October 10 in Nigerian History: Obasanjo Lands in Washington for Historic White House Visit

On October 10, 1977, Nigerian Head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo, flew into Washington, D.C., landing at the Andrews Air Force Base at 5 p.m. American time for a landmark official visit with United States President Jimmy Carter.

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Obasanjo was accompanied by the Commissioner for External Affairs, Joseph Garba; member of the Supreme Military Council and Commander of the Army’s Second Division, Major General Martin Adamu; Principal Secretary to the Head of State, Mohammed Arzika; and Ambassadors Olujimi Jolaoso, Haruna ibn Musa and Joseph Aladiri.

The visit, announced by the White House on September 12, 1977, was the first official White House visit by a Nigerian leader.

President Carter formally received General Obasanjo at the White House on October 11, 1977, where both leaders held talks on African liberation, particularly on apartheid South Africa, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Namibia, as well as bilateral relations between Nigeria and the United States.

The meeting paved the way for President Carter’s historic visit to Nigeria in March-April 1978, the first-ever State Visit by an American President to sub-Saharan Africa.

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