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07/14/2003 Archived Entry: "Something you may not have heard about Bush's Africa trip."
Something you may not have heard about Bush's Africa trip.
Now, we all heard about the residents of Goree Island being penned up on the opposite side of the island from Bush last week, but did you hear about the homes and businesses that were razed in the name of 'cleaning up?'
Armed police backed by bulldozers tore down illegally built homes and shops in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Friday ahead of a visit by United States President George Bush.The operation began on Thursday after an order from President Olusegun Obasanjo to clean up the city ahead of his American counterpart's arrival, officials said.
In one residential quarter of the city an AFP reporter saw about 60 buildings, ranging from brick-built structures to makeshift wooden shanties, ploughed down as hundreds of residents looked on in despair.
"They didn't give us any warning," wailed tailor John Emeka, who saved his sewing machine but lost much of his stock when a joint taskforce of police and environmental protection agents pulled down his business.
Nearby a stock of computers lay mangled in the wreckage of an electronic goods store, and the ownwer of a grilled meat stand argued with officers attempting to condemn his barbecue.
The police came armed with assault rifles and tear gas, but there was no violence as the bulldozers rolled in.
I'd lay odds that Bill Clinton would have stopped the destruction from happening. Not Bush - the homes and livlihoods of normal people, either here or in Africa, are simply not his concern.
