IN a swift response to criticism that trailed the visit, the Presidency on Sunday clarified that President Bola Tinubu’s ongoing state visit to Saint Lucia is a strategic engagement rather than a vacation.
In a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the presidency described the trip as a landmark diplomatic and cultural mission.
It said the visit is rekindling Nigeria’s ancestral and strategic ties with the Caribbean nation and the wider Caribbean Community (CARICOM) bloc.
The statement followed the criticism of Tinubu’s latest trip by the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi.
Obi, in a statement on his social media handle on Saturday, criticised President Tinubu over his visit to Saint Lucia, describing it as ill-timed and insensitive to the current hardship and insecurity ravaging the country.
“No, Mr President, This is Not the Time for Holidaying,”
“I didn’t want to believe that anybody in the position of authority, more so the President, on whose table the buck stops in this country, with all the myriad problems in virtually all areas of governance, would contemplate a leisure trip at this time,” Obi tweeted.
He challenged how the President could contemplate a vacation while the country battles severe insecurity, hunger, and the aftermath of natural disasters.
The former governor of Anambra state noted that what he had seen over the past two years had shocked him with the poor governance delivery and apparent focus on politics and elite interests, while the masses suffered.
“With such a gory picture of one’s country, you can imagine my bewilderment when I saw a news release from the Presidency announcing that President Bola Tinubu is departing Nigeria today (Saturday) for a visit to Saint Lucia in the Caribbean,” Obi added.
But the presidency in the clarification statement issued on Sunday explained that Saint Lucia, like many Caribbean nations, has deep ancestral roots connected to West Africa, especially Nigeria.
It added from the perspective of the Government of Saint Lucia, the visit by the Nigerian leader paves the way for the rekindling of ancestral bonds, igniting a new era of diplomatic, cultural, and economic possibilities between the two nations.
The statement read,” In the mid-19th century, a wave of immigrants from present-day Nigeria arrived in Saint Lucia, bringing cultural and religious practices that persist today.
“Citizens of Saint Lucia are excited that President Tinubu has chosen to visit the island,” the presidency stated.
The Presidency described the visit as a major step within the framework of South-South cooperation and Nigeria’s Four D’s foreign policy strategy- Democracy, Development, Diaspora, and Demography.
The statement highlighted Saint Lucia’s importance as the headquarters of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States and gateway to 15 CARICOM member states with a combined GDP of over $130 billion.
It also noted historical ties between Nigeria and Saint Lucia, citing Sir Darnley Alexander, a Saint Lucian-born jurist who served as Nigeria’s Chief Justice from 1975 to 1979, having first arrived in Nigeria in 1957 under Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s government.
The presidency also highlighted the contributions of other Saint Lucians, including Neville Skeete, who helped design the Central Bank of Nigeria headquarters, and Sir Darnley’s son, Michael, a frontline medical officer during the Nigerian civil war.
A reporter with the ICIR
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