President Bola Tinubu has called for an overhaul of the global financial architecture, arguing that African countries are being unfairly penalised by dominant international credit rating agencies and forced to pay excessively high borrowing costs.

In a strongly worded opinion, Tinubu said Africa is “paying too much to borrow” because of what he described as a persistent “Africa premium” – the gap between how the continent is rated and the underlying strength and prospects of its economies.

He criticised the influence of the three major rating agencies – Fitch, Moody’s and S&P Global Ratings – saying their verdicts shape investor behaviour and access to capital, yet often misjudge African risk and overlook local realities.

Tinubu cited a United Nations Development Programme report estimating that quirks and biases in credit ratings cost African countries about $75bn each year in excess interest payments and lost lending opportunities. This, he argued, is happening even as the International Monetary Fund projects Africa to be the fastest-growing region in the world.

Only three African nations currently enjoy investment-grade status, a situation Tinubu said is at odds with reform efforts and growth potential across the continent. He warned that downgrades frequently become “self-fulfilling”, driving up borrowing costs, weakening public finances and deepening vulnerability.

He noted that commodity-dependent economies are often punished when global prices fall or financial conditions tighten, even where reserves and fiscal buffers remain relatively strong. Ratings, he argued, tend to amplify global market swings rather than reflect country-specific fundamentals.

As a corrective, Tinubu backed the creation of an African credit rating agency with a strong on-the-ground presence and a mandate to capture reform momentum in real time. Such a body, he said, could provide a more nuanced assessment of political risk, institutional strength and policy durability, while still meeting global standards of transparency and data quality.

Pointing to Nigeria, Tinubu said recent credit upgrades partly reflect improved data transparency, including the inclusion of central bank lending in official debt figures, GDP rebasing and more open budget reporting. He also highlighted policy shifts such as fuel subsidy removal and exchange-rate liberalisation, which he said have supported non-oil growth and diversification.

Yet, he maintained, Nigeria’s ratings still trail both reforms and investor appetite, noting that a recent dollar bond issuance was heavily oversubscribed. Across Africa, he added, upgrades come slowly while downgrades are swift, with smaller economies paying the highest price.

Tinubu argued that a credible African ratings agency would not replace global firms but complement them, offering early signals of progress and helping ensure African countries compete for capital on a genuinely level playing field.