Olushola Omogbehin
As part of the activities marking Tinubu’s two-day state visit to the United Kingdom, King Charles III on Wednesday hosted President Bola Tinubu and his wife, Oluremi Tinubu, at a state banquet in Windsor Castle.
While the British Monarch was delivering his speech in St George’s Hall, he expressed his admiration for Nigeria, for Nigerians and the influence of Nigerians in the UK.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s population, he said Nigeria has arrived with its over 230 million people, majority of who are below 18 and full of “energy, ingenuity, ambition and resolve” to tackle global challenges.
Speaking on how Nigerian culture has enriched Britain, ranging from Afrobeats in concert halls to Nollywood on screens, he said:
“From Afrobeats filling our concert halls and Nollywood captivating our screens, to stars competing in our Premier League and adjudicating our highest courts, so much of Britain’s culture is, in truth, profoundly enriched by Nigeria.”
On the nation’s model of peaceful coexistence among faiths, he said: “This afternoon, I witnessed one such example of how we are learning from one another when we met leaders of the British Christian and Muslim communities.
“The gathering was a deeply meaningful symbol of what Nigeria has long shown: that people of different faiths can, do, and must live alongside one another, in peace, in harmony and in shared purpose.”
On Nigeria as the biggest UK export market in Africa, King Charles mentioned growing investments, including Nigerian banks operating in the City of London, companies listing on the London Stock Exchange, and expanding tech partnerships.
“I was pleased to see that visitors from Nigeria spent £178 million in Britain in 2024, and 251,000 people from Britain travelled to Nigeria and spent just as much, in return.
“In January of this year, Nigeria became the United Kingdom’s biggest export market in Africa and whilst I hear that in Nigeria the phrase ‘Made in U.K.’ has always symbolised the highest quality, it evidently now has a distinctively Nigerian flavour,” he said.
Describing UK-Nigeria relations as a partnership of equals and deeply spiritual connection, beyond churches and mosques, the King said the ties between the two nations strengthen shared security, prosperity, and hope for the future.
Calling the over half a million Nigerians and people of Nigerian heritage thriving in Britain “living bridge,” he said they enrich UK culture across sectors including business, technology, academia, law, science, sport, literature, arts, and public service.
Speaking diplomatically on Nigeria’s delicacy but without admitting Nigeria’s jollof rice is the best, King Charles said:
“I was firmly assured that the Jollof was only the best: Nigerian, of course… or perhaps Ghanaian or Senegalese. Diplomatically, I cannot remember!”
To everybody’s applause and laughter, King Charles ended his speech with the popular Nigerian Pidgin phrase, “Naija No Dey Carry Last!”
