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Source: U.S. Encouraged Ivorian Strongman To Take BU Position

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Former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo and his wife, Simone, are seen in the custody of forces loyal to President-elect Alassane Ouattara at the Golf Hotel in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Monday. (AP)
Former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo and his wife, Simone, are seen in the custody of forces loyal to President-elect Alassane Ouattara at the Golf Hotel in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Monday. (AP)

The former leader of Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo, is under house arrest for refusing to step down after he lost a November election. But had he given up power, might he be at a Boston college?

WBUR has confirmed through the office of Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., that the Obama administration asked Inhofe to encourage Gbagbo to take a position at Boston University.

The head of BU's African-President-In-Residence program, Charles Stith, denies he had any discussions with Gbagbo or any of his representatives. But the case still raises questions about bringing leaders with questionable pasts to American academia.

WBUR's All Things Considered host Sacha Pfeiffer put some of those questions to Stith, a former U.S. ambassador to Tanzania, and also asked him to describe what kind of leader Gbagbo is.

Disclosure: WBUR is licensed to Boston University.

Related:

This program aired on April 13, 2011.

Headshot of Sacha Pfeiffer

Sacha Pfeiffer Host, All Things Considered
Sacha Pfeiffer was formerly the host of WBUR's All Things Considered.

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