The overseas travels and precise locations of President Bola Tinubu have once again sparked speculation. On August 29, he set out for a trip to China, with reports indicating a brief stop in Dubai. However, he unexpectedly surfaced in London on Wednesday.
According to reports, Tinubu arrived in Beijing in the early hours of September 1, engaging in a packed schedule of meetings and signing agreements with Chinese political and business leaders during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. He wrapped up his official activities in China by meeting with Nigerians residing there on September 5, before departing from the country on the same day.
Since that time, Nigerians have been left in the dark about the President’s exact location until his visit with King Charles III on Wednesday. A statement from the State House on September 6 announced that the President had instructed that victims of the Maiduguri flood be evacuated and provided with relief. However, the statement did not clarify where the President was when these orders were issued.
It is concerning that citizens are unaware of their President’s whereabouts. The office of the President is a public trust, and the public has the right to know where their leader is. No explanations were given regarding his movements between his departure from Beijing and his appearance in London, and such lack of transparency is unbecoming of the Presidency.
This is not the first instance in which President Tinubu has been elusive with the Nigerian public. On April 23, he traveled to The Netherlands to meet with then-Prime Minister Mark Rutte, after which he continued on to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the Special Meeting of the World Economic Forum held from April 28 to 29.
Six days later, with no sign of his return, Nigerians began to raise questions, but these inquiries were met with silence from the Presidency. It wasn’t until May 8 that the administration finally announced Tinubu’s return from Europe the following day.
On January 24, President Tinubu embarked on a “private visit” to France, the details of which were kept under wraps, fueling health-related rumors until he returned two weeks later. Subsequently, on August 19, he took his first trip in the new presidential jet to Paris for what the Presidency characterized as a brief work stay, although no further details were provided. He returned after three days.
While the President has been away, the situation at home has deteriorated, with a petrol crisis persisting for over a month and floods affecting several states, including Borno and Bauchi. Terrorist and bandit activities continue to escalate. Such circumstances demand the presence of the country’s leader to coordinate responses and seek solutions, rather than taking prolonged absences.
The President must recognize the gravity of his responsibilities. Speaking in China about the need to remove petrol subsidies as a solution to the country’s significant infrastructure deficit is tone-deaf, especially when citizens are enduring 16-hour waits in petrol queues at home.
It is unimaginable that the leaders of France, the United Kingdom, and China would not be transparent about their whereabouts to their citizens.
President Tinubu appears to be following in the footsteps of his predecessors, taking Nigerians for granted. The late President Umaru Yar’Adua spent months in foreign hospitals in a vegetative state while his aides misled the public about his ability to carry out his duties, until his death in May 2010. Similarly, former President Muhammadu Buhari spent 225 days abroad for medical reasons without providing any explanation to the citizens.
In a presidential system, the role of the President is crucial, serving as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. For instance, the President of the United States carries the country’s nuclear codes and the American public is always aware of his location.
Democracy entails accountability, and President Tinubu should understand this principle. His tendency to make covert trips to foreign capitals undermines the integrity of the office.
