Forgotten Dairies
The Implications Of Tinubu’s Wasteful Travels And Misadventure Abroad -By Hajia Hadiza Mohammed
When the British Prime Minister needs a break, he goes to the Chequers. When the American President needs a break, he goes to Camp David. When the French President needs a break he goes to Fort de Brégançon. And so are other world leaders in their country. There are many tourist destinations in Nigeria but Tinubu would not use any of them. So, how would Tinubu boost tourism in Nigeria that he does not believe in? He spent over N7 billion Naira to renovate the State House in Dodan Barracks, Lagos that he hardly uses.
Tinubu will go down in the political history of Nigeria as the president who breaks records in all negative directions. Apart from being the president with the most scandals, who has accumulated more foreign debts than anyone before him, he has proved himself to be the one with most wasteful overseas travels. In just three years in the saddle as president, he has spent over 261 days of the peoples’ days; that is over 20% of the time, outside the country. According to reports, the government expenditure on presidential trips and related travel expenses between June 2023 and April 2026 amounted to about ₦37.64 billion and all are at the expense of the tax-payers.
So, it is not surprising that Nigerian expressed outrage when on Sunday the 30th day of August, 2026 Tinubu again departed Nigeria for Europe on a three-week vacation especially as such travels are usually undertaken when there are burning issues at home to be attended to. In March this year when the nation was bewailing the mass massacre and abductions of defenseless citizens in the country, Tinubu jetted out of the country on a state visit to the UK. And just recently, exactly on the 21st of August, 2026 an estimated 600 people mostly women, children and the elderly were reportedly abducted during Juma’at prayers in Niger State only for Tinubu to take off on a vacation the following week. Indeed, Tinubu’s frequent overseas travels present him as one who is insensitive to the needs and yearnings of those he swore on oath to protect.
Tinubu’s propaganda team has always spread the false narrative that his travels abroad have been beneficial to the country and have brought foreign direct investment into the country but that is nothing but a blatant lie. Tinubu’s tour of the world has been wasteful and has not attracted any known investment to the country contrary to the claims from his propaganda team. At the last count over 20 multinational companies has divested and left the shores of Nigeria while scores of local firms have closed their shops due to suffocating operating environment by brought Tinubu’s wrong policies. As if to confirm the wastefulness of his foreign journeys, three days after his departure and exactly on the 2nd of September Uber Technologies Inc., the ride-hailing, food delivery and freight company that has operated in the country for 12 years since 2014 announced its exit from the country, citing shifting business priorities and investment focus across Africa but obviously with difficult operating conditions, including rising fuel cost, inflation and currency volatility as the main reason for divestment.
Thus, many concerned Nigerians believe that Tinubu’s frequent overseas travels were for personal reasons rather for national interest. It was mostly to attend to his deteriorating health and to lobby to launder his scandal-infested image abroad. It is reported in the media that just three days after he jetted out of the country, the US lobbying firm Von Batten-Montague revealed that individuals connected to Bola Ahmed Tinubu attempted to bribe its founder with $3 million to stop the firm’s campaign regarding the pursuance of the release of the FBI criminal records linked to Tinubu. Tinubu has the penchant to waste public funds on his personal ambition than on the welfare of the masses whom he has subjected to a live of misery through his suffocating policies and phantom reforms.
Another implication of the frequent travels abroad by Tinubu is that he did not find anywhere in the country suitable for him to spend his vacations on account of insecurity or discomfort. Abacha was Nigerian leader for 5 years from 1993 to 1998. He never spent his holidays abroad. He built the National Hospital and other infrastructure for the peoples’ use. But Tinubu has built none; he would prefer to fritter public funds to lobby to spread false narratives than to improve public infrastructure. When the British Prime Minister needs a break, he goes to the Chequers. When the American President needs a break, he goes to Camp David. When the French President needs a break he goes to Fort de Brégançon. And so are other world leaders in their country. There are many tourist destinations in Nigeria but Tinubu would not use any of them. So, how would Tinubu boost tourism in Nigeria that he does not believe in? He spent over N7 billion Naira to renovate the State House in Dodan Barracks, Lagos that he hardly uses.
Another insinuation coming from the Tinubu’s tendencies to jet out of the country at every turn is that he is serving foreign interest other the interest of the nation. Many Nigerians believe that Tinubu is a puppet to foreign interest and that he runs a parallel office in France. It is generally believed that to perpetuate himself in power, he needs to pander to the interest of foreign powers in order to get endorsement for his inordinate ambition.
Hajia Hadiza Mohammed
hajiahadizamohammed@gmail.com
An actress, social activist, politician
London, UK
