ABUJA, Nigeria (FN) \u2014 President Bola Tinubu departed Abuja on Wednesday for South Africa to attend the 20th G20 Leaders\u2019 Summit, even as Nigeria grapples with fresh terrorist attacks and worsening insecurity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The visit comes days after militants killed Brigadier\u2011General Uba Musa in Borno State and abducted at least 25 schoolgirls in Kebbi State, sparking outrage and renewed debate over Nigeria\u2019s security failures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tinubu is expected to join world leaders in Johannesburg for discussions on disaster risk reduction, climate change, energy transition, food systems, artificial intelligence, and equitable development. He will also hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, current G20 chair, extended the invitation to Tinubu. The Nigerian leader will later travel to Angola for the AU\u2013EU Summit in Luanda, where security cooperation and investment are expected to dominate talks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Presidential aides defended the trip, saying Nigeria must remain engaged in global decision\u2011making. \u201cInternational partnerships are critical to strengthening our economy and security,\u201d a spokesperson said. \u201cThe president will use these meetings to secure support for Nigeria\u2019s fight against terrorism.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Opposition politicians criticized the timing. \u201cOur people are under siege, and the president is abroad,\u201d said Sen. Shehu Sani, a former lawmaker. \u201cThis is not the moment for diplomacy; it is the moment for leadership at home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tinubu has so far remained silent on the killing of Brigadier\u2011General Musa<\/strong>, a fact that has fueled public anger. Critics say the absence of a presidential statement on the slain officer reflects a lack of empathy and urgency in addressing insecurity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nigeria has recorded more than 3,000 abductions in 2025, according to figures from security trackers, with banditry and insurgency concentrated in the northwest and northeast. Analysts say the numbers highlight the scale of the crisis and the urgency of reforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Civil society groups also weighed in. The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria urged Tinubu to balance diplomacy with domestic priorities. \u201cGlobal summits are important, but Nigerians need immediate action to protect schools and communities,\u201d the group said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The trip underscores the tension between diplomacy and domestic governance. Past leaders, including Muhammadu Buhari, faced similar criticism for traveling abroad during crises. As Tinubu meets world leaders in Johannesburg, families in Borno and Kebbi continue to mourn, highlighting the stark contrast between Nigeria\u2019s international ambitions and its pressing security challenges at home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ABUJA, Nigeria (FN) \u2014 President Bola Tinubu departed Abuja on Wednesday for South Africa to attend the 20th G20 Leaders\u2019 Summit, even as Nigeria grapples with fresh terrorist attacks and worsening insecurity. The visit comes days after militants killed Brigadier\u2011General Uba Musa in Borno State and abducted at least 25 schoolgirls in Kebbi State, sparking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":24796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3,1138],"tags":[2000,663,2001,1998,1999],"class_list":["post-24794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-naija-news","category-politics","tag-au-eu-summit-angola","tag-bola-tinubu","tag-nigeria-opposition-reaction","tag-nigeria-presidency","tag-south-africa-g20-summit"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/President-Bola-Tinubu.jpg?fit=680%2C444&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24794"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24797,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24794\/revisions\/24797"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}