President Muhammadu Buhari has returned to Nigeria on Wednesday night after a five-day vacation in the United Kingdom, according to a statement by spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina.
The President began his vacation after a trip to France where he addressed the EU Parliament last week. Buhari left France for the UK where he went on a media tour, granting interviews to the British press, The Telegraph and BBC.
Buhari also met with Nigerians living in the UK last Friday before he began his vacation.
His media interviewers generated some controversies back home in Nigeria. The biggest of them is the comment the President made on Nigerians seeking asylum in abroad. Buhari alluded to the number of Nigerians in prisons abroad for “drug dealing and human trafficking” and suggested that asylum seekers from Nigerians were not in danger but were seeking economic opportunities abroad. He also suggested that Nigerians “stay at home” because the number of Nigerians in prisons abroad made it difficult for their asylum requests to be granted.
Nigerians – citizens and political leaders – reacted by condemning Buhari’s comments with hashtags like #NigeriansAreNotCriminals and #IAmANigerianIAmNotACriminal. Buhari has denied calling Nigerians criminals in his interview with The Telegraph.
While Buhari was away, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was acting as president.
