Reduce Foreign Trips, Focus On Domestic Challenges – Liborous Oshoma Tells Tinubu

A legal practitioner and political analyst, Liborous Oshoma, has expressed concern over President Bola Tinubu’s frequent foreign trips, urging him to cut down on his travel schedule and pay closer attention to Nigeria’s economic and security challenges.

Since his inauguration, President Tinubu has embarked on 46 trips, spending a total of 192 days outside the country as of October 2025.

While some Nigerians argue that such international engagements are vital for attracting investment and rebuilding Nigeria’s global image, critics believe the president’s frequent travels have become excessive and costly.

“When President Tinubu was governor of Lagos State, people called him a globetrotter. Now, as president, the same description applies. We saw something similar under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who travelled widely. His supporters said he was marketing Nigeria, but his critics claimed he was merely thanking those who supported him while in prison,” Oshoma said during his appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday

He suggested that President Tinubu spend more time at home to personally evaluate the challenges faced by Nigerians.

“If the president could sit back a little bit, take a tour around and look at these places and see it for yourself, and forget about what your aides are telling you and forget about statements from Bayo Onanuga and look at what is happening. If he takes those approaches, he will reduce his travelling,” Oshoma said.

The lawyer added that most of Tinubu’s international engagements could be handled virtually to save costs.

“So for the president, the cost of those travels can be done remotely, he can talk to investors remotely, plough those costs into critical sectors,” he suggested.

According to Oshoma, many Nigerians are increasingly frustrated that the president’s trips often coincide with worsening domestic crises such as insecurity, hunger, and inflation.

“As much as people want to bear, they also want to see the President also bear, but the idea of when there is insecurity, the president is out of the country. We have now normalised insecurity,” he lamented.

He further argued that effective leadership begins with strengthening domestic institutions, not seeking validation abroad.

“Leadership doesn’t mean travelling the world to shake hands,” a social commentator argued. “It means putting the right structures in place at home so that the world comes to you. The United States didn’t need to go begging for recognition; it built strong institutions, and now everyone wants a visa to go there.”

Oshoma also criticised state governors who frequently travel abroad under the guise of attracting foreign investors.

“At every little opportunity, our governors are off to parties abroad, claiming it’s to attract foreign investment. Meanwhile, the real investors are watching Nigeria from afar and seeing the insecurity, the hunger, and the injustice that we have refused to solve,” he said.

He maintained that international partners are more concerned about Nigeria’s internal challenges than its global image.

“The world is saying: solve the killings in Nigeria, solve the injustice, solve the hunger. That’s what will make Nigeria respected, not endless trips abroad,” Oshoma said.