President Muhammadu Buhari is on his way to the United States to honour an invitation for a state visit to Washington, extended to him by President Barack Obama on June 25. Mr. Buhari would be in the U.S. for four days, meeting President Obama, top level officials of the American government, American business leaders, Nigerians in the Diaspora and members of the American War College Class of 1980 in which he was a participant. But letās flash back to 1971, 44 years ago, when a Nigerian leader ā Yakubu Gowon ā diplomatically spurned the kind of invitation Mr. Buhari is honouring today. [ We are publishing this just for historical purpose only ]. According to declassified diplomatic documents seen by PREMIUM TIMES, the 37th President of the United States, Richard Nixon, had written to then Nigeria Head of State, Major General Gowon, requesting him to make a state visit to his country in October of that year. Mr. Gowon initially accepted the invitation, saying he would req...