Topics include: Young's period as United Nations Ambassador, African policy, Nigeria, Tanzania, Julius Nyerere, the Anglo-American Plan, trips to Africa, meeting Robert Mugabe, impressions of Olusegun Obasanjo and Joseph Garba, impressions of other African leaders, Liberia, President William Richard Tolbert, Jr. and the coup, by Félix Houphouët-Boigny and the Ivory Coast.
00:00 - Tom Dent continues his interview with Andrew Young. Young discusses President Jimmy Carter's trip to Nigeria. Prior to Carter's arrival in the country, Young and Stoney Cooks were in charge of the press briefings. Young focused on the economic relationships between the countries in his briefings. The main concern was to secure Nigerian support for a peaceful settlement in Zimbabwe and Namibia. He left out the message that National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski had been communicating about keeping the Soviets out of Africa. Young reworked Carter's speech when he saw the tone that it set. It ended up being a successful visit.01:51 - They raised the question of stalled American business deals with Olusegun Obasanjo and the contracts were approved the day of the next meeting. He describes the seating arrangement at these meetings.03:45 - Carter was the first president to visit Africa. People lined the streets. Young and Brzezinski had a good relationship. They did not challenge each other on the topics on which they disagreed.05:10 - Young talks about his Zimbabwe trip with [British Foreign Secretary] David Owen. Owen was picking him up in Nigeria, but Obasanjo had not agreed to meet with him. Obasanjo said that Young could bring Owen with him, but that he could not determine Nigeria's relationship with its former colonial masters. He threatened to lock Young up for meeting with any of their civilian politicians. 'He always said it with a smile, but you knew he was serious.' More on Obasanjo.10:59 - African leadership are great men with almost nothing to work with due to colonial exploitation. Kenneth Kaunda in Zambia, Julius Nyerere, Samora Machel, Agostinho Neto, and Robert Mugabe were great men. Mobutu [Sese Seko?], however, was manipulated by the United States. Ahmed Sékou Touré was a great man who temporarily succumbed to paranoia.15:00 - Liberia and President William Richard Tolbert, Jr. Young had problems with the segregation within the Liberian government. Tolbert prayed in a meeting. Prayer was not unusual among the African leaders.22:20 - Young had not gotten any rumblings of the government being overthrown [in Liberia]. At the revolution, they played recording of one of Young's speech in the streets. People there treated employees and the lower class badly.25:30 - How the coup came about.26:36 - African leadership. Using a capitalist model by Félix Houphouët-Boigny in the Ivory Coast.[Recording ends 31:44.]
