Search
  1. Home
  2. West Africa
  3. Sierra Leone

Jesse Jackson in Nigeria

    ABIDJAN

    US presidential envoy Jesse Jackson arrived in Nigeria on Thursday as part of his mission to try and defuse the Sierra Leone situation. According to the Sierra Leone Web service, he held talks with President Olusegun Obasanjo in Benin City and told him the RUF had a “golden opportunity to disarm, to disengage and rejoin society”. “They, in a real sense, violated the whole world when they chose to maintain their armament...the RUF most not be allowed to exist as a military threat to Sierra Leone,” he said. It was unclear whether the Sierra Leone leg of Jackson’s tour will go ahead.

    AFP, citing US officials, said the trip had been cancelled because he risked encountering a frosty reception, following his earlier comments apparently comparing the RUF with South Africa’s ANC. Jackson, who was also due to visit Mali and Liberia, said his comments were misunderstood.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join