SOWORE CRITICIZES TINUBU’S UK VISIT, CALLS IT A ‘DIPLOMATIC EXCURSION’ WITH LIMITED BENEFIT TO NIGERIA

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By: Muftau Fatimo

Human rights lawyer Omoyele Sowore has described President Bola Tinubu’s visit to the UK as a “diplomatic excursion,” asserting that it brings no tangible benefit to Nigeria.

President Bola Tinubu is currently in the UK, marking the first official visit by a Nigerian leader to the country in decades. However, Omoyele Sowore, the 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), has questioned the value of the trip.

“These visits are nothing more than diplomatic excursions. Perhaps the president will also see his doctors, as he hasn’t traveled in about a month,” Sowore said during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday.

“I’m simply saying that beyond the fanfare you see on TV, this trip is not bringing anything to Nigeria that the country cannot achieve otherwise. We keep deceiving ourselves by thinking that every trip automatically yields benefits,” he added.

Since assuming office in 2023, President Tinubu has undertaken several foreign trips, which his administration says are intended to attract investment to Nigeria.

However, Sowore, one of the president’s fiercest critics, argues that no “single dime” has come to the country due to these foreign trips

He believes the trips are a waste and that Nigeria is “just burning fuel in the air with our aircraft”.

“The cost of these presidential trips often outweighs any so-called investment returns they claim will materialize,” Sowore said during the breakfast show.

“If your country’s policies and environment are right, investors will come without the need for foreign travel,” he added.

He further noted that musicians and other artists often generate more economic value for the country through their international tours.

“Sometimes, Nigerian musicians performing in the UK bring in more revenue for the country than the president’s trips to the UK or elsewhere,” he said.

President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to meet King Charles III during Nigeria’s first state visit to the UK in nearly 40 years.

Although Tinubu has visited Britain several times since assuming office, the two nations continue to maintain strong ties in trade, aid, and defense. London is also home to a large Nigerian diaspora.

The president, accompanied by his wife, Oluremi Tinubu, arrived in London on Tuesday at Stansted Airport.