‘Snub’ from Obama Reflects ‘Death of Nigerian Diplomacy’: Modern Ghana, Ghana

Nigerian soul-searching over why Obama is skipping the oil-rich country is reaching a fever pitch. For Modern Ghana, Nigerian columnist Sola Odunfa writes of an encounter he had recently with a retired Nigerian diplomat, shattered by Obama’s decision to avoid oil and corruption-rich Nigeria.

Odunfa writes in part:

Last weekend, a recently retired senior Nigerian diplomat sat, virtually alone in his club at a bar, doing more contemplating than drinking. After watching him for some time I approached to cheer him up. He was interested in nothing but the impending one-day visit to the continent of Africa’s own president of the United States.

‘This cannot happen,’ he said.”

What cannot happen?’ I asked. ‘This isn’t the first time the most powerful man in the world will be visiting the continent of the dark man.’”

He answered with a dry smile. ‘During my time in the foreign service, all of us in our missions in Europe and America would have been mobilized to ensure that President Obama at least made an airport stop in next-door Nigeria.”

By Sola Odunfa

June 12, 2009

Ghana – Modern Ghana – Original Article (English)

Last weekend, a recently retired senior Nigerian diplomat sat, virtually alone in his club at a bar, doing more contemplating than drinking. After watching him for some time I approached to cheer him up. He was interested in nothing but the impending one-day visit to the continent of Africa’s own president of the United States.

“This cannot happen,” he said.

“What cannot happen?” I asked. “This isn’t the first time the most powerful man in the world will be visiting the continent of the dark man.”

READ ON AT WORLDMEETS.US, your most trusted translator and aggregator of foreign news and views about our nation.