Obama chose Accra over Lagos for first Visit to sub-Saharan Africa
BY Ahmed Wahab and Dotun Adebayo, Abuja
U.S.
President Barrack Obama will visit Ghana July 10 and 11 to open his
first official visit as US President to sub-Sahara Africa.
Obama with a Kenyan father will be visiting the continent of his
roots as a president of the world's greatest power in what could
begin the deepening of a new and positive relationship between the
continent and the US though some analysts warned against undue
expectations by the continent's leaders.
The trip will come a month after Obama's scheduled visit to Egypt to
deliver an address on U.S. relations with the Muslim world. US
relationship with Africa has oscillated from the negative to the not
so positive. A stick and carrot diplomacy has seen the continent
suffer the series of policy mis-shots in Somalia, Sudan and the
Congo.
Not much economic benefits have happened under previous
administrations. Africa, say critics has largely been ignored by
Washington.
Obama holds new hope and his visit to Black Africa's first
politically independent country signifies a new beginning., says a
senior official of Nigeria Institute of International Affairs in
Lagos. Ghana gained independence from Britain in 1957.
In
Abuja, Nigeria's political capital, the feeling is one of angst.
Abuja had expected to be considered first on the list of Obama's
visit to Africa because of the country's large population, the
largest on the continent with 150 million people and its political
clout. Nigeria has been a strong US ally in the last two decades.
"Coming to Nigeria first would have been a strategic mistake on the
part of Washington, said one political observer in Abuja. His words:
"Under this current president, Nigeria has become an embarrassment
to the international community and its western allies. The election
of President Yar Adua is considered as illegitimate in serious
western circles.
"This government has demonstrated inability to fight corruption. In
fact, the last election in Ekiti was reported by US observers as a
sham perpetrated by a government whose claim to power is in doubt.
The Niger Delta issue is seen as the abuse of the people by
political adventurists that the US will not want to identify with.
How can these people expect the world to take them serious? In the
last two years, Nigeria's western allies have gradually
disassociated themselves from this government."
The White House statement about the Ghana trip gave no details of
the visit beyond saying "the President will discuss a range of
bilateral and regional issues with Ghanaian President Mills." John
Atta Mills assumed office two weeks before Obama in January, after a
narrow victory over the ruling party candidate in the country's
fifth multi-party presidential election since 1992.
"The President and Mrs. Obama look forward to strengthening the U.S.
relationship with one of our most trusted partners in sub-Saharan
Africa, and to highlighting the critical role that sound governance
and civil society play in promoting lasting development," the White
House statement said.
Obama will travel to Ghana after taking part in the G-8 Summit in
L'Aquila, Italy and spending two days in Moscow as guest of Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev.
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