IF you think that President Bola Tinubu’s recent trip to St Lucia was based on economics, you are wrong. The Nigerian president travelled to St Lucia, a country in the Caribbean, on the invitation of his friend, Mr Gilbert Chagoury, who is the Honorary Consul of Saint Lucia to the Vatican.
Economy Post gathered from sources close to the Nigerian presidency that Mr Chagoury convinced St Lucia’s Prime Minister, Mr Philip Joseph Pierre, to host President Tinubu, promising that the move would draw Nigerian investors to the island nation. It was meant to cast Mr Chagoury in a good light as an investment driver for the Carribean nation.
But it was a failed mission as St Lucia is a small island nation with a gross domestic product (GDP) of $2.6 billion. St Lucia does not have the market sought after by Nigerian investors as its population is just 186,000 people, similar to a local government in Nigeria. Private sector people in the trip were not swayed by the so-called ‘opportunity’ as presented by the prime minister.
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To prove that the trip had nothing to do with economics, sources said President Tinubu did not travel to the country with his economic team. Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism, and the Creative Economy, Ms Hannatu Musa Musawa, was the only minister at that trip. No state governor accompanied the president to the nation.
Ms Musawa attended the event because St Lucia’s strength lies basically in tourism. Tourism is Saint Lucia’s main source of jobs and income – accounting for 65 percent of of its gross domestic (GDP) – and the island’s main source of foreign exchange earnings, says Economy.com
“The manufacturing sector is the most diverse in the Eastern Caribbean area. Crops such as bananas, mangos, and avocados continue to be grown for export, but St. Lucia’s once solid banana industry has been devastated by strong competition. Saint Lucia is vulnerable to a variety of external shock…,” added Economy.com.
A financial expert, Mr Kalu Aja, said on his X page, “The GDP of St Lucia is about $2.4 billion, and the GDP of Ekiti State is $2.9 billion. To compare, the GDP of Togo is $9.1b, whilst Benin is $19b The economy of St Lucia is based on tourism and bananas. That’s it. Oh, there is an oil transhipment facility on the island. Let’s assume Nigeria accounts for 100% of the import trade to St Lucia, following the President’s visit, which will amount to less than $600m for 187,850 people.”
“St Lucia does not even offer visa-free entry to Nigerians, unlike Barbados, Dominica, and Haiti. Saint Kitts and Nevis and St Vincent….. Okay, I get it; not everything is business and economy. However, the President’s time is precious. His economy back home is stalling, and insecurity is on the rise. What’s strategic about a Nigerian President flying miles to St. Lucia on the taxpayers’ dime to visit a high school and talk to their parliament? This is like Dangote visiting a cement distributor in my small village in Ohafia, sure, it’s marketing, but Dangote’s time as a CEO is professionally managed. Nigeria is majoring in the minor (due respect to the good people of St Lucia) The only way this makes any sense is if it’s a holiday, but that again is a separate topic, which the handlers are running away from.”
A holiday
Mr Ajah was right. Mr Tinubu’s trip to St Lucia was holiday. According to a source, “President Tinubu went to St Lucia for holiday. It was time for rest and he needed some,” said a source familiar with the trip. This explains why President Tinubu did not go there with his economic team.
How much was spent?
Sources familiar with the trip said this was a costly trip with little or no benefit. President Tinubu spent between $4 million and $5 million on the trip, a reliable source said. The source said the trip cost so much because it was a holiday for the president and also for members of his entourage.
President Tinubu’s offer
President Tinubu made offers to St Lucians when he travelled to the nation. First, he asked St Lucian investors to visit Nigeria and set up projects such as hotels and tourism sites. Two, he offered scholarships to St Lucians willing to study in Nigeria, but the nation’s prime mnister and his team rebuffed it. They felt that it would result in brain drain and skills scarcity in the small nation.
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Three, he made a visa-free proposal to St Lucians, particularly those willing to visit and invest in Nigeria. This is despite that the nation has no such offer for Nigerians willing to visit it.
