Human rights activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s ongoing state visit to the United Kingdom, describing it as a “diplomatic excursion” that delivers little tangible benefit to Nigeria.
Speaking in a televised interview on Wednesday, Sowore argued that despite the high-profile nature of the trip, there is scant evidence that such foreign visits translate into meaningful economic gains for the country.
“These visits are nothing more than diplomatic excursions,” Sowore said. “Beyond the fanfare on television, they are not bringing anything to Nigeria that we cannot already secure or should not ordinarily have.”
The African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate in the 2023 election questioned the justification for repeated presidential foreign trips, suggesting that Nigeria continues to spend heavily on international travel with limited returns.
President Tinubu is in the UK for Nigeria’s first formal state visit to Britain in nearly four decades and is expected to meet King Charles III as part of a programme aimed at strengthening bilateral ties.
The Nigerian government has maintained that such trips are intended to attract foreign investment, deepen trade partnerships, and advance strategic cooperation.
However, Sowore insisted that past visits have not yielded measurable economic benefits.
“Not a single dime has come into the country because of these trips,” he said. “The cost of these travels often outweighs any claimed investment.”
He added that countries with stable policies and strong institutions naturally attract investors without the need for constant official travel.
“If you get your fundamentals right, investors will come. You don’t need to travel everywhere to convince them,” Sowore said.
He also contrasted the economic impact of presidential trips with that of Nigeria’s entertainment sector, noting that musicians performing abroad often generate more direct revenue than official state visits.
“Sometimes our musicians abroad bring more money into the country than when the president travels to the UK or elsewhere,” he said.
President Tinubu and First Lady Oluremi Tinubu arrived in London on Tuesday via Stansted Airport. The visit will include high-level meetings on trade, strategic partnerships, and diaspora engagement, highlighting the long-standing ties between Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
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