ABUJA, Nigeria: Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari said his government will reinvigorate its campaign against the Islamic extremist insurgency in the country’s northeast as he spoke to the nation for the first time Monday after returning from London where he spent more than three months for medical treatment.
“Terrorists and criminals must be fought and destroyed relentlessly so that the majority of us can live in peace and safety,” said Buhari in a televised speech on Monday. “Therefore we are going to reinforce and reinvigorate the fight not only against elements of Boko Haram which are attempting a new series of attacks on soft targets, kidnappings, farmers versus herdsmen clashes, in addition to ethnic violence fueled by political mischief makers. We shall tackle them all.”
Buhari returned Saturday to Abuja, though he didn’t make any comments upon his arrival to Abuja. Though he looked slimmer than his early days in office, his appearance was healthier than it had seemed in previous months as he walked from the airplane, and video footage later Saturday showed him shaking hands, smiling and laughing with dignitaries on his return.
In his address, Buhari, 74, did not say what illness caused him to leave Nigeria in May for the lengthy treatment in Britain. He thanked Nigerians for their prayers.
“I am pleased to be back on home soil among my brothers and sisters,” Buhari said.
The government of Africa’s most populous nation has never said what exactly has been ailing Buhari and his long absences have led some to call for his replacement and for the military to remind its personnel to remain loyal.
Earlier this year Buhari spent seven weeks in London for treatment and said he had never been so sick in his life.
In his address, Buhari talked about political divisions, urging that Nigeria must be united. He said that while he was in London he kept in touch with daily events at home.
“Nigerians are robust and lively in discussing their affairs, but I was distressed to notice that some of the comments, especially in the social media have crossed our national red lines by daring to question our collective existence as a nation. This is a step too far,” he said.
Observers have feared that political unrest could erupt in Nigeria, particularly in the predominantly Muslim north, should Buhari not finish his term in office, which ends in 2019. The previous president was a Christian from the south, as is Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who has served as acting president during Buhari’s time abroad.
Nigeria’s ongoing challenges include the deadly Boko Haram insurgency, a weak economy and one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with millions malnourished in the northeast.
Buhari called on Nigerians to come together to face challenges of “economic security, political evolution and integration as well as lasting peace.”
Ending his first national address for months, Buhari said “I remain resolutely committed to ensuring that these goals are achieved and maintained. I am so glad to be home.”
This isn’t the first time Nigeria has faced a leader’s long absences. When former President Musa Yar’Adua was ill abroad for months before coming home to die in 2009, northerners blocked his southern Vice President Goodluck Jonathan from assuming power, creating a months-long political paralysis.
Jonathan was eventually confirmed, but his subsequent successful run for election angered many Muslims, breaking an unwritten agreement that power rotates between northerners and southerners.
Buhari will submit a letter to the National Assembly Monday to reassure them he is back in office, said Femi Adesina, special assistant to the president on media and publicity, speaking on a local news program after Buhari’s address.
Nigerian president vows to step up fight against Boko Haram
Nigerian president vows to step up fight against Boko Haram
US hotels seek World Cup boost after tourism dip under Trump
- At the US hotels that Meade Atkeson manages, a drop in tourism weighs heavily on business — but hoteliers like him hope that World Cup enthusiasm will soon eclipse wariness over President
WASHINGTON: At the US hotels that Meade Atkeson manages, a drop in tourism weighs heavily on business — but hoteliers like him hope that World Cup enthusiasm will soon eclipse wariness over President Donald Trump’s policies.
The US hospitality sector has been reeling from a tourism slump in the world’s biggest economy, which became the only major destination to see a drop in foreign visitors last year.
“Just financially, it’s difficult when international travel is down,” Atkeson told AFP, noting that such visitors tend to stay longer and spend more.
Foreign travelers account for nearly a quarter of business at the three hotels under Sonesta group that he manages — two in Washington and a third in Miami Beach.
Yet, in the first eleven months of 2025, US official data showed that inbound travel dropped by 5.4 percent.
Canadians were noticeably absent, with travel plunging by 21.7 percent from 2024, translating to about four million fewer people. The decline was nearly seven percent for French visitors.
Industry professionals see this as a consequence of Trump’s policies, even if they may not openly say so.
Visitors have chafed at the Republican president’s sweeping tariffs on foreign goods, broadsides against other countries, tightening immigration rules and portrayal of certain Democrat-led cities as ridden with crime.
Canadians “were asked to be the 51st state, right?” Atkeson said.
“If you talk to Canadians, many of them have chosen not to travel out of conscience” or on principle, he added.
Brazilian tourists meanwhile “can go anywhere they want,” he said. “And so they may have gone to Europe, they may have gone to the islands.”
‘Fear’
Thousands of kilometers away, the major resort city of Las Vegas in Nevada — boasting 150,000 hotel rooms — has also had a bad year.
Elsa Rodan, a chambermaid at the Bellagio resort and casino, says her establishment is “blessed” compared with others.
But even so, it has had to lower prices to attract guests, added Rodan, a representative of the Unite Here union who spoke at a Washington press conference.
Unite Here President Gwen Mills urges for a renewed effort to lobby the Trump administration over policies and rhetoric that she believes are jeopardizing the sector employing more than two million people.
According to her, hoteliers are not pushing the government enough.
Employers express “fear, the fear of picking your head up,” she said.
Hopefully ‘better’
Fewer visitors and overnight stays, alongside a drop in revenue, have triggered a $6.7 billion shortfall for Nevada hotels in 2025, according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA).
But the organization hopes that 2026 will be a turning point — it is counting on the World Cup, from June 11 to July 19, to attract visitors.
Eleven US cities will be hosting matches.
“It’s being equated to having nearly 80 Super Bowls in just over a month,” AHLA spokesman Ralph Posner told AFP.
“The economic lift won’t be limited to host cities,” he added. “Destinations across the country are hoping to benefit as international visitors extend their trips and travel between markets.”
Las Vegas, for example, hopes to draw fans who might stop there before or after a game in Los Angeles or Kansas City.
Organizers say that besides the seven million spectators in stadiums, the World Cup is set to attract 20-30 million tourists.
The whole event, they believe, can generate $30 billion for the US economy.
“I hope that things will look better,” Atkeson said.
His Miami hotel is under renovations and cannot host much World Cup-related activity.
But his Washington establishments are highlighting their proximity to Philadelphia, where several matches will be held.
Another complication is war in the Middle East following US-Israeli strikes on Iran, which could snarl travel.
“It’s a little too soon to tell how we’re going to do with that, but we’ll see,” he said.
