Tinubu’s St. Lucia Scholarship Scandal (Tinubu Irresponsible for Offering St. Lucia Students Scholarships While Abuja Schools Are on Strike): A Case of Misplaced Priorities and National Betrayal.

By George Omagbemi Sylvester | Published by SaharaWeeklyNG.com

In what can only be described as a brazen display of political arrogance and shocking detachment from national realities, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has once again stirred outrage across Nigeria. His recent announcement of scholarships for students in St. Lucia during a diplomatic visit, while public schools in Abuja and other parts of Nigeria remain shut due to non payment of salaries, staff strikes and systemic decay, is nothing short of national betrayal.

This shameful act is a glaring testimony of Tinubu’s misplaced priorities, gross Irresponsibility and total disconnect from the plight of the ordinary Nigerian. At a time when Nigerian students are languishing at home due to non-payment of teachers, decaying infrastructure and chronic underfunding of the education sector, Tinubu finds it politically rewarding to parade philanthropy on a foreign stage with Nigerian taxpayers’ money. This is not leadership, it is intellectual vandalism of the highest order.

A Nation in Academic Distress.
Back home, the situation is dire. The University of Abuja is under lock and key, its lecturers protesting unpaid salaries and unfulfilled agreements. Public secondary and primary schools across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have joined the strike. From leaky classrooms to non-functional laboratories, many schools have become deathtraps rather than centers of learning. Students now wander the streets, hawking sachet water and recharge cards, victims of a failed system they never created.

The Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) declared an indefinite strike over unpaid wages and poor working conditions. This is happening in the very capital of Africa’s most populous nation. What does it say about leadership when the seat of power is engulfed in academic darkness while its president offers EDUCATIONAL CHARITY to a FOREIGN LAND?

Scholarships for Saint Lucia: A Tone-Deaf Decision.
According to reports, President Tinubu, during his diplomatic trip to Saint Lucia in July 2025, pledged Nigerian-funded scholarships to selected Saint Lucian students who wish to study overseas. While the gesture may have been designed to promote pan-African solidarity and international goodwill, the timing and context are not only inappropriate, they are shameful.

What logic supports such ACTION? Who APPROVED it? And more importantly, who BENEFITS? Nigeria’s own education system is on life support. University students are learning under debilitating conditions; no electricity, no water, broken furniture, outdated syllabi and unpaid lecturers. Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and WAEC results continue to paint a grim picture of educational decay.

Misplaced Priorities Amid Economic Crisis.
This act becomes even more infuriating when placed against the backdrop of Nigeria’s current economic woes. The naira continues to slide, inflation has eroded the average Nigerian’s purchasing power, electricity tariffs have skyrocketed and fuel prices have become unaffordable. Yet, this same government that claims it cannot afford to pay a ₦70,000 minimum wage or equip schools with basic infrastructure somehow has the funds to sponsor foreign students.

Dr. Obadiah Bala, a respected Nigerian economist, said it best: “When a nation with crumbling schools begins to export scholarships, you must question the sanity of its leadership. This is not foreign aid; it’s fiscal lunacy.”

According to a 2024 British Home Office report, Nigeria is now among the top three countries with the highest number of student visa applications. Our own students are fleeing the country en masse to pursue education abroad. This mass exodus of intellectual capital shows just how much faith young Nigerians have lost in the system. So, how does offering scholarships to foreign nationals help?

Charity Begins at Home.
“Charity begins at home,” the age-old adage reminds us. Tinubu’s administration seems to think otherwise, by offering aid to foreign students while Nigerian institutions collapse, Tinubu is effectively prioritizing political optics over the real needs of his people. This is not statesmanship; it is stagecraft masquerading as diplomacy.

As Dr. Ayo Olatunji of the University of Ibadan aptly put it, “Nigerian leaders have a chronic addiction to international showmanship. They chase applause abroad while their citizens choke at home. What Tinubu did in Saint Lucia is a classic betrayal of the Nigerian student.”

In leadership, optics matter; but substance matters more. This was not just bad optics; it was a total abdication of duty. It sends a clear message: Nigerian students do not matter to the President. Their future is disposable.

Public Outcry and the Call for Accountability.
It comes as no surprise that the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) reacted with righteous fury. In a statement issued by its President, Comrade Lucky Emonefe, NANS described the St. Lucia scholarship pledge as “an insult to every Nigerian student who has ever studied without electricity, running water or qualified teachers.” The union has even threatened a nationwide protest if Tinubu does not prioritize domestic educational issues.

This is not a partisan issue. It is a moral one. Leaders must be held accountable when they make decisions that insult the intelligence and dignity of their citizens. The Nigerian people, especially the youth are not fools. They can see the hypocrisy.

_They know when they are being taken for granted._

Diplomatic Showboating vs. National Crisis.
Tinubu’s frequent foreign travels have already come under scrutiny. Since assuming office in 2023, he has visited over 20 countries, including France, UAE, China, Brazil, now Saint Lucia and Saint Helena. Each trip is accompanied by a bloated entourage, grand promises and vague agreements that bring little to no tangible benefit back home. Meanwhile, at home, hospitals are collapsing, schools are empty and workers are protesting. If this is governance, then Nigeria has been reduced to a traveling theatre.

A government that cannot fund education at home has no business offering education abroad. It’s like a man whose children sleep hungry every night but who throws lavish dinners for his neighbors.

Betrayal in Broad Daylight.
Let us not sugarcoat the truth, this is a BETRAYAL. A BETRAYAL of the Nigerian child who walks miles to a dilapidated school. A BETRAYAL of the teacher who hasn’t been paid in months. A BETRAYAL of the parents who make impossible sacrifices just to keep their children in school. And a BETRAYAL of the entire nation that is being dragged backwards by leadership decisions that make no sense.

Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” What do you call a leader who disarms his own nation and arms others? Tinubu’s gesture in Saint Lucia wasn’t diplomacy. It is a slap in the face to every Nigerian student. It is BETRAYAL dressed in agbada.

The Way FORWARD.
It is not too late for President Tinubu to correct this grave mistake. He must immediately withdraw the scholarship pledge to Saint Lucian students and redirect those funds toward revitalizing Nigeria’s education sector. This includes settling all outstanding wages of university and public-school staff, renovating decayed infrastructure and updating the curriculum to meet 21st-century needs.

Furthermore, Tinubu must publicly apologize to Nigerian students, parents and educators for this insensitive and irresponsible decision. Anything short of that would confirm that this government values photo ops over people and international validation over national progress.

All Things Considered: Nigeria Deserves Better.
Nigeria is not a playground for experimental leadership. We cannot afford the luxury of incompetence when millions of young lives are on the line. If President Tinubu cannot place Nigerian students at the center of his development agenda, then he has no moral justification to lead them.

Nigeria deserves better. Our children deserve better. We must keep demanding better.

By George Omagbemi Sylvester
Published by SaharaWeeklyNG.com