Ernestina Naadu Mills, Ghana’s first lady, gave Michelle Obama a Backes and Strauss “Black Star of Ghana” watch, “crafted in 18 karat gold with diamonds and leather,” White House papers revealed yesterday.
It was valued at USD 48,000.
Compare this to India: The most expensive gifts from the Indian Prime Minister to President Barack Obama was a collection of books with an estimated value of USD 3,572. Singh presented to Obama a burgundy rug with a foliate motif worth USD 1,200, while to Michelle he gifted a beige Pashmina shawl worth USD 666 made by the Kashmir Loom Company.
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WASHINGTON – In his first year as US president, Barack Obama, his family and administration members were showered with more than 300,000 dollars in gifts from Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz.
The Federal Register reported Tuesday that King Abdullah gave some 34,500 dollars worth of presents to Obama, some 146,200 dollars worth to First Lady Michelle Obama and 7,275 dollars worth to their children Malia and Sasha.
The monarch offered a total of 108,245 dollars worth of gifts to White House staff, presents valued at 23,400 dollars to a senior US diplomatic interpreter and gifts estimated at 12,000 dollars to the US charge d’affaires in Riyadh.
Among the gifts Obama received from Abdullah were a “large desert scene on a green veined marble base featuring figurines of gold palm trees and camels” and a large brass and glass clock by Jaeger-LeCoultre, according to the register.
The Saudi king gave the First Lady a ruby and diamond jewelry set worth 132,000 dollars as well as a pearl necklace with a value of 14,200 dollars, according to the register.
Their children also received jewelry worth thousands of dollars in addition to books and DVDs.
Another generous foreign dignitary was Ernestina Naadu Mills, Ghana’s first lady, who gave Michelle Obama a Backes and Strauss “Black Star of Ghana” watch, “crafted in 18 karat gold with diamonds and leather,” the register said.
It was valued at 48,000 dollars.
Chinese President Hu Jintao gave Obama “a framed and matted fine silk embroidery depicting a portrait study of the First Family” that was valued at 20,000 dollars, according to the register.
Miyuki Hatoyama, wife of then prime minister Yukio Hatoyama of Japan, gave Michelle Obama a pearl necklace valued at 9,700 dollars.
Obama got a bronze statue of a girl releasing a flock of doves valued at 8,000 dollars from Israeli President Shimon Peres.
All the presents go to the National Archives as US law bars any US government official from receiving a present from a foreign government.
Obama and others accepted the gifts because “non-acceptance would cause embarrassment to donor and US government,” according to the register.
Source: GHP/Ghanaweb
Posted By: Chris-Vincent Agyapong Febiri
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forty WHAT!!!! THOUSAND DOLLARS?????? A WATCH? are you serious? ok ok…. am kuuled now!! nyc gift… guess shes looking for an everlasting friendship with her. NO YAWA… after all, the SON of the SAUDI KING sent a PAIR OF SNEAKERS with DIAMONDS on it to USHER valued more than what NAADU sent
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I want to believe Mrs Mills did not know the present will end up in a museum else she would have offered someting cheaper.
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heheheh that is to show how rich the rich(politicians) is getting and how poor the poor(voters) is getting. and the fornulae is simple. the rich (politicians)takes from the poor(voters) to make them more rich and the poor (voters)give to the rich(politicians) which makes them better poor.
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January 20th, 2011 at 14:10
i agree with you. its a pity.
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hmmmmmm, see where the money is going when someone needs it very badly somewhere in GH.
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So is Naadu that rich?Wow, Michelle will be impress then.
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It’s another way if paying there respect and building a good relationship between Ghana and the USA I guess the oil is pumping right now
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January 21st, 2011 at 16:51
miyagi not just pumping but it also just shows how over spending this so called President and his wife are. I mean we could do a whole lots of things with that money! Am just hoping than Nana Akuffo Addo will make a change when he comes on..
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de watch has probably GPS, Wifi,4G, n de gud stuffs all in it..der must b sumthg unique abt it tho or dey just exaggerating..
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January 20th, 2011 at 21:13
Lol cici gps what to track what the obama’s down I mean it’s a small amount for them look how much kanye spend on his watch 170.000 just to out his face on it
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January 21st, 2011 at 01:39
hahaha funny enough..
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i am sure naadu and her husband had their own money before becoming first lady and president to the republic…ppl needs to reason up a bit and stop jumping into conclusion…geeeeesh
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January 21st, 2011 at 16:53
ohh girl puh lease! He wasnt that rich enough to afford that watch!! he used my poor Ghanaian taxes and money to buy that watch and i dont give a **** what other people will say when they see this comment :p
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January 22nd, 2011 at 08:44
ok madam…dats ur own opinion…pls stop dis ur swearing…u make me laugh when u said he wasn’t that rich…puh leasee to u…cuz u obviously dnt know wat u r talking abt…a whole educated law professor and a former vice president…i mean come-on…reason up a bit…even regular mps who dnt have any other career before their mp post got money…i say this because i know…so i beggggg…africans always want to talk without giving any incentives that can benefit the “so called” ppl…lets not make this a political central
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Ghana Celebrity when in Gods name will you learn to publish facts. This news was on Joy fm and they cleared the air about the news been false,abaa eei.
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Educated people believe half of what they read; intelligent people know which half to believe. Please remember the false Amina story on Joy FM. The watch was a gift from Backes and Strauss to the people of Ghana for FREE to be given to Mrs Obama . The US amb****ador in Ghana has stated that the US State Department made a mistake because he remember the gift and it was not from Mrs Atta Mills and anybody who doubts it can contact the emb****y for verification.
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January 21st, 2011 at 12:44
You come here with a string qoute yet your not making any sense at all contact the us emb****y like they going to talk to any person who calls and ask if they new anything about the gift And what do you mean about the the gift was To the people of Ghana don’t you mean the gift was from the first lady and the people of Ghana don’t get your self confused in your own sentence cause as far I know Backes & Strauss wristwatch which was presented to Mrs. Obama on behalf of Ghana by B&S And Africa Watch Trading Co Ltd (representatives of B&S in Ghana) Without any equivocation the gift was handed over neither on the orders nor with the knowledge of Mrs. Naadu Mills. According to mr Anyidoho of Head, Communications
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Here u ghanaian people suffering like hell, and the first lady buy an expensive watch for a first lady who can afford to buy a more expensive watch or have filthy rich people who have already given her out of the roof expensive watches. when he was a professor did they ever see $48.000 cash ever? Instead of buying some expensive kente or some african art, this is absolutely ridiculously. They have to be voted out.
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Eiii Agya Atta & wife chopping our money waa waa like dat.Hmmmm, 2012 wer are u?
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