By Eric Teniola
On Wednesday, March 18, 2026, President Bola Tinubu GCFR along with his wife, Remi Tinubu, will be hosted by the British Monarch, King Charles III (77). The state visit will hold at Windsor Castle and not at Buckingham Palace.
Wikipedia informs us that Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about 25 miles (40 km) west of central London. It is strongly associated with the English and the British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history.
The original castle was built in the 11th century, after the Norman invasion of England by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I (who reigned 1100–1135), it has been used by the monarch and is the longest-occupied palace in Europe. The castle’s lavish early 19th-century state apartments were described by the art historian Hugh Roberts as “a superb and unrivalled sequence of rooms widely regarded as the finest and most complete expression of later Georgian taste”.
Inside the castle walls is the 15th-century St George’s Chapel, considered by the historian, John Martin Robinson, to be “one of the supreme achievements of English Perpendicular Gothic” design.
Originally designed to project Norman dominance around the outskirts of London and oversee a strategically important part of the River Thames, Windsor Castle was built as a motte-and-bailey, with three wards surrounding a central mound. Gradually replaced with stone fortifications, the castle withstood a prolonged siege during the First Barons’ War at the start of the 13th century.
Henry III commissioned a luxurious royal palace within the castle during the middle of the century, and Edward III went further, rebuilding the palace to make an even grander set of buildings in what would become “the most expensive secular building project of the entire Middle Ages in England”. Edward’s core design lasted through the Tudor period, during which Henry VIII and Elizabeth I made increasing use of the castle as a royal court and centre for diplomatic entertainment.
Whereas Buckingham Palace is the official residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom in London. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It has been a focal point for the British people at times of national rejoicing and mourning.
Originally known as Buckingham House, the building at the core of today’s palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham and Normanby in 1703 on a site that had been in private ownership for at least 150 years. It was acquired by George III in 1761 as a private residence for Queen Charlotte and became known as The Queen’s House.
In the early 19th century it was enlarged by the architects John Nash and Edward Blore, who constructed three wings around a central courtyard. Buckingham Palace became the London residence of the British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837.
The last major structural additions were made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the East Front, which contains the balcony on which the royal family traditionally appears to greet crowds.
A German bomb destroyed the palace chapel during the Second World War; the King’s Gallery was built on the site and opened to the public in 1962 to exhibit works of art from the Royal Collection.
For reasons best known to the British, the British Monarch could not have invited some past Nigerians leaders for a state visit. For human rights abuse I could not think of the British Monarch inviting General Sani Abacha or General Muhammadu Buhari or General Olusegun Obasanjo for nationalizing the BPE in August 1979, although President Obasanjo hosted the Queen between December 3 to 6, 2003 when she attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Abuja or General Murtala Muhammed for anti-imperialist policies before he was assassinated.
President Tinubu GCFR will become the fifth Nigerian leader to be hosted by the British Monarch.
Interestingly, the previous four leaders were hosted at Buckingham Palace. The first was the then Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (December 1912 – 15 January 1966), who was hosted by Queen Elizabeth on December 14, 1965. Twenty-nine days later, he was assassinated in Lagos.
On that visit, Balewa was accompanied by Alhaji Nuhu Bamali, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, while he was both Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister. Alhaji Tafawa Balewa was literally begged then, by the British government to help in solving the Rhodesian crisis.
Alhaji Tafawa Balewa had breakfast with Sir Alec Douglas-Home, was received by the Queen, and had a visit from Arthur Bottomley. He was infuriated by one reporter who wondered whether Nigeria was calling the conference just to spite Ghana in some way: ‘We don’t work like that!’
Before being flown home in an RAF transport command Comet, he said that despite President Julius Nyerere’s final decision to quit, he still did not think Nigeria should break off relations; and in Lagos he told the familiar welcoming crowd that he was almost certain that the Commonwealth conference in Lagos on 10 January, would deal effectively with Rhodesia in a Commonwealth context.
The British Prime Minister, Mr. Harold Wilson, he claimed, had reassured him and heightened his hopes; but he was himself still convinced that economic sanctions alone could not solve the problem. The Daily Times of London called him ‘a knight in shining armour stepping in to confront his dithering counterpart’. As Rhodesia introduced rationing of petrol and diesel fuel, calls were heard for another hasty emergency OAU conference, this time of Heads of State. Alhaji Abubakar demurred that he was considering it, and did later agree to add Nigeria’s name to those willing to meet on January 19; but his hopes rested for the present with Mr. Gooneratne, Arnold Smith’s deputy, who had flown out from London to organize the Commonwealth conference.
On June 12, 1973, Queen Elizabeth (21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) hosted General Yakubu Gowon and his wife, Victoria at a state visit at the Buckingham Palace. The visit lasted till June 15. The Queen also hosted President Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari (25 February 1925- 28 December 2018) from March 17 to March 20, 1981.
I covered the visit for THE PUNCH at that time. The hotel I was in Central London at that time housed the National chairman of the NPN, Chief Augustus Meridith Adisa Akinloye (August 19, 1916 – September 18, 2007) and the National Secretary of the party, Alhaji Suleiman Takuma (14 April 1934 – 4 September 2001).
The fear of the two men was that the UPN supporters would organise in London to disrupt the state visit of President Shehu Shagari. In interviews I had with them they were so sure that the UPN supporters would sabotage the visit. Their fears did not come to pass, as most Nigerians in London at that time wore native attires with Nigeria’s flags. The state visit was successful in that cold weather.
On May 9, 1989, Queen Elizabeth hosted General Ibrahim Babangida (85) and his wife, Mariam (November 1, 1948 – December 27, 2009) at the Buckingham Palace. The visit ended on May 12, 1989. Nigeria and South Africa are the only countries so far to be hosted in Buckingham Palace, three times among African nations. Whereas Congo has been hosted once, same with Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Sudan, Senegal, Morocco, Malawi, Liberia, Kenya, Ghana, Egypt and Ethiopia.
President Jacob Zuma of South Africa and his wife, Thobeka Mabhija Zuma, were hosted between March 3 to March 5, 2010. President John Kuffour of Ghana and his wife, Theresa Kuffour, were hosted between March 13 to 15, 2007. President Thabo Mbeki and his wife, Zanele Dlamini Mbeki were hosted between June 12 and 15, 2001. President Nelson Mandela of South Africa was hosted between July 9 to 12, 1996. President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe was hosted between May 17 to 20, 1994. President Abdou Diouf of Senegal and his wife, Elizabeth were hosted between November 8 to 11, 1988. King Hassan of Morocco was hosted between July 14 to 17, 1987.
President Hastings Kamuzu Banda was hosted between April 16 to 19, 1985 President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia and his wife, Betty, were hosted March 22 to 25, 1985. President Daniel Arap Moi of Kenya was hosted between June 12 to 15, 1979. President Julius Nyerere of Tanzania was hosted between November 18 to 21, 1975. President Mobutu Sese Seko of Congo and his wife, Antoinnette, were hosted between December 11 to 14, 1973. President Abboud of Sudan was hosted between May 26 to June 4, 1964. President William Taubman of Liberia and his wife, Antoinette were hosted July 10 to 13, 1962 and Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia October 14 to 16, 1964.
The hosting by King Charles of President Tinubu is no doubt a plus for Nigeria. This country is still a great country in spite of what we have gone through and we are going through now. When President Tinubu was sworn-in on May 29, 2023, the expectation was that Nigeria will be closer to London than any other country. Apart from being our colonial master, we speak the English Language. The British along with the Vatican brought the Christian religion to us. Apart from that, the British/Nigeria relationship had always been very strong.
Over three million Nigerians are presently in the United Kingdom. London was the headquarters of NADECO in the days of General Sani Abacha GCFR (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998). Even the then Senator Bola Tinubu was living in London during his NADECO years in the same house with my late friend, Dapo Durosinmi-Etti.
But, since being sworn-in, courtesy of Gilbert Chagoury, the President has moved closer to the Elysee Palace in Paris and extended a little bit of friendship to the Arab world. He has played less role on the African continent, sometimes sending his Vice, Alhaji Kashim Shettima Mustapha GCON to attend ceremonies on the continent. Maybe the March 18 visit will change the Presidents’ attitude towards London.
On January 11, 1976 in Addis Ababa at extra ordinary meeting of Organisation of Africa Unity (OAU), General Murtala Mohammed GCFR (8 November 1938 – 13 February 1976) spoke on Africa’s struggle. “Africa has come of age. It is no longer under the orbit of any extra continental power. It should longer take orders from any country, however, powerful. The fortunes of Africa are in our hands to make or mar.
For too long have we been kicked around; for too long have we been treated like adolescents who cannot discern their interest and act accordingly. For too long has it been presumed that the African needs outside “experts” to tell him who are his friends and who are his enemies. The time has come when we should make it clear that we can decide for ourselves; that we know our own interests and how to protect those interests; that we are capable of resolving African problems without presumptuous lesson in ideological dangers, which more often than not have no relevance for us, not for the problem at hand”.
The speech was no doubt volcanic. It was a landmark speech.
I have listened to arguments that Nigeria’s golden period in foreign affairs was during the era of General Murtala Muhammed GCFR, whose 50th assassination wasrecently observed. No doubt, it was a golden period.
I still want to believe that Nigeria’s golden era in foreign affairs was during the years of Alhaji Tafawa Balewa especially in 1965 when Nigeria hosted the Commonwealth conference. He was put on the cover of Time magazine, the American weekly, on December 30, 1960. When he travelled to the United States of American between July 25 to 28 1961, for that electrifying trip, the then US Vice President, Lydon Baines Johnson (27 August 1908- 22 January 1973) personally came to welcome him and his entourage at the airport in Washington. He was the voice of Africa at that time. The pride of the continent.
Alhaji Tafawa Balewa gave us our deserved pride.
We won our independence just five years, yet we were asked to host the Commonwealth conference to solve the Rhodesian issue which we did not create and which Britain itself could not solve.
In terms of accommodation in Lagos, the Prime Minister occupyed a four-bedroom house now opposite Island Club, Onikan, Lagos. The only reputable hotel in Lagos at that time was the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, which was constructed and originally owned by AG Leventis.
The hotel was acquired by the Nigerian government in 1964 and went through a series of managers in the following years. When Nigeria gained its independence from Britain in 1960, it was in the main boardroom of the newly constructed Federal Palace Hotel that Nigeria’s independence declaration was signed. The official celebration of Nigeria’s independence took place in the hotel’s Independence Hall.
In terms of accommodation, we were handicapped, and this created problem, according to late Chief Benjamin Akinnusi Osunshade (27 March 1926- 27 October 2025), the Bobagunwa of Idanre in Ondo state, the then Chief Private Secretary to the Prime Minister. He told me before he died in Isolo, Lagos, the accommodation problem the Federal Government went through in providing accommodation for the Commonwealth leaders and officials. Twenty-two Commonwealth leaders accepted to attend the conference.
The January 1966 Commonwealth Prime Ministers’ Conference focused on the Rhodesian crisis and was chaired by Nigerian Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. Key attendees included British Prime Minister Harold Wilson, Archbishop Makarios of Cyprus, Milton Obote (Uganda), Lee Kuan Yew (Singapore), and Sir Albert Margai (Sierra Leone).
Others included Borg Oliver of Malta, Dr. E. E. Williams(Trinidad & Tobago), Zambia’s Vice-President R.C. Kamanga, Jamaica’s Acting Prime Minister, Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Commonwealth Secretariat’s Secretary-General, Arnold Smith.
This was the first Commonwealth conference held outside London.
The conference opened on 11 January, at that time there was fresh communal crisis in Ilesha, Osun state. Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Mr. Harold Wilson led the delegates into the ballroom, accompanied by Mr. Arthur Bottomley. After two minutes’ silence in memory of Mr Shastri, the Nigerian Prime Minister welcomed his guests, gathered ‘to discuss a major problem which has not only assumed global proportions, but is threatening to create a division within our cherished commonwealth organization…Although a few friends and colleagues are not at the meeting, everybody nonetheless has one objective, the speedy solution of the Rhodesian crisis’.
Thereafter, he controlled the conference with the unforced dignity of a man in a customary role, rather than as the first African ever to preside over such a gathering’, to quote an onlooker. He was followed by Mr. Lester Pearson, Canada being the oldest dominion of the commonwealth, whom many regarded as an obvious mediator, and Mr. Lee Kuan Yew speaking for the newest member state. Sir Abubakar then delivered a keynote speech, pointing out in a review of the present situation that their task was not only to find a way of crushing the illegal regime but also more emphatically to consider the right long-term solution for the future of the territory.
Although the desire of the African people, the Commonwealth and the United Nations was to ensure an African majority rule in Southern Rhodesia, it would be unwise to neglect the fear of the white majority in the country; the earlier the racists were made to know about their future, the sooner would the rebellion end.
After Smith’s defeat, the release of all nationalists and a conference, the 1961 constitution should be abrogated and give way to a period of direct rule under which the police, armed forces, judiciary and civil service should to a large measure reverts to control by the British, with appointed executive and legislative councils, of all races, presided over by the governor. His present skills and his vision of a Rhodesian future had both been acquired in the old council of ministers’ chamber, observing two Scots governors.
Wilson stated Britain’s position in a massive review of his policy to bring down the Smith regime. He insisted that the problem was Britain’s responsibility alone, not a matter for other organisations, that economic sanctions had already cut Rhodesia’s inward and outward trade by half, that the oil embargo was providing more successful than he could have hoped, and that given time sanctions would work. Further than that he would not go, and sat down to hear the same predictable messages of condemnation in the restricted session confined to the leaders (who were supported by three colleagues each from Britain, Nigeria and Zambia, and two each from the others), uttered from Asia, the Carribean and Cyprus. The Africans in particular, he later wrote, sought one after another ‘to prove how much more African each was than his neighbours’.
Zambia thought there would be no resistance. Canada suggested that if sanctions failed, the UN should be invited to step in and impose mandatory world sanctions. Wilson felt that Britain was again, as before the United Nation a month before, ‘in the dock’, with the difference that most of the Lagos prosecution were their countries’ principals, rather than remote plenipotentiaries voicing other persons’ opinions. He was impressed, if not encouraged, by the sophisticated quality of a 40-minute extempore speech by Lee Kuan Yew, equal in substance to any world leader’s that he had heard and displaying an awareness of ‘what the modern world was really about’.
At the end of the conference, the Prime Ministers decided on the following measures of commonwealth action: To appoint two continuing committee, composed of representatives of all commonwealth countries, to meet with the Secretary-General in London. The first would review regularly the effect of sanctions, and also the special needs which might from time to time arise in honouring the Commonwealth’s undertaking to come to the support of Zambia as required; the second would co-ordinate a special commonwealth programme of assistance in training Rhodesians Africans as set out below.
The sanctions committee would recommend the reconvening of the Prime Ministers’ meeting when they judged that this was necessary. In any case, the Prime Ministers agreed to meet again in July 1966 if the rebellion had not been ended before then. The sanctions committee would advise the Prime Ministers if it considered that action by the United Nations was called for.
Some Prime Ministers indicated that they reserved the right, if need arose, to propose mandatory United Nations action under articles 41 or 42 of chapter VII of the charter.
Twenty-four hours after the Conference ended in Lagos, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa was assassinated. Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe became independent on April 18, 1980.
I hate to think that the best that has happened to my country, in foreign affairs, occured only in the past.
Eric Teniola, former Editor of Punch Newspaper and a former director at the Presidency lives in Lagos.
