The Presidency has disclosed the reasons behind President Bola Tinubu’s state visit to Saint Lucia.
Tinubu left Nigeria for Saint Lucia on Saturday, June 28, 2025.
The president’s departure from Nigeria elicited condemnations from some citizens, including the Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi.
Reacting via a statement on Sunday, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said Tinubu’s visit to Saint Lucia is a strategic engagement that will deepen educational and cultural cooperation with not just the island nation but the Caribbean.
Onanuga said the visit will rekindle Nigeria’s ancestral and strategic economic ties with the Caribbean nation and the wider CARICOM bloc.
“From the perspective of the Government of Saint Lucia, the visit by the Nigerian leader paves the way for the rekindling of our ancestral bonds, igniting a new era of diplomatic, cultural, and economic possibilities between our nations,” Onanuga stated.
He said Tinubu’s visit aligned with Nigeria’s “Four D’s” foreign policy: Democracy, Development, Diaspora, and Demography – key pillars of the country’s global engagement.
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Onanuga added that Saint Lucia, with deep African roots and a significant Nigerian-descended population, views Tinubu’s visit as a homecoming of sorts.
Onanuga said the visit also underscored Nigeria’s rising soft power, driven by Afrobeats, Nollywood, and a literary heritage that resonated across the Caribbean.
He noted that Saint Lucia, home to the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), is a gateway to the 15-member CARICOM bloc with a 130 billion dollars GDP.
He said Tinubu’s presence signalled Nigeria’s interest in expanding South-South trade and strengthening diplomatic and economic ties with the Caribbean.
”Nigeria and Saint Lucia already share remarkable historical links, such as Sir Darnley Alexander, a Saint Lucian, who served as Chief Justice of Nigeria from
1975 to 1979,” the presidential spokesperson added.
Saint Lucia, which gained independence in 1979, had hosted fewer than 10 official state visits.
The last African leader to visit was former South Africa President Nelson Mandela, who attended the 1998 CARICOM Heads of Government Summit.
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