King Charles hails ‘partnership of equals’ with Nigeria at state banquet

King Charles III on Wednesday praised Britain’s “partnership of equals” with Nigeria as he hosted a banquet for President Bola Tinubu during the first state visit by the leader of Africa’s most populous nation in nearly four decades.

The banquet in the historic Windsor Castle west of London saw Charles and Queen Camilla host Tinubu and his wife as well as Nigerian officials, bankers and business people and sports stars and cultural figures with Nigerian heritage.

Britain and the former British colony have a “deep bond” and a “partnership of equals that has brought us both enormous benefits,” the king said in his opening speech.

“Our two nations share a vision of progress” based on “mutual respect and common values”, Tinubu told the king in his speech, stating he was the first Nigerian leader ever to speak at Windsor Castle.

Charles described Nigeria as an “economic powerhouse” and said it “has not merely changed, it has arrived.”

“Nigeria is investing in Britain’s future  as much as Britain is investing in Nigeria’s”, the king said, giving examples of Nigerian banks based in the City of London and British export finance supporting investment in Nigeria’s ports.

Attending the banquet were Nigerian ministers and finance figures such as CEO of fintech bank Moniepoint, Tosin Eniolorunda, and Gilbert Chagoury, a controversial Nigerian billionaire of Lebanese descent who was handed a money-laundering conviction in Switzerland in 2000.

Tinubu has made less formal visits to Britain several times in his tenure and the two countries remain major partners in trade, aid and defence. London is also home to a huge Nigerian diaspora.

Celebrities with Nigerian heritage at the dinner included sports stars such as England rugby captain Maro Itoje, Olympic 400m champion Christine Ohuruogo and former England footballer Eniola Aluko.

Arts figures included writer Ben Okri and Tiwa Savage, one of Nigeria’s biggest Afrobeats stars.

Charles described such figures with connections to both Britain and Nigeria as a “living bridge” between the countries, calling Nigerians “quiet heroes” at “the heart of British life”.

Tinubu said “our people remain the strongest bridge between our two countries,” citing areas including healthcare and sport.

The Nigerian president is Muslim and King Charles thanked him for travelling during Ramadan which he said was “no small sacrifice” and wished him “Ramadan Mubarak”.

This was the first state banquet during Ramadan hosting a Muslim head of state since 1928, with adjustments such as a prayer room for guests and iftar before the dinner, where the guests ate turbot fish and Tinubu drank a non-alcoholic toast.

Charles and Camilla earlier greeted the president and his wife in Windsor, west of London, on a sunny afternoon as artillery fired salutes.

Nigerian flags and Union Jacks fluttered on poles along Windsor’s main street.

At Windsor Castle, Charles and Tinubu inspected a guard of honour in traditional bearskin hats.

– ‘Painful marks’ –

In nods to Nigerian culture, Charles referred to his most recent visit to Nigeria in 2018 and began and ended his banquet speech with phrases in the Nigerian native language Yoruba and Pidjin, which is based on English.

The Nigerian president responded to the king’s greeting in Yoruba by laughing and clapping.

But referring to Nigeria’s past as a British colony, Charles acknowledged “chapters in our shared history that I know have left painful marks”, saying that “no words” could dissolve these.

The Nigerian president’s visit came after suspected suicide bombings killed at least 23 people in northeastern Nigeria on Monday evening.

The west African nation has been roiled by a jihadist insurgency since 2009, which US President Donald Trump has claimed amounts to a “genocide” of Christians — sparking a diplomatic crisis between Washington and Abuja, which denies the allegations.

Tinubu responded by ordering security chiefs to move to the northeastern African city of Maiduguri, where the attacks happened, to “take charge of the situation”.

Nigerian soldiers on Wednesday killed 80 jihadists who planned to attack a military position in conflict-battered Borno state.

Tinubu said he was looking forward to a meeting on Thursday with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who attended the state banquet. He was also due to meet members of the Nigerian community abroad, according to the official schedule.

First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, a Christian pastor, is set to preach at London’s Lambeth Palace — the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury — on Thursday and meet representatives of the Church of England.

Missing from the official schedule is the traditional meeting between the visiting head of state and the British opposition.

But Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, who is of Nigerian descent, was a guest at Wednesday’s banquet.

She has repeatedly publicly criticised the country she was raised in over corruption and violence.

The last Nigerian state visit to the UK took place in 1989, although Tinubu was received by Charles in September 2024.

Before the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 2022, Charles also visited Nigeria four times as Prince of Wales, most recently in 2018.

AFP

The post King Charles hails ‘partnership of equals’ with Nigeria at state banquet appeared first on Vanguard News.