A Nigerian media icon, Chief Dele Momodu, has recounted the brief moment he spent with the late British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II when she visited Nigeria in 2003.
Speaking with CNN during an interview, Momodu praised the queen, who died on September 8, 2022, saying that she worked for the good of her country.
CNN wrote:
“And media publisher Dele Momodu was full of praise, recounting meeting her in 2003 in Abuja while covering her visit to Nigeria. He added that he had fled Nigeria for the UK in 1995, during the dictator Sani Abacha’s regime.
“I told her I was a refugee and now the publisher of a magazine. She told me ‘congratulations,’ and moved on to the other people on the line. I salute her. She worked to the very end and was never tired of working for her country. She did her best for her country and that is a lesson in leadership,” he told CNN.
Momodu believes that the Queen did try to “atone” for the brutality of the British Empire. “She came to Nigeria during our independence and some of the artifacts were returned under her reign. That is why the Commonwealth continues to thrive. I feel very sad that the world has lost a great human being.”
