When The President Gets Homesick -By Stephen Angbulu

Former US President, Ronald Reagan, is known for taking regular breaks at his 688-acre property in California, Rancho del Cielo. The ranch served as his sanctuary.

There, he could relax, ride horses, and escape the confines of the White House. Reagan spent 350 days at Rancho del Cielo during his eight-year tenure, visiting an average of six times annually.

Russian President, Vladimir Putin, often swaps his Kremlin fortress for the Siberian forest. He abandons everything stately to feel ‘human’ again. Perhaps this explains why he sent soldiers—not firefighters—to rescue the forest and its animals during a wildfire in July 2019.

In 26 AD, the Roman Emperor Tiberius grew sick of the political intrigues of Rome. He moved his base to the island of Capri, where he spent the last decade of his reign.

Alexander the Great suffered so much from nostalgia that he created replicas of Greek cities on his victory path as he pushed into Asia. Alexandria in Egypt is a prime example.

History is replete with examples pointing to one old phenomenon: seats of power can start to feel like a prison to the leader after a while. Why would heads of state and monarchs ‘escape’ every once in a while, to get away with it all?

This is a plausible reason why President Bola Tinubu has not spent any multiple-day holidays in the Aso Rock Villa. One can argue that he lives in the Presidential Villa out of necessity, as it took him months to move in after assuming office.

So, on major holidays like Eid-el-Fitr, like birds on seasonal migration, Tinubu leads his team far away from the seat of power to catch another glimpse of Lagos. If Lagos wouldn’t cut it, Paris awaits.

For his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, it was Daura. And if Daura could not offer the needed rest, London could.

So, when it became public that the President was jetting to Lagos again, I knew the monkeys and peacocks in the Villa would have days of freedom due to lessened traffic on the main premises.

Typical, most political and business bigwigs residing in Abuja would temporarily relocate to Lagos. Close allies in Lagos would not need to travel to see the President who has come to their doorstep.

Aside from those who make it to the news, other private visitors who do not frequent Abuja wait for such seasons. I call them the patient vultures.

Beyond the handshakes, photo ops, and small talk, the truth remains: most presidential guests come to mark an unseen register. There has been one guest after another since last Sunday.

One of the President’s prominent, non-political guests who caught my attention was the Chairman of the BUA Group, Abdulsamad Rabiu. Rabiu came with the news that the Federal Government is “listening” to input from members of the organised private sector serving on the Presidential Economic Coordination Council.

On March 27, 2024, President Tinubu established the PECC, which included himself, the Vice President, the Senate President, and the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, among others.

A member of the 31-person council, Rabiu spoke for his 12 other counterparts from the organised private sector when he said, “We are working together with the government, especially now that the President has established this council between the government and the private sector.

“So, we are working together, we are supporting each other, we are advising the government and the government is listening.

“This is very important; the fact that the government is listening. It means so much to the private sector, and I think we’ll get to the desired land.”

Hours earlier, his counterpart, the Chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, visited Tinubu with a prophecy of good tidings. Dangote predicted that Nigerians should expect inflation to fall soon, given a two-thirds reduction in diesel pump price.

“In our refinery, we started selling diesel at about N1,200 for N1,650 and I’m sure as we go along…this can actually help to bring inflation down immediately,” said Dangote.

The businessman said his petroleum refinery had been selling diesel at N1,200/litre, compared to the previous price of N1,700/litre.

Coupled with the recent gains of the naira in the foreign exchange market, Dangote expressed hopes that Nigeria’s economy would “get much better…one step at a time”.

Only time and outcomes will tell how much the Federal Government listens to the private sector or what the private sector tells the government. What’s not in doubt is that the President is sparing nothing to shop for expertise.

In the meantime, Tinubu received more guests at his country home. On Friday, he hosted his vice, Kashim Shettima, and some of the 36 state governors.

While that is happening, his official abode in Abuja lays eerily quiet, occasionally punctuated with squawks of peacocks, monkey chatter, and voices of domestic members of staff and security.

Walking the corridors last week gave life to the opening lines of a song in 2000 by the Irish boyband, Westlife, “An empty street, an empty house…” However, that silence will give way to the usual hustle and bustle of the Aso Rock Villa this week.