By James Clingman | SACOBSERVER.COM WIRE SERVICES

How did you like the images of George Bush on Goree Island, walking through the slave dungeons, looking solemn and interested in the plight of our ancestors, and making a speech that strongly suggested he was genuinely concerned about Black people?

As he stood in the sacred "Door of No Return," mugging for the cameras, I have since heard and read the accounts of the brothers and sisters who were there and actually experienced the impact of Bush's trip to "the bush."

Personal accounts of Goree Islanders being herded into a football field at 6 a.m. abounded after Bush left the bush. People said the town was deserted, except for secret service agents everywhere – even in the ocean. They told how they were mistreated and disrespected by Bush's protectors, without regard for their rights as citizens of Goree Island, not to mention their relationship to those about whom Bush was speaking.

Bush probably didn't even make the connection. There he was talking about how bad slavery was, all the while the relatives of the slaves to which he was referring were being held captive in a football field, only this time they were waiting not for their departure but for Bush's departure. One sister said, "We never want to see him come here again."

So, what we witnessed on American television was our president standing in The Door of No Return, making a speech to no one but his secret service agents. Of course, Condy and Colin were there. (Too bad the two of them were not at the World Conference on Racism in Durban, South Africa, a couple of years ago. Oh yeah, Bush told them they couldn't go.)

I don't know about you, but I think our president needs a lot more help. The information he gets, and then passes on to us, is wrong; the words he uses are inappropriate; he must have failed world geography with flying colors; and he needs a new walk. (I can't stand that arrogant cowboy strut of his) To top it all off, he goes to Africa and demonstrates a total lack of decorum and respect for the African people.

This is the same man who, according to a recent statement by Strong-arm Williams, the black (small "b") apologist for Strom Thurmond, who said, "President Bush has done more for Black people than any other leader in modern history." (Did I say Strong-arm Williams? I'm sorry, I meant Armstrong Williams.) I wonder how Williams defines "modern history." Must be two years or less, and if Georgie Boy has done more for Black folks than anyone else, in such a short period of time, we should elect this guy to the lifetime office of "King of the World."

"The Door of No Return" was obviously the highlight of Bush's trip. It was the crowning glory of our president's commitment to and concern for Black people - in Africa. He has yet to show the same thing in this country. However, the trip continued from Senegal to South Africa, where he did not meet with Nelson Mandela or Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. He thought he would let Thabo Mbeki take care of Mugabe, but once again made a fool of himself when the cameras and his microphone were turned on. And then, on to Botswana.

Botswana? What was that all about? Scouting for a new military base, no doubt.

He left there and went to Uganda; I guess they figured with Idi Amin near death it was safe enough to go there. Finally, the coup de grace, Nigeria, the country that has the fifth- or sixth-largest oil reserves in the world, the last stop on the tour.

Hmmm. Now we're getting somewhere, George. We went all over Africa pretending to care about human beings and somehow we ended up in Nigeria, one of the most corrupt countries on the continent.

Nigeria, a place where people are protesting high gas prices, despite having tremendous oil reserves, is a country where the annual per capita income is only $290.00. Did I say Nigeria has the fifth- or sixth-largest oil reserves in the world? Why would people protest high gas prices with so much oil under their feet?

Because they have no control of their own resources. I guess that's why I get so many e-mails from the relatives of Mr. Sani Abacha, offering me millions of dollars if I would just ...

Big oil conglomerates such as Chevron-Texaco and Shell make tremendous profits exporting millions of barrels of oil from Nigeria to other parts of the world, while the Nigerian citizens remain extremely poor.

Can you say Bush, Cheney, Rice? Among those three, there is an oil connection somewhere. I am sure more oil deals were cut during Bush's visit to Nigeria. After all, why make the trip if there is no money in it for his corporate buddies?

Finally, since Bush was so concerned about Africans, I wonder why he didn't visit Kenya to offer his personal condolences to the families of those killed when our embassy was bombed?

Then again, what must have I been thinking? There's no oil in Kenya, at least not a lot, right?

It was quite significant that Bush began his trip in Senegal, visited Goree Island, and stood in "The Door of No Return." I can hear the people in that football field saying, "Please make it come true once again, Mr. President; don't ever return."

James E. Clingman, an adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati's African American Studies department, is former editor of the Cincinnati Herald Newspaper and founder of the Greater Cincinnati African American Chamber of Commerce. He hosts the radio program, "Blackonomics," and is the author of the book, "Economic Empowerment or Economic Enslavement-We have a Choice." For speaking engagements, he can be reached at (513) 489-4132, or by e-mail at jclingman@blackonomics.com.