19/03/2026
Our colonial masters are masters of presentation, organization, elegance, attention to detail, the ability to mesmerize, the embodiment of aura. They came through for Tinubu, his wife, and his entourage. Everything was well arranged, well staged, almost perfect.
In moments like that, it is easy to be carried away. Easy to forget that this same charm, this same sophistication, is part of what once disarmed a people and gave birth to what we now remember through stories like Things Fall Apart.
King Charles III knows there are many Nigerians in the UK. He even acknowledged it, noting how they have made the UK their home. But he stopped there. He did not go further to acknowledge what pushed many of them to leave home in the first place.
He knows. He is not disconnected. He is aware of voices like Kemi Badenoch and the conversations around Nigeria.
He even joked about Nigerian jollof rice. That tells you he pays attention to the small, trending conversations. And if he can pay attention to jollof rice, then it is hard to imagine that he is unaware of Boko Haram, banditry, and the daily loss of lives.
Perhaps he is not aware of the recent tragedy in Borno state where innocent people were killed. Or perhaps he is. And yet, there he was, sitting with the president of that same country, laughing and bonding over jollof rice.
That is the contrast.
A country bleeding.
A leadership basking.
And a host who knows enough to joke, but not enough to confront.
In the end, it is not the elegance that should impress us. It is the silence that should disturb us.
