Tuesday, 19 March 2013

Why Gates shunned Nigeria


Bill Gates, authoritative diplomatic sources said, cancelled his trip two days after the US government expressed disappointment over Alamieyeseigha's pardon.

The sources said: “I can confirm to you that Mr. Gates won’t be coming as scheduled,” sources reportedly claimed yesterday morning. The body language of Washington D.C. does not support his travelling to Nigeria.

“The thinking here is that the Nigerian government has high tolerance level for corruption and should be ostracised in all ways possible.”

It was learnt that Gates had already instructed his staff to inform Aso Rock, the secretariat of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum and the Federal Ministry of Health that he was no longer coming.

Last year, the US gave Nigeria about $226 million in development aid and is expected to spend $600 million this year.


Gates, who has been working with the Nigerian authorities since 2009 to combat the ravages of polio, a childhood disease that has been dusted by other countries, was scheduled to meet with some governors in the country, whose states were still being buffeted by polio, officials of the Federal Ministry of Health and Nigeria’s billionaire, Aliko Dangote.

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