FORMER US PRESIDENT, JIMMY CARTER, CLOCKS 100 YEARS TODAY, SHARES BIRTHDAY WITH NIGERIA
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981.
Today, October 1st 2024; President Jimmy Carter sets a new record on October 1, his birthday, when he will become the first American President to reach triple digits age (100) years old.
President Carter came to Nigeria in 1978 to become the First American leader ever to make an official state visit to black Africa.
He was greeted upon his arrival from Brazil at Murtala Muhammed international airport by Nigeria’s head of state, Lt Gen Olusegun Obasanjo and then driven immediately to State House on the Marina of Lagos Island where he and other top officials of his party are to stay during their three-day visit.
The only other American President to pass through black Africa was Franklin D. Roosevelt who landed at Roberts Field in Monrovia, Liberia, en route home from the Cairo Conference in 1943.
He stayed only a few hours, however, and did not pay and official visit.
One significant thing is that every Head of State from 1960 till 1983 once used this Nigeria Army Land Rover NA 522 for ceremonial events.