King Charles is rolling out the red carpet for Nigeria’s President Tinubu in Windsor, the first muslim Head of State to be welcomed for a State Visit during the month of Ramadan in almost 100 years.
Security is incredibly tight: lines of police officers and marshals are patrolling the streets, and crash barriers protect the route for this afternoon’s carriage procession through the town centre.
On Monday, a series of Islamist suicide bombings killed 23 people in Nigeria and wounded more than 100.
The terrorist attacks were blamed on the infamous Boko Haram militants in the north-east of the country.
King Charles | Source: PA
President Tinubu condemned the “evil-minded” attacks.
Juliana Olayinka, a British Nigerian broadcaster, told GB News: “There have been issues around security. Particularly in the north of Nigeria for some time now. Whether we want to remember it or not, Nigeria is a former British colony, so the support that they [the Nigerian Government] can get from the British Army is going to be very well received back home.”
A tri-service parade of around 1,000 personnel is staging a ceremonial welcome for President Tinubu – a soft power move which is designed to show the strength of the British Armed Forces as both governments work collectively to deepen defence ties.
Meanwhile, China is investing billions of pounds in Nigeria’s infrastructure to buy more influence.
King Charles | Source: PA
It is perhaps easy to see why Sir Keir Starmer wishes to use The King’s soft power to strengthen trade and security relations.
Ministers have announced that hundreds of new jobs are to be created, because a number of Nigerian companies are scaling up operations in the UK.
That’s the value of a State Visit; the King’s soft power at Windsor Castle is an opportunity for officials to negotiate improved relations behind closed doors in London.
It is understood that a number of Nigerian bankers are in the British capital city to explore investment opportunities.
King Charles, Queen Camilla | Source: PA
Nigeria is also seen as the bridge between the continents of Europe and Africa, so perhaps this is an opportunity for Sir Keir Starmer to continue British influence post-Brexit.
Meanwhile, relations have soured between President Trump, Prime Minister Starmer and President Tinubu.
Just yesterday, President Trump repeated his assertion that Starmer is “no Winston Churchill” – clearly still irritated by the British Prime Minister’s decision not to do more to help in the war against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Iran.
On Christmas Day, the United States unexpectedly launched a series of airstrikes against Islamist insurgents in Northern Nigeria.
King Charles, Queen Camilla, Nigerian President and First Lady | Source: PA
So, what will President Trump make of The King treating President Tinubu to a magnificent state banquet in Windsor Castle’s St George’s Hall?
Buckingham Palace and the UK Government declined to comment on whether His Majesty’s rumoured trip to the United States is going ahead as planned next month.
Let’s see how strengthening defence ties between the UK and Nigeria is interpreted on the other side of the Atlantic.
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