Description

Colonel Muammar Gaddafi

40c. The Guardian Newspaper in Lagos vouched for my press accreditation with the Libyan government to cover the State Visit of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi to Nigeria. He embarks from his plane to greet Nigerian President Sheu Shagari with several young, beautiful, stone-cold, focused female bodyguards brandishing M-16 Rifles, ready to take you out if you made a wrong move (and I don’t mean for a cup of coffee); what a contradiction!

The Colonel had spent several days in meetings and conferences with Nigeria‘s elite businessmen and politicians. He was touring West Africa and the Republic of Benin, one country over, was his next stop. Nigerians loved ‘The Libyan Strongman’ because of his love for all of Africa. As he was departing, just Like Muhammad Ali, you could hear them loudly chanting his name, “Gaddafi, Gaddafi, Gaddafi!”

I came around the car, knowing he would react to their melodic praise. Then it happened, he approached his car and before entering, he threw his fist up, in reference to the Black Power Movement. There was no one behind me, so I knew I was the only person in the world who captured his gesture of African solidarity with the world!