Why Obama Cancelled Visit To Nigeria

Barack Obama

By Abiodun Oluwarotimi

Leadership, May 23, 2013

Facts have emerged as to why the United States president, Senator Barrack Obama, decided not to put Nigeria in the list of the African countries that he will be visiting, as earlier scheduled.

These facts came barely forty-eight hours that the White House in Washington, DC relased to the press, the details of President Obama’s travel to Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania.

Checks by our correspondent revealed that the American president was initially having it in his plans to add Nigeria to the planned Africa’s visit but had to change his mind as a result of the unfavourable security reports that the White House has been receiving about the country since three weeks ago.

Our correspondent gathered that Obama had been in constant touch with President Goodluck Jonathan for over two months regarding the visit as a way he (Obama) felt could be used to pacify Nigeria over the way and manner he canceled his earlier schedulled trip to the country during his first term as the American president.

Although, several diplomatic efforts were made by Nigerian officials both in the United States and Nigeria to make the American President Obama visit Nigeria, the American government decided to ignore the idea as a result of the high level of insecurity in the country.

Further checks by our correspondent showed that the Department of State had earlier given the federal government some conditions that could make President Obama add Nigeria to his planned visit to Africa but the inability of the Jonathan-led administration to curb the insecurity in the nation disqualified the country from making the list of the countries that the American leader and his wife, Michelle, will be visiting between the 26th of June and 3rd July, 2013.

It would be recalled that the United States government has recently been complaining about the loss of lives, bombings, impunity and corruption on the side of the federal government, and the idea of using force on families of the members of the Boko Haram Sect by the Nigerian security agents.

The inability of the Nigerian government to strictly adhere to the warnings of the American government, LEADERSHIP gathered made the White House to see Nigeria as a place its president cannot visit.

An official of the United States who spoke with our correspondent on the telephone however disclosed that the canceled visit of President Obama to Nigeria would not jeopardised the good relationship that both countries share together.

“The United States present has a very good Bi-national relationship with Nigeria and the fact that President Obama did not include the country in his planned visit to Africa will not make the US to withdraw all her supports from Nigeria. Nigeria is our most strategic partner in Africa and nothing will ruin our relationship. Maybe in the future, the president will visit but now, he cannot because the security reports available are not encouraging” the official who pleaded anonymity hinted.

Meanwhile, President Obama will return to Africa this summer for the first time since his first year in office, the White House announced Monday.