PROGRAMS AND EVENTS

U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria celebrates U.S. National Week with a full slate of activities in the South

Date: March 6, 2009

Ambassador Sanders with U.S. Study Institute alum Anthony Obioha at the National Day Reception in Lagos | High Resolution Photo

U.S. Ambassador Robin Sanders followed a week of U.S. National Day activities in Abuja and Kaduna with a second week of cultural, educational and commercial activities in Lagos and other cities in southern Nigeria.

A reception for over 700 guests at which Grammy award winning bluesman Chris Thomas King and Nigerian singing sensation Yinka Davies performed, kicked off the festivities on February 22 where University of Lagos student Anthony Obioha, a  U.S. Study Institute alum, was a featured speaker, talking about the American values he saw during his U.S. visit.  On February 23, Ambassador Sanders and the MUSON Centre hosted a Night of American Music with Chris Thomas King and his band, to the delight of an enthusiastic audience.

On Tuesday, February 24th, Ambassador Sanders commissioned Lagos’ new Barack Obama American Corner at the Ovie Brume Centre, located at 29 Gafer Animashaun Street, Victoria Island.  In her remarks, Ambassador Sanders expressed her hope that the new corner will enhance educational and research opportunities and cultural understanding and “serve as a platform for students, business people and entrepreneurs who seek to harness the power of information to develop Nigeria’s economy in sustainable ways.”  Later that day, the Ambassador addressed a business luncheon of the Island Club, where she spoke on the role and responsibility of Nigeria’s private sector in helping make better macro-economic policies, fight corruption, and speak out on election reform. Commending Nigeria’s “vast intellectual capacity,” Ambassador Sanders urged her audience to be at the forefront of Nigeria’s own economic development. 

On Wednesday, February 25th, Ambassador Sanders visited the Apapa site of Flour Mills of Nigeria, Nigeria’s largest miller.  Citing the mutually beneficial trade relationship between the Nigerian company and U.S. wheat farmers, the Ambassador noted that as the largest processing sector in the country milling makes significant contributions to Nigeria’s overall economy in the form of employment, income generation and food security.
Ambassador Sanders traveled to Benin, Edo State’s capital city, on Thursday, February 26th. She began the day with a tour of the highly successful Ojemai Farms Limited operation which uses equipment and production techniques from the U.S. Thereafter, she was welcomed by the Oba of Benin at his royal court.  Later in the day, the Ambassador addressed an overflowing audience of students and faculty at UNIBEN on the many facets of U.S.-Nigerian partnership and cooperation.  Noting that the core values President Obama cited in his Inaugural Address, “hard work, courage and tolerance . . .  are all virtues which Nigerians have in abundance,” the Ambassador told young listeners that they had a responsibility to improve Nigeria’s democracy and be responsible citizens.  In response to one thoughtful question about what she would want most if she were a Nigerian, the Ambassador responded that election reform was pivotal to addressing other issues like corruption and improving faith in government.

The Ambassador participated in the commissioning of a National Blood Transfusion Center supported by the U.S. President’s Fund for Emergency AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in the Ogun State capital, Abeokuta, on March 2.  On Tuesday, March 3, the Ambassador addressed the Lagos Business School Executive Breakfast.  She reiterated U.S. commitments to support Nigeria’s quest for good governance and fight corruption, and urged Nigeria to fulfill its commitment to send peace-keepers to Somalia.

The final event on the agenda was a March 4 visit to the EarthCare Waste to Wealth Plant, a joint venture between Earth Care Technologies, Inc. of Arkansas and Dr. Benjamin Ohiaeiri, owner of the Abuja Diagnostic Center.  The project uses state-of-the-art technology and equipment to convert municipal waste into a highly effective organic compost product found to be especially effective in the local soils and with the agricultural techniques used throughout Lagos and the rest of the country. “The Earth Care Nigeria project clearly illustrates the power of combining leading and innovative U.S. technology with Nigerian vision and drive to address the needs of local communities.  .