Date Published: 08/15/09

Dear Editor,

Hillary Clinton was blunt to a fault

It all started from how the American Embassy handled her arrival. They did not bother to rely on security and reception provided by Nigeria. Mrs. Clinton would have been the US President; we should all remember. Americans do not play with their citizens whether by birth or by naturalization.

But the most damning was her sincere comments on corruption and weak leadership in Nigeria. She envisioned that Nigeria must change drastically if it meant to be among the 20 at year 2020. One of the persons in her entourage that I tried acquainting with squealed to me that sincere reports made possible by internet about Nigeria had always caught their attention. He went direct by asking whether there were no roads before in a Nigeria’s small state government that claimed to have spent US$1.35billion (N200billion) on road construction in two years; a budget figure for many years of some states in Nigeria? He claimed that they have been reading how Nigerian governments and politicians formed terrorist groups that went into political assassinations and government-sponsored kidnappings. He says that corruption within the executives, legislatures and judiciary arms of Nigerian governments and miscarriage (of justices) stink. He lamented that the federal government is tilting towards dictatorship by indirectly encouraging one-party state. Another shocking comments was that its embassy had called on EFCC to investigate how a governor’s brother presented for Visa bank statement with lodgment said to be worth equivalent of US$1million but ignored; etc. I was shocked how he conversantly reeled out the sins.

I challenged him by putting up a bold-face, saying that all may not be the case; from that point, he became less interested discussing topics with me. He must have reasoned that I am a government agent. I felt bad at all the presents.

Alhaji (Dr.) Ahmed Mustapha

Plot 1239 Daura Road

KATSINA.