The residents of Plateau State expressed mixed reactions following President Tinubu’s recent state visit to the United Kingdom.

Residents of Plateau State expressed differing opinions after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s visit to the United Kingdom.

CBI News recalls that Tinubu has made less formal visits to the United Kingdom several times during his tenure, and the two countries remain major partners in trade, aid and defence. London is also home to a large Nigerian diaspora of about 300,000 people.

Sunday Achi, a businessman, stated that the visit had not been the right step, adding that it was time to invest in Nigeria. According to him, the country would make more impact by focusing on domestic development rather than foreign trips.

On his part, Auwal Tajuddeen, also a businessman, said Nigeria’s problems were numerous and could not be solved by one person alone but required collective responsibility. He added that if the president’s visit to the UK could bring development, then there was nothing wrong with it.

Abubakar Auwal, another businessman, described the president’s visit as a shame, noting that the country was facing economic hardship and insecurity at the time.

"For me, it was a shame for our president to visit another country when we were facing numerous challenges such as economic hardship, hunger, and insecurity. He was also bringing more debt. Was this the first time? For what purpose?"

Similarly, Serah Andrew, a businesswoman, said it was not appropriate for a president to leave the country when citizens were struggling with high fuel and food prices.

" It was not supposed to be like that. At least he knew the current situation of the country. He needed to look into fuel and food prices."

However, Favor Daniel, a student, stated that instead of spending heavily on such visits, the government should focus on education, poverty alleviation, and security.

Meanwhile, Mubarak Isma’il said that while the UK deal might have been important, priority should have been given to addressing insecurity, which he described as the country’s greatest challenge.

"To be realistic, at that time in Nigeria, the president collecting debt from the UK might have been important because it could bring development to the country, such as modernising seaports. However, such funds should instead have been channelled toward fighting insecurity, as our greatest challenge was insecurity."

Aminat Murtala, a student, noted that the president’s visit might have had a purpose, provided it brought development to Nigeria.

Sunday Achi further emphasized that leaders should reduce foreign trips and concentrate more on addressing Nigeria’s internal challenges, which he believed would help reduce unnecessary expenses. On the other hand, Mubarak Isma’il added that the billions spent on the trip amounted to a waste of national resources at a time when many citizens were living in poverty and hunger.

Overall, the reactions reflected a divided public opinion, with some residents seeing potential benefits in the president’s foreign engagement, while others believed national resources should have been directed toward addressing pressing domestic issues such as insecurity, poverty, and economic hardship.