Former APC Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Timi Frank, has sharply criticized President Bola Tinubu’s state visit to the United Kingdom, describing it as inappropriate amid the recent bomb attacks in Maiduguri that killed over 23 people and injured many others. Frank condemned the trip as a “cruel abandonment of grieving citizens.”
Frank called the Borno bombing “a tragic, blood-soaked verdict on a failing security architecture” in Nigeria. He argued that the attacks represent a national emergency and accused the President of prioritizing ceremonial activities abroad over addressing the escalating insecurity at home.
He asserted that a responsible leader should have visited Maiduguri to show solidarity with victims rather than traveling to London for a state banquet with King Charles III. “No responsible leader boards a plane to wine, dine, and dance when his country is burying its dead,” Frank said.
Frank also criticized what he described as Britain’s complicity, suggesting the UK was aware of Nigeria’s deepening security challenges, rising unemployment, electricity crisis, and alleged democratic backsliding, yet rolled out a red carpet for the President. He claimed that such pageantry in the midst of national tragedy is unacceptable.
He concluded that Nigeria is mourning and requires leadership, compassion, and decisive action. According to Frank, any leader who prioritizes foreign celebrations over solidarity with citizens in crisis “has lost the moral right to lead.”
