Nigeria 2

[OneHeartySnail]

To continue the discussion.

I thought the comparison with the Duke snd Duchess of Windsor (last post on the previous thread) was interesting.

A visit to a dodgy regime, (Nazi Germany) because they would call Wallis HRH and make it a quasi-royal tour.

Of course, at that point Nazi Germany had a dodgy human rights record, but it was before the horrors of the Holocaust.

Let's face it, with the security and human rights issues there is no way the IG could happen in Nigeria. So that is sn excuse.

The media are writing about what Meghan and Harry are saying and doing, obviously. And those are no-one’s choices but their own.

Let’s compare and contrast a recent visit by actor David Oyelowo to Nigeria visit recipients of the scholarships he has created in partnership with GEANCO (yes, the same Foundation to which Archewell donated sanitary products, and was the ostensible reason for Meghan and Harry’s visit to the school yesterday).

David is wearing a GEANCO branded polo shirt for the visit, and makes sure to mention the support of the Foundation right at the start of his own tweet about his visit.

In contrast, there was no mention of GEANCO, or even of Archewell for Meghan and Harry’s visit yesterday. Not in the branding, nor in the speeches (though they did say it was the MD of Archewell’s birthday). It was all about them, and Meghan’s long, sideless and mostly backless dress that despite being last offered for sale in 2018 has just been “reissued” by its designer in the pink shade Meghan wore, but with a much hiked price. What a coincidence.

https://www.bellanaija.com/2018/06/david-oyelowo-visits-nigeria/

Oh yes he was respectful, I don’t doubt that. He just seemed very awkward and it showed. It’s a very human reaction and I’m not going to crucify him for it. I don’t understand why people get so defensive when you say anything that isn’t completely gushing about them. That remark isn’t aimed at you btw lifestooshort 🙂

Which is exactly how the SS spun the Cambridge's Caribbean tour.

They took single images out of context and ran with the out of touch/colonial narrative.

But that's the risk of doing these kind of PR visits.

Absolutely, and it continues today even in this thread. I remember feeling like the discussion here about the fence was odd. Now I understand things better.

My dog took a single shot today.

I thought he looked comfortable at the start but looked fairly uncomfortable by the end.

I wonder if those pictures will make their ways to the walls of Montecito.

I hope this visit goes well, and achieves whatever the goals are. I hope H&M enjoy it and find it worthwhile. I hope Nigeria and the population gain something worthwhile from the visit.

I'm still puzzled as to why Nigeria.
If its to do with Invictus then I've seen no real mention of it. And with worldwide travel advisory notices currently in place it's a complete non-starter as a host country, so that's pointless.

All the branding I've seen so far have been for Archewell and Wellchild - so are those the reason for the trip? If so, brilliant. But they've not been mentioned specifically. I'm assuming it's more of an IG slant as it was the Defence Ministry who appear to have invited them. Did the Nigerian Govt also invite them? How usual is it for a country's military to invite non-working Royals to visit? The involvement of Russia in Nigeria's military training and funding does make me wary of how "political" and partisan the military in Nigeria may be.

It's coming across to me as more of a personal PR jolly. They haven't posed in front of Charity signage much (if at all), and not mentioned any Charities (except in passing) and what the aims and benefits of the charities are (which most celebs doing these kind of visits do, replete with branded polo shirts etc). It's all a bit surface and image so far. But it's early days, so hopefully a focus will emerge.

Listen to what he is telling the patient. He should just smile and keep his mouth shut.

https://x.com/UKRoyalGossip/status/1789065156686991826

I hope this visit goes well, and achieves whatever the goals are

The more cynical on-line seem to think it so when you google Prince Harry and Africa the parks scandal which was coming up at top now it is all this visits - so from than angle it's done it job.

Not sure what the Nigeria miliary are getting out of this trip - but must be something.

That is interesting. Harry needs to step down from African Parks though.

I think TBF it's quite possible the injured soldier's grasp of English might not be the best and worse still he's probably scared **less of dropping himself in it with any of the senior officers in earshot.

OTOH it does look like Harry couldn't get out of the room quickly enough.

Possibly sanitation of their past behaviour?
Royal seal of approval?

Ah. That was an uncomfortable watch.

Great to talk about injuries and rehabilitation.

Not so fine to ask if you’ve given your leg a name. Like that matters.

He hasn’t a clue.

The royal seal

Really awful to watch. He has no fucking business…

I’m still intrigued as to the military involvement in all this and what part Harry and Meghan have to play.

I hope I’m being overly cynical. It just feels worrisome.

Diana, for all her faults, was so much better at this. She wouldn't have stood so far away from the men, but gone up to them and got down to their level.

It's very detached, and I agree, a slightly uncomfortable watch. At least he did shake hands with the man.

Diana, as you say, had quite a few faults but by god, she seemed as though she understood people and the importance of touch, engagement and communicating on a better level with the person in front of her.

She had that nailed.

He doesn’t. Or at least he didn’t there.

Diana, for all her faults, was so much better at this. She wouldn't have stood so far away from the men, but gone up to them and got down to their level.

Agree with all of that.

I guess we don't know to what level everybody in that scene was being wrangled or how much Harry was up against the clock but the resulting optics were not great.

There are still no photos from Nigeria on the Invictus X account. 🤔

Diana appeared to treat people as human, as important, as equals. She was there because she wanted to be. She showed empathy.

Meghan and Harry seem to be treating them as photo ops, as if the people are lucky to be near them, as a chore. This video of Harry cajoling that man to name his prosthesis and the one of Meghan walking away from those girls is night and day from how Diana did things.

God that’s awful too. Why is Harry hectoring him like that? He’s a disabled man and probably looking at a life of struggle and poverty. I doubt naming his prosthetic leg is high on the list of his priorities. Why not sit down and have an actual conversation with the man and express some concern? Along with the simplistic mental health message from that absurd speech he made and the silence on African Parks atrocities, this is proof positive for me that the imposition of western luxury beliefs onto the African continent is what these two are all about.

Mymilkshakebringsallthepapstomycar · Today 08:59
This is nothing short of a “royal” visit complete with all the colonial overtones the SS was so critical about previously with the Cambridges.

and MrsFinkelstein

I agree that you could, if you wanted to, pick apart this visit and accuse H & M of being colonialist, just as W & C were accused of being on their Caribbean tour. It really dismays me that people look for things to criticise and - what a surprise! They find them. I definitely have the feeling that if M does it, it's OK.

I'm still getting over the poster who claimed that Catherine had deliberately chosen to channel a 'white slave mistress' just by wearing a red dress in Jamaica. The reference, apparently, was Scarlett O'Hara. Now that is one hell of a stretch and smacks of desperation on the part of the critic! And as a pp said...if the PM of Jamaica felt so strongly anti-royal to be downright rude to William and Catherine in his speech, then why the hell doesn't he put his money where his mouth is and hold a referendum? Sort things out once and for all, I say.

It's funny, yes, but it's also depressing that some people just live to pick holes and find malice where it just isn't. And also - if things are seen as slightly insensitive, rather than deliberately insulting (as if...on a royal tour!), then chill out - it wasn't done on purpose.

Just watched the video of Harry being dressed in the traditional Nigerian attire.
Getting the waistcoat on him reminded me so much of the hairdresser wrestling me into the haircutting cape - the armholes are never where I expect them to be.
Glad I don't have to do in front of people.

It's also notable that in the photos of Diana's visit she wears smart but quiet clothes - nothing to draw attention away from the people she's meeting. This is how it should be done! The focus shouldn't be on what M is wearing - it should be on the Nigerians she encounters.

The thread drooling over Meghan's outfits for the Invictus event in Canada really annoyed me and I think this is why. M should take care (and advice) to choose clothes which aren't designed to draw attention. I'm not blaming her for the fan-girling on that thread, though. But really, it was embarrassing to read.