President Bola Tinubu has arrived in France. Nigeria’s Ambassador to France, Emmanuel Ayodele Oke, welcomed him. The president is on a three-week vacation. It is part of his annual leave, which began on 30 August. His first stop was London, United Kingdom. He then moved to France.
Nigerian presidents have a long tradition of foreign vacations, often in London or Paris. President Muhammadu Buhari spent months in London on medical trips that doubled as working holidays. President Umaru Yar’Adua’s 2009 illness and subsequent absence created a constitutional crisis. President Olusegun Obasanjo took regular breaks abroad during his eight years in office. The pattern is not new. What changes is the economic context and the public mood.
The current trip comes at a difficult time. Nigerians face high inflation, fuel costs and a weakening naira. The government has removed the petrol subsidy and floated the currency. Both decisions have raised the cost of living. A three-week foreign vacation, even if routine, invites scrutiny. The presidency has not disclosed the cost of the trip or who is paying. That silence is standard. It is also a problem.
The diplomatic angle is real. France is a major partner for Nigeria in security, energy and trade. Ambassador Oke’s welcome is a normal protocol gesture. But a vacation is not a state visit. There is no signed agreement, no bilateral meeting, no joint communique. The optics of a presidential holiday in Europe while Nigerians queue for petrol and food write themselves.
The timing matters. The president left Nigeria on 30 August. He will return in late September. That is three weeks of absence from a country facing security challenges in the northeast, northwest and southeast. Vice President Kashim Shettima acts in his absence. The constitutional arrangement works. The political signal does not.
Winners: President Tinubu, who gets rest and distance from domestic pressure. Ambassador Oke, who gains visibility. The French hospitality sector. Losers: Nigerian taxpayers, who fund presidential travel without transparency. Critics, who will be accused of politicking. The presidency’s communications team, which must defend the trip. Nigerians who cannot afford a holiday at home.
Bottom Line: A vacation is a private matter. For a Nigerian president, it is never private.