by Zara Mustapha

A US based political magazine, Politico, recently did a compilation of some of the most memorable gifts received by American presidents in the past 25 years and Nigeria’s hoe gift featured prominently on it.

The magazine piece comes on the heels of the recent visit of President Barack Obama to the Vatican, where he gave Pope Francis a chest of fruit and vegetable seeds used in the White House garden.

In return, the Pontiff gave Obama two symbolic medallions and a copy of his November proclamation calling for a new focus on inequality and world’s poor.

One of the gifts that made the magazine’s list of memorable gifts was the hoe given to ex-US president, Bill Clinton, when he visited Nigeria in August 2000.

Speaking on the gift, the Politico wrote:

“President Clinton has always been a crowd-pleaser, even when wearing a traditional Nigerian garment reserved for royalty and brandishing a hoe. Both were gifts from a local Nigerian chief, Muhammadu Baba, who hosted Clinton during his August 2000 visit.”