Aare Amerijoye DOT.B
Nine hundred and eighty-one days in office.
Approximately two hundred and forty-five of those days reportedly spent outside Nigeria.
Nearly one out of every four days of this presidency has unfolded beyond the borders of a nation currently wrestling with inflation, currency instability, energy strain, and shrinking household confidence.
Let us speak plainly.
This is not a ceremonial season in Nigeria. It is a season of economic contraction felt in kitchens, markets, bus stops, and classrooms.
In May 2023, a bag of rice was within reach of the average salary earner. Today, for many, it is a negotiation. Transport that once consumed a fraction of income now consumes strategy. The naira that once wobbled now swings. Diesel that once dented profit margins now devours them.
A trader’s capital today buys less stock than it did two years ago.A graduate’s salary today buys less food than it did last year.A family’s savings today evaporate faster than inflation statistics are announced.
This is not theoretical economics.
This is compression.
And in the midst of this compression, the presidency appears persistently mobile.
Supporters will argue that global engagement attracts foreign direct investment. They will insist that international summits project Nigeria’s relevance. They will frame the travel schedule as strategic repositioning.
But investment does not follow the frequency of flights. It follows confidence in domestic systems.
Investors examine power supply consistency.
They examine regulatory transparency.
They examine currency predictability.
They examine legal reliability.
No investor commits capital because a president attended multiple conferences. Capital follows structure, not symbolism.
And symbolism, unfortunately, is what this arithmetic now represents.
Nearly 245 days abroad in 981 days of domestic strain is not automatically illegality. It is imbalance.
It is the image of outward motion while inward pressure intensifies.
While Nigerians calculate fuel before commuting to work, the presidency calculates departures.
While families reduce food portions, the state increases international presence.
While the middle class recalibrates survival, governance appears globally expansive.
The contrast is psychological.
Leadership in crisis is not only about policy design; it is about proximity. In seasons of hardship, citizens measure whether their leader is grounded enough to feel the weight of the ground.
The familiar defence will come: previous administrations travelled too. But if precedent normalised disproportion during distress, that is not justification; it is institutional complacency.
Nigeria’s present challenge is domestic stabilisation.
When inflation stretches wages beyond dignity, when unemployment lingers, when small enterprises close quietly, what citizens crave is visible immersion. They crave relentless domestic supervision. They crave the unmistakable image of a presidency rooted in reform at home.
This is where 2027 enters the conversation.
Democracy has memory.
If economic pain persists while leadership optics signal external preoccupation, arithmetic will transform into political consequence. Voters may not analyse macroeconomic models, but they understand proportion. They understand presence. They understand when they feel seen , and when they feel distant from power.
Nearly one quarter of presidential time spent abroad during a period of widespread economic discomfort will not remain a footnote. It will become part of the national judgment.
Not because travel is wrong.
But because context is everything.
Nigeria does not merely need representation in foreign capitals. It needs restoration in domestic markets. It needs energy reforms that translate into stable electricity. It needs currency discipline that translates into price stability. It needs economic recalibration that translates into breathing space for ordinary citizens.
The presidency is not an airport lounge.
It is a command centre.
When the nation feels economically shaken, leadership must appear immovable.
When the nation feels compressed, leadership must appear immersed.
History will not catalogue flight itineraries with admiration. It will catalogue whether Nigerians felt relief.
Arithmetic is patient.
Voters are observant.
And in democracies, numbers eventually vote.
Aare Amerijoye DOT.B
Director General,
The Narrative Force
