You Aren’t A Tourist President, Obi Slams Tinubu For Incessant Travelling

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Peter Obi, former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), has slammed President Bola Tinubu for his planned trip to Japan and Brazil.

The African Examiner writes that on Thursday, Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy, announced that President Tinubu would embark on a two-nation trip, with a stopover in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), before heading to Japan.

It is worth recalling that President Tinubu has gone on lots of foreign trips to the UK, France and some other countries, since he was elected president in 2023.

Obi, reacting, stated that the frequent trip of the president reflects a troubling concern.

The former Anambra governor also disclosed that President Tinubu spent a week in Saint Lucia before the recent BRICS summit, where Nigeria participated only as an observer, despite the invitation being presented as a “partnership”.

“Amid the deplorable state of our nation in all ramifications, we have a virtually indifferent President who has continued to display insensitivity to our situation,” Obi writes on X.

“How can anyone explain that a President who came from Brazil recently and met with the President is returning to the same country, leaving the various degrees of challenges at home unresolved?

“The latest itinerary of the President shows he will depart Abuja on Thursday, August 14, for a two-nation trip to Japan and Brazil.

“The President will stop over in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, before proceeding to Japan.

“In Japan, President Tinubu will attend the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) in the city of Yokohama from August 20 to 22.

“The itinerary is silent on the President’s return date to his visibly troubled nation. The situation we find ourselves in is deeply worrisome.

“Our President, who has not found it worthy to visit any of our troubled states, takes joy in travelling to foreign countries at the slightest invitation or excuse, often departing several days before the events he’s invited to.”

According to Obi, Nigeria’s insecurity and economic distress have gotten to disturbing levels, and this has placed the country among the most insecure nations, most fragile economies and also hungriest countries in the world.

He disclosed that the president’s energy should be fixated on visiting communities back home, spending time on the ground and taking decisive steps to reduce the suffering of the people instead of travelling to “overseas conferences that contribute little or no tangible value to our nation’s woes”.

Obi also disclosed that if a foreign trip is necessary, it should be done within a few days, instead of engaging in “prolonged, unnecessary absences” in a country that needs constant leadership attention.

“What our nation needs now is the security of lives and property, economic stability, and ensuring that our people have food on their table,” he said.

He also pointed out that Tinubu’s “planned 12-day trip”, if truly necessary could have been shortened to five days since the event in Japan will begin on August 20.

“Nigeria today demands competent leadership with capacity and compassion to start dealing with the problems besetting it, with the presence and sacrifice required,” he added.

“Mr President must, as a matter of urgency, commence tours of our states with the same enthusiasm he shows for jetting out of the country every month. These visits will enable him to see, listen and learn more about what Nigerians are going through.

“Though Nigerians know our huge problems cannot be solved overnight, they want to see 100 per cent effort and tireless commitment to solving them.

“Most importantly, our President must know that he’s not a tourist, but the Chief Executive of a troubled nation, so he must have consciousness, strict work schedules and a strict travelling schedule to show that he has a troubled country to quickly return to.”

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