President Bola Tinubu set off on June 28, 2025 for what his office billed a historic two‑nation trip: a state visit to Saint Lucia followed by attendance at the BRICS summit in Brazil.
The presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, said the mission was to “deepen Nigeria’s engagement with Caribbean nations” and boost South‑South cooperation. In St. Lucia, Tinubu was to address a joint session of parliament, meet regional leaders and the local Nigerian community, and explore economic and cultural ties (Saint Lucia’s prime minister even praised Nigeria’s shared African heritage).
Almost immediately, the trip drew fire at home, as opposition leader Peter Obi denounced it as “ill-timed and insensitive.” Obi asked: how could the President contemplate a “leisure trip” when millions of Nigerians face hunger, insecurity and flood devastation?
“I didn’t want to believe that anybody in the position of authority… would contemplate a leisure trip at this time,” he said. He pointed out that Nigeria is suffering its worst violence and poverty: “Nigeria ranks among the most insecure places in the world. Nigerians are hungrier, and most people do not know where their next meal will come from”. Obi even cited the official itinerary as St. Lucia’s prime minister had previously announced that only “two of these days” would be official, with the rest “set aside as a personal vacation”.
Shocked, he quipped that the President had “just come back from a holiday in Lagos” and lamented that Tinubu had skipped tragedy sites in Niger and Benue states, calling those visits “political jamborees” rather than true relief efforts.
The Presidency swiftly pushed back against these remarks. Onanuga’s statement described the criticism as “misguided, mischievous and uninformed,” emphasising that Saint Lucia, as the headquarters of the Eastern Caribbean and a gateway to 15 CARICOM countries, was a strategic choice. He noted that Saint Lucia shares deep cultural and ancestral ties with Nigeria, and that Afrobeat music and other Nigerian cultural exports already pulse through Gros Islet and beyond.
The office insisted that Tinubu’s visit fit Nigeria’s “Four D’s” foreign policy (Democracy, Development, Diaspora, Demography) and aligned with the African Union’s agenda for the diaspora. The White House of Saint Lucia even hosted Tinubu’s address, affirming he was a “fighter for democracy”, welcomed like Nelson Mandela was 27 years earlier.
In a press briefing, Onanuga quoted historical links from a Saint Lucian‑born Chief Justice of Nigeria in the 1970s to architects of the Central Bank, to underline mutual respect. On social media, senior aide, Otega Ogra, mocked Obi on X, writing: “To him it is a ‘holiday’. To those in the know of geopolitics… it is a masterstroke”.
Further justifying his travels, Tinubu’s team pressed the diplomatic case. He addressed parliament and framed the visit as part of “Nigeria’s renewed commitment to re-engage with these enduring ties,” proudly saying Nigeria’s foreign policy is “unapologetically Afrocentric”. He pledged full scholarships for Eastern Caribbean (OECS) students in Nigeria and spoke of joint initiatives in education, climate and agriculture.
President Tinubu proposed a visa waiver for OECS officials and even quoted Pan‑Africanist Marcus Garvey, saying: “If you want to go far, go together”. Later, he toured a community college and hosted a meet‑and‑greet for the Nigerian diaspora, underscoring the people‑to‑people angle.
From St. Lucia, Tinubu flew to Rio de Janeiro from July 6–7th for the 17th BRICS Summit. As Nigeria’s first trip as a BRICS partner country, he used the platform to advocate for global reform. Press reports say he urged “urgent reforms to global systems” and called for fairer financial and healthcare structures for Africa. He stressed that Nigeria “strongly believes in South-South cooperation” and must not be passive in debates over debt forgiveness, climate change and development. In short, he aligned with a Global South agenda and repeated that Nigeria will help shape a new, more equitable world order.
Back home, however, the fallout continued. Days after Tinubu’s return, Nigeria was surprisingly left off a U.S.‑hosted Africa summit in Washington. Opposition leaders (the newly‑formed ADC) denounced this “damning” snub as evidence of Nigeria’s slipping global stature under Tinubu. Complicating matters, in mid‑July, the U.S. abruptly cut the validity of Nigerian visas to 3 months single‑entry, prompting Nigeria’s foreign ministry to lodge protests.
These events strengthened the narrative that Tinubu’s global diplomacy was on shaky ground, even as his supporters pointed to tangible progress in ties and scholarships.
After two weeks abroad, assessments remain mixed. Supporters note that Tinubu’s engagements, from parliamentary speeches to diaspora outreach, show his Afroc‑centric vision for Nigeria’s role in the world. Yet sceptics argue that the optics were poor given Nigeria’s internal trials and struggles.
In the end, Tinubu’s Saint Lucia mission rather than boost credibility of his leadership, only shines a light on the tension in his leadership. to simply state, it is a push to elevate Nigeria on the world stage, and a countercharge to remain firmly grounded in solving problems at home. Only time will tell whether this delicate balance pays diplomatic dividends or compounds domestic discontent.
