
13:01I love her.
13:03This amplifies not just to style, but to leadership, to governs, to the clarity of purpose,
13:15and nation needs. When systems become too complex, too opaque, too burdened by bureaucracy and self-interest,
13:24they fail the people they are meant to serve.
13:27Simplicity in vision, in execution, in accountability is revolutionary.
13:34To the Nigerians in this room, if I may, I do not know you.
13:41You are the inheritors of extraordinary potential. You are the architects of what comes next.
13:50Build it with the integrity your nation deserves. Build it with the innovation you have already proven you possess.
13:58Build it with the unshakable belief that you belong at every table.
14:04Do not wait for permission from gatekeepers who benefit from your exclusion. Build your own table.
14:13Do not wait for your leaders. History is watching.
14:20Your legacy will be measured not by what you have accumulated, but by what you build for those who come after you.
14:29As a mother of four, I do deeply resonate with that.
14:35To my fellow outsiders, investors here in the room, policy makers, media professionals, Nigeria is not a charity case.
14:44She is a partner, a competitor, a force. Engage with respect or step aside, because this giant is awakening.
14:54So, as a closing, I do not know all your stories, but I know enough to know this, Nigeria at 65 is not a conclusion, it is a prologue.
15:05The best chapters are yet to be written, and while I may be an outsider, I am honored to witness this moment and to stand in partnership as you write them.
15:16The trouble with Nigeria was never Nigeria. It was always about the gap between potential and performance.
15:23And that gap closes not through wishes, but through work and actions. Not through rhetoric, but through results. Not through blame, but through building.
15:36You have the talent. You have the tenacity. Now demand the leadership and system that match your potential. Thank you.
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