The Nigerian Presidency has clarified that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ongoing trip to Saint Lucia is not a holiday, but a significant diplomatic and cultural mission aimed at deepening ties with the Caribbean nation and the broader CARICOM bloc.
This clarification came in a statement issued on Sunday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy. It follows public reactions, including remarks from Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, who expressed doubts about the purpose of the visit.
Obi had taken to X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, questioning the appropriateness of what he perceived as a leisure trip following a recent break in Lagos.
“I’m struggling with my senses to understand what is happening to governance in this country. I didn’t want to believe that anybody in the position of authority, more so the President… would contemplate a leisure trip at this time,” he wrote.
In response, the Presidency stated:
“In the wake of some Nigerians’ misguided, mischievous, and uninformed comments regarding President Bola Tinubu’s historic state visit to Saint Lucia, it is necessary to clarify the purpose of the visit.”
According to Onanuga, the trip serves to revive long-standing ancestral, cultural, and strategic ties between Nigeria and the Caribbean. Saint Lucia, in particular, has deep historical links to Nigeria, tracing back to the mid-1800s when many of its people migrated from West Africa, including areas that now make up Nigeria.
“From the perspective of the Government of Saint Lucia, the visit by the Nigerian leader paves the way for the rekindling of our ancestral bonds, igniting a new era of diplomatic, cultural, and economic possibilities between our nations,” the statement read.
The visit, according ro Onanuga, aligns with Nigeria’s foreign policy priorities known as the Four D’s; Democracy, Development, Diaspora, and Demography, and it marks a major effort within South-South cooperation frameworks.
Saint Lucia is home to the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and serves as a key entry point to the 15-nation CARICOM bloc, which has a combined GDP exceeding $130 billion. Strengthening these connections opens new diplomatic and economic channels for Nigeria.
The Presidency also cited strong historical bonds between both nations, most notably through Sir Darnley Alexander, a Saint Lucian-born jurist who served as Nigeria’s Chief Justice from 1975 to 1979. Other contributors include Neville Skeete, who helped design the Central Bank of Nigeria headquarters, and Sir Darnley’s son Michael, a key medical officer during the Nigerian Civil War.
“Sir Darnley Alexander first came to Nigeria in 1957 as a legal draftsman recruited by Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s Western Regional Government,” the statement noted.
The visit also advances the African Union’s Sixth Region agenda, which seeks stronger partnerships with the African diaspora. Nigerian culture, through Afrobeats, Nollywood, and literature, already enjoys significant influence in the Caribbean, particularly in Saint Lucia.
“On the Friday before President Tinubu’s arrival, Afrobeats and Nigerian music dominated the airwaves during the Gros Islet Street Party, reflecting Nigeria’s growing cultural footprint,” the statement added.
President Tinubu’s itinerary includes a visit to Sir Arthur Lewis Community College to foster academic collaboration and a meeting with the Nigerian community hosted by Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister. Also traveling with the President are members of Nigeria’s Technical Aid Corps, who contribute professional services across ACP countries.
The Presidency emphasized that Saint Lucia rarely hosts official visits of this magnitude. The last African leader to visit was Nelson Mandela in 1998 during the 19th CARICOM Heads of Government Summit.
“President Tinubu’s 2025 visit, 27 years after Mandela’s, marks a historic diplomatic milestone,” said Onanuga.
A special joint session of Saint Lucia’s bi-cameral Parliament will be addressed by President Tinubu at the Sandals Grande Saint Lucian Conference Hall, named after former U.S. President Bill Clinton.
Concluding the statement, the Presidency urged Nigerians to dismiss misconceptions about the visit being a personal getaway.
“President Tinubu’s visit is not a vacation, as misrepresented by critics, but a diplomatic and cultural outreach that advances Nigeria’s interests and deepens its global partnerships,” it read.
