Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister, Philip Pierre, has condemned Nigerians for the backlash surrounding President Bola Tinubu’s recent visit to the Caribbean nation.

Pierre described the lash out as “shameful” and rooted in a legacy of self-hate born from slavery.

Recall that president Tinubu had visited Saint Lucia out of a formal address to a joint session of Saint Lucia’s Senate and House of Assembly.

The visit which did not seem to augur well with Nigerians had many criticizing the president’s move while the country under him faced a heck load of insecurity and hunger.

Some critics questioned why the visit was necessary especially in the wake of a deadly flood in Minna, Niger State, which claimed over 200 lives.

In Saint Lucia, opposition parties and commentators scrutinised the cost of the visit, temporary airport closures, and the nature of any resulting bilateral agreements.

Over there, the president had made pledges to the country and it’s people one of which included scholarship offers. The move draw a lot more criticisms.

Meanwhile, during his 2025 Emancipation Day address (A day in Saint Lucia that marks the abolition of slavery in the British Caribbean) – on August 1, Pierre condemned the backlash which he said is a harmful residue of colonisation that still affects the thinking of Africans towards leadership.

He further stated that the criticisms were politically motivated and a clear proof that Africans and their descendants would accept inferiority.

He said, “The vilification and denigration of the President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, by a politically-motivated group tacitly supported by the opposition group was another demonstration of the harmful effects of the legacy of slavery — self-hate and readiness to accept African people and their descendants as inferior.

“That behaviour was nothing short of shameful and disgraceful. Had the visit been by a head of state from another country, the reception from that group would have been at the least respectful.”

The Prime Minister further stated that despite backlash from Nigerians, Saint Lucia remains appreciative for Tinubu’s visit as he emphasized a commitment to building stronger ties with Nigeria.

“To the government and the people of Nigeria, the government and the people of Saint Lucia have been honoured by your president’s visit.”