Moshood Adisa Olabisi Ajala, aka Ajala the Traveller, was a Nigerian journalist, actor and travel writer. He was so famous for his travels across the world that he became synonymous with wanderlust. In 1952, aged 18, in a racially segregated America, he cycled 3670 kilometres from Chicago to Los Angeles in 28 days. But he did a little more than travel. During that trip, he challenged white supremacy and promoted African culture. Facilitated by Ronald Regan, Ajala would later sign an acting contract and feature in the Hollywood film titled White Witch Doctor. However, his eccentricities earned him a deportation to London from America. Between 1957 and 1962, he travelled across 87 countries on a Vespa scooter. His experiences were documented in An African Abroad a book he published in 1963. While Ajala wandered around from country to country, he meandered from marriage to marriage. His obsession didn’t elude Ebenezer Obey, who sang “…You have travelled all over the world …Ajala travelled all over the world …Ajala travelled …Ajala travelled …Ajala travelled all over the world.” That 1972 album titled Board Members became a classic, and Ajala became the colloquial synonym for wanderers, all travellers who can’t sit still. Ajala died in February 1999, on the eve of Nigeria’s return to democracy. 

Tinubu was elected president two years ago. In two years, he has visited over 25 countries. Unlike Ajala, who rode bicycles and Vespa scooters, one of Tinubu’s first acts as president was to acquire a new presidential jet. Remarkably, in these first two years, no president of consequence has made a state visit to Nigeria. It appears Tinubu prefers jet setting to hosting, the sort of thing an Ajala would choose. When Tinubu was running around the Arab world, pan in hand, begging for loans, Nigerians sympathised with him. His travels seemed necessary to solve the economic constipation of the country. And his running from pillar to post was prudent. But soon the holiday-like quality of his travels appeared. When Tinubu went to France and worked from there for weeks, Nigerians started to suspect that Tinubu was using the quest for foreign investment as a smokescreen for frolicking. If the exact budget Tinubu has wasted on foreign trips is made public, there will be an uncontrollable uproar.

The past four months tell the whole story. For Easter  2025, Tinubu left Abuja for Lagos for about two weeks. Once he returned to Abuja,  he was off to an anonymous destination called St. Lucian for a state visit. That was his preferred route to a two-day BRICS conference in Brazil. He lingered in st lucia for eight whole days. The ripples of the visit to that tiny Caribbean island haven’t subsided. Local Lucian newspapers have been asking their government to come clean and tell the public how much of the financial burden of Tinubu’s visit fell on the poor taxpayers of st Lucia. St Lucians had never received a foreign sitting president, let alone one who sat in their country for eight days. 

After St lucia, Tinubu flew to Brazil for the BRICS summit. The meeting ended in two days. Once it ended, Tinubu vanished. For five days nobody knew if he had returned to St Lucia and journeyed to the Seychelles. Many believed that had Buhari not died when he did, Tinubu might have remained in Brazil for much longer. But because of Buhari, Tinubu resurfaced and returned to Abuja. Buhari’s funeral over,  Tinubu is off again. 

This time, he is headed to Japan. The meeting in Japan is on Africa. One of those humiliating gatherings where African leaders are summoned abroad to discuss Africa. For this two-day meeting, Tinubu will have a brief stopover in Dubai. His official itinerary calls it “a brief stopover”. This brief stopover will last about 8 days. Once again, another 7-8 day tourist detour to gather his spirits for a two-day meeting.  

When he leaves Japan he will head to Brazil on the invitation of President Lula. They might welcome him with chariots and give him some stale state honours. They might also include some troupes by Brazilian Yoruba tribes to entertain him with owambe and stir his emotions. With those cultural ingredients and a few business proposals, his aides will have the condiments to pepper and salt up the importance of the visit and put the critics of his incurable profligacy to shame.

On these trips, Tinubu will go with a king-sized entourage to devour  Nigeria’s scarce foreign exchange. After mouthing Oransaye reforms, Tinubu appears incapable of frugality. The man preaches austerity to the poor and lives like the legendary ‘Dokubo’. His revenue-based reforms, which excite the IMF and World Bank, appear aimed at squeezing the masses to fund his presidential soft life.

Ajala was a relentless traveller. He met presidents, but he couldn’t complete school in America.  Though his name now connotes aimless wandering, Ajala ‘s legacy was adventure, exploration, cultural advocacy and personal eccentricity. Travelling has great benefits but travelling without restraint has consequences. Tinubu’s Nigeria is a house on fire. The level of insecurity is unprecedented. No one begrudges Tinubu the perks and privileges of the presidency of a third-world country. After all, he made it clear that his time had come. But at some point wanderlust becomes truancy. 

Tinubu’s defenders might argue that frequent travel is standard for modern presidents seeking foreign investment and partnerships, especially for a country like Nigeria facing economic strain. The BRICS summit, Japan’s Africa meeting, and Lula’s invitation could position Nigeria globally. But no serious president lingers in Dubai for a week. The absence of reciprocal state visits and tangible economic wins undermines these claims. The holiday-like quality of his trips paints Tinubu as frivolous and aloof.

To renew hope, Tinubu must embrace frugality. He has to be present and sober. The suffering masses want to see empathy. Empathy is best displayed through shared suffering, through visible sacrifice,  rather than empty promises or handouts. Tinubu must submit himself and his cronies to the reforms he imposes on the masses. 

Ajala’s legacy was adventure and defiance at personal cost. What will Tinubu’s legacy be?