By Ebere Inyama
(Abuja – Federal Capital Territory) President Bola Tinibu’s State Visit to the United Kingdom on 18 March 2026, and the comment made by King Charles about “religious groups in Nigeria living together in peace and harmony”, has elicited mixed reactions.
“This afternoon, Mr. President, you and I met leaders of the British Christian and Muslim communities”, king Charles had said during a reception organized for President Tinubu at the Windsor Castle.
“The gathering was a deeply meaningful symbol of what Nigeria has long shown: that people of different faiths can, do, and must live alongside one another, in peace, in harmony and in shared purpose”, the king added.
Nigerians react
Reacting, some X users faulted President Tinibu’s trip while others see nothing wrong about it.
One X user who goes by the name @omoelerinjare wrote, “Tinubu’s trip to the UK is inferiority complex and it’s a SIN”
Another X user, @prophetswitch, wrote, “A president who travels more than he governs is a tourist, not a leader. Tinubu has attended more foreign events than security briefings since 2023. Nigeria is on fire. The man holding the extinguisher is in London taking pictures.
On the other hand, @Onsogbu, admitted that Nigeria is facing challenges but did not see the challenges as a big problem.
“Without denying Nigeria’s many challenges, and setting aside partisanship, it is time to acknowledge the quiet, determined work underway”, @Onsogbu wrote.
Responding to questions from TruthNigeria, a priest at the Catholic Diocese of Abakaliki, Rev. Father John Odey, said the Federal Government has abandoned Nigeria at the mercy of the terrorists.
“We are familiar with the phrase, “Nero fiddled while Rome burned”, Odey wrote in a message to TruthNigeria.
“It is a metaphor for leadership failure and misplacement of priorities”, the message continued.
“Currently, our political leaders, beginning from Bola Ahmed Tinubu down to our local government chairmen are busy strategizing for 2027 elections while the Fulani jihadists are busy surrounding every nook and cranny of Nigeria in readiness to overrun Nigeria”, Odey added in the message.
Pushback from Nigerian Diaspora
Speaking via her YouTube channel a British lawyer and women’s rights activist, Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, expressed concern over the decision of President Tinubu to embark on the foreign State Visit at a time when Nigeria is being terrorized by armed groups.
“Nigeria has been plagued with terrorist acts, suicide bombings and violence while President Tinubu is busy gallivanting”, Mos-Shogbamimu began in a video.
“Choosing to go on a high-profile foreign state visit while Nigerians are faced with security challenges tells you that the State Visit to the U.K is not about Nigeria, rather, it’s about Tinubu and his cronies and his personal political ambition”, Mos-Shogbamimu added.
A statement posted by Chatham House, a world-leading, independent policy institute based in London on its X platform on 21 March, 2026 reads:
“The Nigerian president’s visit to the UK was his latest high-profile foreign policy moment on the world stage. But Tinubu’s diplomatic engagements have not produced concrete benefits for ordinary Nigerians.”
UK visit: A Misplaced Priority?
Nigerians on social media are criticizing President Tinubu for embarking on the foreign State Visit at the time he did.
24 hours before President Tinubu departed from Nigeria to attend the State Visit in the U.K., 23 people were reportedly killed and 108 injured in suspected multiple suicide bomb attacks in Maiduguri city, in the northeastern state of Borno.
The blasts occurred on Monday 16 March, 2026 at the entrance of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital and two local markets, according to Sirajo Abdullahi, the head of operations at Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Maiduguri.
Questions about ‘Peace and Harmony ‘
Contrary to the claim by king Charles that Nigerians are “living in peace & harmony”, the 2026 Global Terrorism Index (GTI) released on 19 March, 2026 by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), reveals that Nigeria experienced the largest year-on-year increase in terrorism-related deaths globally
This surge has propelled the country to fourth place on the index, surpassing Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq.
Advocacy group Barnabas Aid estimates that at least 45,000 Christians have been killed by Islamist militants in Nigeria since 2009, while Open Doors ‘2026 World Watch List’ reports that Nigeria accounted for 72 percent of Christians killed worldwide for their faith between October 2024 and September 2025 — 3,490 deaths.
Nigeria’s ascent in the rankings comes amid a protracted security crisis characterized by an escalation in terrorism, banditry, religious violence by Islamic Jihadists and high-profile kidnappings.
UN Security Council Raises Questions
Reacting to the terrorist attack in Kwara State, Nigeria, on 3 February 2026, which claimed the lives of 100 people, the United Nations Security Council issued a press statement on 17 February 2026 wherein the Council’s President, James Kariuki identified terrorism as “one of the most serious threats to international peace and security”.
The statement underlined the “need to hold perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of terrorism accountable and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with the Government of Nigeria in this regard”.
Ebere Inyama is a conflict reporter for TruthNigeria.
