Royal welcome in Nigeria
2003-12-03 20:15
Nigeria - Queen Elizabeth II landed in Nigeria on Wednesday after nearly half a century away, launching her first visit since Africa's most populous nation was then Britain's most-crowded remaining colony.
Singers and traditional dancers with faces painted white greeted the 77-year-old British monarch at the airport in Nigeria's capital, Abuja.
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, in green cap and flowing blue robe, welcomed Queen Elizabeth, sharing a dais with her and Prince Philip as a Nigerian military band played "God Save the Queen". An honour guard delivered a 21-gun salute.
Queen Elizabeth and other world leaders are converging on Abuja for a British Commonwealth summit, which opens on Friday.
The British queen's last visit was in 1956, when she was just four years into her reign.
Nigeria then was four years away from independence. The young queen, also accompanied then by Prince Philip, stayed 20 days on that first trip, and she and her husband adopted two young Nigerian orphans.
This visit will last only days. At least in part because of security concerns, the queen's closest contact with ordinary people this time is expected to be a visit on Thursday to a re-created village, populated largely by actors.
- AP