Backlash Against Tinubu’s Visit To Saint Lucia Shameful, Rooted In Self-Hate– PM

Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister, Philip Pierre, has condemned the backlash surrounding President Bola Tinubu’s recent visit to the Caribbean nation, describing it as “shameful” and rooted in a legacy of self-hate born from slavery.

Tinubu’s visit, which included a formal address to a joint session of Saint Lucia’s Senate and House of Assembly, attracted mixed reactions both locally and in Nigeria.

Critics in Nigeria questioned the necessity of the visit, especially in the wake of a deadly flood in Minna, Niger State, which claimed over 200 lives.

In Saint Lucia, opposition parties and commentators scrutinised the cost of the visit, temporary airport closures, and the nature of any resulting bilateral agreements.

“The vilification and denigration of the President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, by a politically-motivated group tacitly supported by the opposition group was another demonstration of the harmful effects of the legacy of slavery — self-hate and readiness to accept African people and their descendants as inferior,” he said.