Presidential aspirant under the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has questioned the economic benefits of President Bola Tinubu’s foreign trips, including his recent state visit to the United Kingdom.
Obi argued that state visits by leaders are not tourism and that diplomacy is not a fashion parade.
“Every foreign trip undertaken by a government must deliver measurable benefits to the people, including investments, technology transfer, trade agreements, factory expansion, industrial partnerships, and job creation,” he said.
Citing President Donald Trump’s recent visit to China, Obi noted that the American delegation included top government officials and major figures in global business and technology.
According to him, the visit resulted in trade deals worth several billions of dollars, including aircraft orders for about 200 Boeing planes.
Obi highlighted some of the business leaders in Trump’s entourage, including CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk; CEO of Nvidia, Jensen Huang; CEO of Apple, Tim Cook; CEO of BlackRock, Larry Fink; CEO of Blackstone, Stephen Schwarzman; CEO of Boeing, Kelly Ortberg; CEO of Cargill, Brian Sikes; and CEO of Citigroup, Jane Fraser.
“That is how serious nations approach diplomacy, by aligning foreign policy with economic expansion, industrial growth, innovation, and national productivity,” he stated.
Obi compared Trump’s visit to China with Tinubu’s recent state visit to the United Kingdom, highlighting the composition of the President’s delegation, which included Senator Oluremi Tinubu, 12 governors, nine ministers, seven members of the National Assembly, and more than 20 senior State House staff.
“A large entourage of politicians, aides, and government officials travelled, yet Nigerians are still asking a simple question: what exactly did Nigeria bring home? Which factories are coming to Nigeria? What power, technology, manufacturing, agricultural, or industrial agreements were secured?” he asked.
Obi also questioned how many direct jobs the visit created for Nigerian youths, what investments were attracted, and what measurable economic outcomes ordinary Nigerians could point to.
He explained that symbolism without substance cannot feed hungry citizens, stressing that it is not enough to ride horses, wear matching uniforms, attend royal banquets, and release glossy photographs.
He lamented that Nigeria is currently facing serious insecurity, food shortages, unemployment, a weakened naira, declining industrial productivity, and worsening poverty.
Obi emphasised that at a time when millions of Nigerians struggle daily to afford food and survive economic hardship, every naira spent on foreign trips must produce tangible national value through investments, factories, jobs, exports, infrastructure, and economic opportunities.
He added that Nigeria needs leadership that is focused less on optics and more on productivity, less on ceremony and more on measurable economic results.
