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Olusegun Obasanjo greets Bill Clinton |
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August 27, 2000
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) - Whirling dancers in flowing, red and black African dress greeted U.S. President Bill Clinton as he began a three-day trip to Africa that the White House hopes will embrace democracy in Nigeria and encourage peace elsewhere. With a wave, Clinton and his daughter, Chelsea, walked down the steps of Air Force One into bright, West African sunshine Saturday morning. Clinton then walked alongside Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo as they watched the dancers and others gathered at the shiny new airport outside Nigeria's capital city. Later Saturday, Clinton was meeting with Obasanjo and speaking to the country's new democratic parliament. As Clinton left Washington, the White House announced that he will add a Monday stop in Cairo to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a Middle East ally. "The two leaders will discuss the latest developments in the Middle East peace process," White House spokeswoman Nanda Chitre said. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was meeting with Egyptian officials Saturday in Alexandria, Egypt.
In Nigeria, Clinton plans to announce additional assistance for primary schools and disease prevention, fattening an aid package that has grown from dlrs 7 million to dlrs 108 million in two years. A dlrs 4.3 million aid package is designed to support Nigeria's transition from a military dictatorship to a democracy, U.S. officials said. U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater also planned to announce dlrs 4.5 million for transportation improvements in Nigeria, and he planned sign an "open skies" agreement that eases travel problems between the two countries. U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson is also along. The United States is interested in buying more and cheaper oil from Nigeria, which exports more than dlrs 9 billion in petroleum annually. In return for a lower price, Obasanjo is expected to request a reduction or cancellation of Nigeria's international debt. Sandy Berger, Clinton's national security adviser, said the aid is necessary because the 15-month-old democratic government in Nigeria is at a delicate stage. The country has been trying to restore public faith in government with an aggressive attack on corruption and efforts to manage the nation's oil wealth in a more responsible way. It also faces tensions between its diverse religious and ethnic groups. "This is a make-or-break transition, not just for Nigeria but for Africa," Berger said before the trip. "If Nigeria succeeds, this can help lift the whole region to prosperity and peace. If it fails, it can swamp the whole region in turmoil and misery." Clinton plans to prod Obasanjo toward a more cooperative working relationship with his parliament. Clinton also plans to discuss the imposition of Islamic law in several northern states - a situation that threatens to plunge Nigeria into a constitutional crisis. The president will see very little of Nigeria, stopping only in Abuja and a village just outside the city. He then will move on to Tanzania to show solidarity with former South African President Nelson Mandela's efforts to broker peace between warring Hutus and Tutsis in Burundi. From there he makes the brief stop in Cairo before returning to Washington.
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