Obama to take texts messages from Nigerians

ALTHOUGH his Air Force One presidential aircraft would not touch down in Abuja on his maiden trip to Africa, United States (U.S.) President, Barack Obama, plans to receive Nigerians' opinions about a broad spectrum of issues prior to the visit and has invited them, alongside a handful of other countries, to send him text message to some phone lines.

President Obama, who is expected in Ghana on Saturday, promised that those who send the text messages to him would receive highlights of his speech planned for Accra, the Ghanaian capital.

According to a statement by the U.S. government directed to Africans but which specifically listed Ghanaians, Nigerians, South Africans and Kenyans, "starting July 3, you are invited to send a text message to President Barack Obama with your questions and comments in advance of his visit to Africa.

"Those who respond early will receive SMS highlights from his speech in Accra, Ghana, on Saturday, July 11. This service is available in both English and French."

The statement added that President Obama would directly answer selected questions through local radio broadcasts in Africa.

It warned that text messages might be subject to local and international charges "as stipulated by your carrier."

The statement added: "To send a text message to President Obama, from anywhere in Africa, simply text 'English' or 'French' to +61418601934. If you do not receive a confirmation of your enrollment within 10 minutes, please send again to +45609910343. For Kenya use short code 5683, for Ghana use short code 1731, for Nigeria use short code 32969 and for South Africa use short code 31958. Capacity is limited so please text right away."

In an interview with allafrica.com, the U.S. President said one of the reasons he would visit Ghana was that the country " has now undergone a couple of successful elections in which power was transferred peacefully, even in a very close election. I think that the new President, President Mills, has shown himself committed to the rule of law, to the kinds of democratic commitments that ensure stability in a country."

He added: "Countries that are governed well, that are stable, where the leadership recognises that they are accountable to the people and that institutions are stronger than any one person have a track record of producing results for the people. And we want to highlight that."

However, the U.S. President conceded that he does not expect every country to undergo democratic transitions in the same way and at the same time.

Yet, he argued that "we have seen progress in democracy and transparency and the rule of law, in the protection of property rights, in anti-corruption efforts. We have seen progress over the last several years; in some cases, though, we're also seeing some backsliding."

While he did not mention Nigeria in the interview, Obama pointedly expressed his concern about Kenya, where his late father hailed from.

His words: "In my father's own country of Kenya, I'm concerned about how the political parties do not seem to be moving into a permanent reconciliation that would allow the country to move forward. And Kenya is not alone in some of the problems that we've seen of late, post-election or pre-election."

He added: "We just want to make sure that people are mindful that this isn't just some abstract notion that we're trying to impose on Africa.

"There is a very practical, pragmatic consequence to political instability and corruption when it comes to whether people can feed their families, educate their children, and we think that Africa - the African continent - is a place of extraordinary promise as well as challenges. We're not going to be able to fulfill those promises unless we see better governance."