Nigerian president Bola Tinubu not first African leader to ring NASDAQ closing bell
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on September 26, 2023 at 12:03
- 4 min read
- By Tonye BAKARE, AFP Nigeria
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“The National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotation System (NASDAQ), on Wednesday in the world's financial capital, invited President Tinubu to ring the closing bell, making him the first African President to ever receive the honour,” reads a line from a statement signed by Ngelale.
The statement was published on X (formerly Twitter) and on the Nigerian presidency’s website. It was also widely circulated in the Nigerian media.
Tinubu was in New York in mid-September 2023 to attend the 78th General Assembly of the United Nations (archived here).
NASDAQ said Tinubu was hosted at the stock exchange by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s U.S.- Africa Business Center and that the ceremony (archived here) symbolised the “significance of the economic ties between the United States and Nigeria.”
The Nigerian leader told the audience that the country was ready for investors and listed the reforms he said his administration had put in place since he came into power on May 29, 2023.
Despite the honour, though, Tinubu is not the first African leader to ring the NASDAQ closing bell.
Jakaya Kikwete in 2011
A keyword search for “Africa President NASDAQ closing bell” led to a statement published on NASDAQ’s website on September 20, 2011 (archive here).
The statement said the then Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete was scheduled to ring the closing bell on September 21, 2011 — exactly 12 years before Tinubu did.
A video published on YouTube by the American Cancer Society on September 22, 2011, showed Kikwete at the stock exchange ringing the bell (archived here).
The video’s caption explained that Kikwete was joined at the ceremony by first ladies and global leaders in women’s health.
The Tanzanian leader is seen walking to the stage at the 2’50” mark in the video after an introduction by NASDAQ’s vice president David Wicks.
Another YouTube channel called “leadersofTanzania” published the same footage on October 1, 2011 (archived here).
On September 23, 2011, a news blog published pictures of Kikwete and Wicks at the bell-ringing ceremony (archived here).
NASDAQ did not immediately respond to a request for comment and further information regarding African leaders who had rung the bell.
Apart from NASDAQ, world leaders have also rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the other main exchange in the US. Former Nigerian leader Goodluck Jonathan rang the closing bell at the NYSE on September 23, 2013 (archived here).
Retraction
The Nigerian presidency retracted the claim days after it was made, saying in an emailed statement to AFP Fact Check that the “misinformation” was regretted and was caused by a “third-party event organiser”.
“We have since found out that this information was/is incorrect as a former African leader has indeed had the privilege,” read the response dated September 22, 2023
Despite the retraction, the statement containing the misleading claims still appeared on the X account and website of the Nigerian government as of publication on September 26, 2023.
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