‘Nigeria Burns While Tinubu Smiles in UK’ – Clerics Slam President Amid Borno Bombings
A group of Nigerian clergymen has strongly criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over his ongoing trip to the United Kingdom, describing the visit as insensitive in the face of fresh violence in Borno State.
The President travelled to the UK on Tuesday for a state visit at the invitation of King Charles III. He was accompanied by the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, alongside top government officials. The visit marks Nigeria’s first state visit to the UK in nearly four decades.
However, the trip came shortly after deadly bomb explosions rocked Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. The attacks left at least 23 people dead, with many others injured. The incident is one of several recent attacks that have heightened concerns about insecurity across the country.
Reacting to the development, the Concerned Igbo Ministers, a coalition of Christian clerics, issued a statement condemning the President’s decision to travel. The statement, signed by Rev. Tony Uzo Anthony, described the move as poorly timed and deeply troubling.
The group said the President’s presence abroad, while Nigerians face violence at home, sends the wrong message. They accused him of focusing on international engagements instead of addressing urgent security challenges.
“We, the Concerned Igbo Ministers, view with utter disgust and righteous anger the spectacle of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu parading in London while Nigeria burns.
“At the very moment a suicide bomber unleashes carnage in Borno, while mass slaughter continues unabated across the North and even in the President’s own backyard in Osun State and the entire Western region, the so-called leader chooses red carpets, handshakes with King Charles III and photo-ops with Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the blood of his citizens,” the clergymen said.
The clerics argued that the President should have remained in Nigeria to assess the situation firsthand. They insisted that a leader must show presence during moments of national crisis.
“This is not leadership. This is criminal negligence. Any patriotic world leader confronted with such heightened insecurity would have immediately cancelled the trip, flown to the scenes of slaughter, comforted the victims and taken personal command of the crisis. Instead, President Tinubu has chosen foreign diplomacy over the lives of Nigerians.
“The Chatham House analysis was brutally clear: diplomacy alone will not fix Nigeria’s problems. Yet Tinubu’s government, through its Information Minister, dismisses all criticism as “ignorance and mischief.” We reject that arrogant nonsense. The blood flowing in Borno, the corpses in the North, and the fear gripping Osun State are not figments of anyone’s imagination – they are the direct consequence of a government that has lost both the will and the capacity to protect its people,” the statement added.
The group also addressed the issue of separatist agitation, making reference to Nnamdi Kanu. They argued that the security approach in the South-East, including the activities of the Eastern Security Network, has reduced violence in the region.
According to them, the narrative that Kanu is responsible for Nigeria’s insecurity is misleading. They claimed his initiatives have instead contributed to stability in the South-East.
