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| Africa texts Obama before visit | Africa texts Obama before visit |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| US President Barack Obama has received thousands of text messages about Africa after he asked people to send questions before his trip to Ghana on Friday. | US President Barack Obama has received thousands of text messages about Africa after he asked people to send questions before his trip to Ghana on Friday. |
| Mr Obama will answer a number of texts - which will be selected by journalists from Senegal, Kenya and South Africa. | Mr Obama will answer a number of texts - which will be selected by journalists from Senegal, Kenya and South Africa. |
| The White House says there have been messages of support and criticism. | The White House says there have been messages of support and criticism. |
| Before his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa as president, he warned the continent there would be no investment without good governance. | Before his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa as president, he warned the continent there would be no investment without good governance. |
| The president's media adviser, Macon Phillips, told the BBC's Network Africa programme he wanted the messages to be part of a "continental conversation". | The president's media adviser, Macon Phillips, told the BBC's Network Africa programme he wanted the messages to be part of a "continental conversation". |
| Mr Phillips said people could text whatever they wanted - questions, criticism or just general comment. | |
| There's no reason to send goodwill with a catapult Jibril AminuNigerian parliamentarian Viewpoint: Shipshape for Obama? Africans prepares for Obama | |
| "What we can do is look at all these responses and find trends and popular issues and it gives us a better understanding of what people are thinking about," he said. | "What we can do is look at all these responses and find trends and popular issues and it gives us a better understanding of what people are thinking about," he said. |
| "There's much greater value than just question and answer - it's yet another way for us to see what's happening on the ground." | "There's much greater value than just question and answer - it's yet another way for us to see what's happening on the ground." |
| The White House has set up local SMS short codes for people to send their messages: | The White House has set up local SMS short codes for people to send their messages: |
| • Ghana - 1731 | • Ghana - 1731 |
| • Nigeria - 32969 | • Nigeria - 32969 |
| • South Africa - 31958 | • South Africa - 31958 |
| • Kenya - 5683 | • Kenya - 5683 |
| Elsewhere, the number are: 61418601934 and 45609910343. | Elsewhere, the number are: 61418601934 and 45609910343. |
| It has also set up Twitter feeds and blogs on a special page. | It has also set up Twitter feeds and blogs on a special page. |
| Mr Obama's decision to visit Ghana has annoyed some in Nigeria - by far the most populous country in Africa. | Mr Obama's decision to visit Ghana has annoyed some in Nigeria - by far the most populous country in Africa. |
| The BBC's Caroline Duffield, in Abuja, says opposition groups see it as America's judgement on the health of the country's democracy. | |
| Jibril Aminu, who chairs Nigeria's foreign-relations committee, said that if Mr Obama had concerns about the country he should have voiced them in Nigeria. | |
| "There's no reason to send goodwill with a catapult," he said. | |
| "If he's seeking to send a message, I'm afraid that with all respect, he's not been successful." | |
| But Nigerian Nobel Prize-winner Wole Soyinka praised Mr Obama's "wise decision" to avoid Nigeria, saying it should be a pariah state because it abused the principle of democracy. |