UN General Assembly
1962

113. The other day we were addressed by the Head of a State whose problems have been brought before the General Assembly. This is another explosive spot in the Western Hemisphere, I refer to Cuba. As I said earlier, the Cuban problem is a human problem and, whether we like it or not, Cuba and the United States must live together within the Western Hemisphere. I would not have commented on this but for the fact that, for some reason or thorough some accident of history, Nigeria, as indeed the other African countries, has an interest in these two countries. The United States has among its citizens millions of people of African descent, and, Cuba also has among its nationals people of African descent. Therefore, we from Africa cannot be completely indifferent to the problems and the difficulties that have arisen between the United States and Cuba. One is a very great Power; the other is a yearling. But it would be a dangerous thing to allow little Cuba to be used as a pawn on the chessboard of power politics.