Several months after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s official visit to Brazil in August 2025, the much-publicised plan to launch a direct flight between Lagos and São Paulo has still not materialised, leaving many Nigerians living in the South American country increasingly frustrated.
During the visit, Nigeria and Brazil signed a number of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) covering key sectors such as aviation, agriculture, trade, and energy.
One of the most celebrated outcomes of that trip was the proposed direct air route between Nigeria and Brazil, expected to be operated by Air Peace under a Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) signed by both countries.
At the time, the development was welcomed with excitement by Nigerians in Brazil, many of whom saw it as a long-overdue breakthrough that would make travel between both countries easier, faster, and cheaper.
For years, travellers moving between Nigeria and Brazil have had to rely on long and expensive connecting routes through Europe or the Middle East, making the promised direct flight a major source of hope for families, business owners, students, and professionals.
But months after the announcement, that hope is beginning to turn into disappointment.
Members of the Nigerian community in Brazil are now calling on the Federal Government to explain why there has been no visible progress in implementing the agreements reached during Tinubu’s visit.
According to them, not only has the proposed Lagos–São Paulo route failed to launch, but several other bilateral promises made during the visit also appear to have stalled without clear explanation.
One community leader, Baba Oloyede, voiced the growing frustration, saying many Nigerians abroad are beginning to feel that the promises may have been more political than practical.
According to him, this is not the first time Nigerians in the diaspora have been given major announcements that later fail to translate into reality.
The concern is not limited to aviation alone.
There is also rising disappointment over the slow or nonexistent implementation of other agreements reached during the visit, especially those tied to agriculture, economic cooperation, and broader trade relations between both countries.
That concern is particularly important because Nigeria and Brazil had also discussed major agricultural collaboration, including a multi-billion-dollar partnership aimed at improving food security, mechanised farming, and agricultural development.
Back in August 2025, Air Peace itself publicly celebrated the direct-flight arrangement, presenting it as one of the early fruits of Tinubu’s diplomatic engagement with Brazil.
In a statement published on its website at the time, the airline quoted Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, as saying that reconnecting Nigeria and Brazil was a strategic move because both countries are among the biggest economies in their respective regions.
Air Peace also stated then that the route would drastically simplify travel, reduce unnecessary transit stress, and cut journey time to around seven hours across the Atlantic, creating fresh opportunities for trade, tourism, and cultural exchange.
However, a check of Air Peace’s international route listings shows that Brazil is still not among the destinations currently listed by the airline.
As of the time of filing the report, the airline’s published international destinations included Mumbai, Johannesburg, London, and Jeddah, but not São Paulo.
So far, neither the Nigerian government nor Air Peace has provided a clear public timeline for when the direct flight will begin or when the wider agreements with Brazil will start taking shape.
That silence is now fuelling calls for greater transparency, accountability, and honest communication, especially from Nigerians in Brazil who say they deserve clarity after months of waiting.
For many of them, the issue is no longer just about a flight route.
It is now about whether major international promises made in public are actually meant to be fulfilled.