A former Senate President of Nigeria, Bukola Saraki has appreciated Joe Biden’s decision in selecting Linda Thomas-Greenfield for U.N. ambassador.

Bukola Saraki says “Her experience on the continent and her strong diplomatic ties across the world will give Ambassador Greenfield an edge — as the U.S. works to reassert its global leadership.”

Linda Thomas-Greenfield is an American diplomat who served as the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs in the United States Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs from 2013 to 2017.

Thomas-Greenfield has worked in both Democratic and Republican administrations during her 35-year State Department career. An Africa specialist, she served as U.S. ambassador to Liberia, and held posts in Kenya, The Gambia and Nigeria. Under President Barack Obama, she served as the assistant secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs (2013-2017), developing and managing Washington’s policy toward sub-Saharan Africa. She has also worked in Geneva at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.

Earlier, she tweeted her mother taught her to lead with kindness and compassion and she would bring that ethos to her mission at the United Nations if she is confirmed. 

She was also was a senior manager at the State Department, where she served as director general of the Foreign Service and director of Human Resources from 2012 to 2013, handling matters related to the State Department’s 70,000 employees and currently a senior counselor at Albright Stonebridge Group in Washington, DC.

Dr. Bukola Saraki added that, “With the friendships that she has developed across the continent, I am particularly pleased that Africa has a good friend in Ambassador Greenfield.”

Appreciating, Linda Thomas-Greenfield took to Twitter on Tuesday saying she was “blessed for this opportunity.”

“I’ve had the privilege to build relationships with leaders around the world for the past thirty-five years. As U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, I’ll work to restore America’s standing in the world and renew relationships with our allies,” the longtime diplomat tweeted.