Human rights lawyer and politician Omoyele Sowore has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s ongoing trip to the United Kingdom, claiming that Nigerian musicians generate more economic value from their visits abroad than the president’s official travels.
Sowore, who spoke during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday, described the trip as a “diplomatic excursion” that offers little tangible benefit to Nigeria.
“These visits are nothing more than diplomatic excursions. Perhaps the president will also see his doctors; he has not travelled in about a month,” Sowore said.
“I’m just saying, beyond the fanfare you are seeing on TV, it’s not bringing anything to Nigeria that Nigeria cannot get or should not have. That’s the point I’m making, and we are just deceiving ourselves all the time by saying this time we travel.”
President Tinubu is currently in the UK on what is regarded as the first official visit by a Nigerian leader to the country in decades. His administration has maintained that such foreign engagements are aimed at attracting investments.
However, Sowore, who was the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress in the 2023 election, argued that the trips have not translated into measurable economic gains for the country.
He insisted that no “single dime” had accrued to Nigeria as a result of the president’s foreign travels, describing them as costly ventures that amount to “just burning fuel in the air with our aircraft”.
“The cost of these travels is far more at the end, outweighing whatever we come from the so-called investment they claim is going to happen,” he said.
“If you have it right, investors will come to your country. You don’t need to travel,” he added.
According to him, Nigerian entertainers often deliver greater economic value during their international tours.
“Sometimes, some of these our musicians who go and perform in the UK bring more money into the country than when the president travels to the UK or anywhere,” he said.
Tinubu is expected to meet King Charles III during the visit, which is described as the first state engagement of its kind in nearly four decades.
Since assuming office in 2023, the Nigerian leader has embarked on several foreign trips, while the United Kingdom remains one of Nigeria’s key partners in trade, defence and development cooperation. London is also home to a large Nigerian diaspora community.
President Tinubu and his wife, Oluremi Tinubu, arrived at Stansted Airport in London on Tuesday.
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