So, the British broke a 100-year tradition for President Bola Tinubu’s state visit last week.
In those two days, King Charles III hosted the President and the First Lady at Windsor Castle for a state visit. It was the first by a Nigerian leader in 37 years, since General Ibrahim Babangida was received by Queen Elizabeth II in 1989.
And for the first time since the reign of George V in 1928, the Crown modified an entire state programme to accommodate a Muslim leader visiting during Ramadan. Based on commentaries from Britons themselves, it was an all-out effort.
While Queen Camilla and the First Lady were having lunch that Wednesday, the King had a private audience with Tinubu so he could continue fasting. They set up a prayer room inside Windsor Castle, steps from St George’s Hall. Instead of champagne, the toasts were made with a drink made from hibiscus leaves, locally called zobo.
The menu featured fish and vegetables, with no debates over which halal meat to serve. And in what Hannah Fennes, royal editor at The Telegraph, called a first in recorded history, the palace served canapés before the banquet so that fasting guests could eat something after sunset while waiting for dinner at 9 pm. It would have been easy to shift the visit until after Ramadan, but the host, it appears, meant business.
Even the Princess of Wales dressed in an outfit by Nigerian designer Tolu Coker, a sartorial nod to the guest of honour. The banquet table stretched 47 metres, longer than a blue whale. There were 960 knives and forks, 143 candles, and the staff had been working on the arrangement since Monday.
There was also a quieter detail I observed during the caravan procession. At various points, King Charles reached out to offer Tinubu a steadying hand, guiding him through the ceremonial steps with keen attentiveness. The President, after all, has acquired something of a reputation for missing his steps. And his hosts seemed to have taken note. In Turkey last January, despite President Erdogan’s best efforts, one moment of unguardedness saw the President on the floor. The internet, as it does, was merciless.
At Windsor, the monarchy was not about to let a misstep, literal or otherwise, steal the show. And when Tinubu approached 10 Downing Street to meet Prime Minister Keir Starmer, he kept his head firmly down while reporters pelted him with stray questions. The man has learned that the safest way to walk is to watch his steps.
The Crown’s pomp and pageantry for President Tinubu’s visit is arguably one of the most theatrical diplomatic gestures in recent years. But when Britain adjusts a century-old protocol for a visiting president, can it be described as politeness or strategy?
For one, Britain did not invite Nigeria to Windsor Castle because the Crown suddenly remembered a 37-year gap. Some say the invitation was a long-time-no-see gesture. Others believe it stemmed from genuine concern. Concern about what?
You see, Tinubu has been busy, very busy. His state visit to France in November 2024, where Emmanuel Macron rolled out his own red carpet at the Élysée Palace, did not go unnoticed in London. The same goes for the frequent trips to Paris before that. There is also Germany in November 2023 and Türkiye in January 2026. Each visit came with significant investment pledges, partnership frameworks, and activities that signalled Nigeria was no longer exclusively a Commonwealth asset.
A Chatham House analysis published on the day of Tinubu’s visit to Windsor noted that Nigeria’s growing relations with France under Tinubu have complicated its diplomacy in the Sahel, but have also made Nigeria a more contested partner in the eyes of the UK. So, it makes sense that when your former colony starts keeping company with your historical rival across the Channel, you do not allow 37 years to become 40 before issuing a dinner invitation.
The timing is crucial, too. With Francophone West Africa in democratic retreat, through coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Guinea, and anti-French sentiment sweeping the Sahel, Nigeria has, so far, positioned itself as the last standing democratic anchor in the region. So, whoever holds Nigeria’s loyalty holds some influence over West Africa’s direction. Britain knows this. France knows this. And Tinubu, to his credit, appears to know it too.
The state visit produced a N1.4 trillion financing deal with UK Export Finance for the rehabilitation of the Lagos and Tin Can Island ports. There were also discussions on energy partnerships, security cooperation, and the six-pillar Strategic Partnership signed in November 2024 during Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s visit to Nigeria. Trade between the two countries is at a record high. About 300,000 Nigerians live in the UK. And for Tinubu, the refuge the UK government provided him during the Abacha regime remains fresh, like yesterday.
The President has since returned to Lagos for the Eid holidays. His critics, who criticised him for travelling to the UK while Maiduguri burned, will be watching closely to see if he visits Borno soon. In the coming days, he is also expected to receive multiple resignations from his appointees who plan to contest elective offices in the 2027 elections.
