Following the colossal criticism from various Christian
groups against the lopsidedness of the visit of the United States Secretary of
States, John Kerry to only Northerners and Islamic leaders, the United States
Mission in Nigeria has decided to go into dialogue with the Christian
Association of Nigeria, CAN, as a means to explain accusations of religious and
sectional partisanship in last week’s visit to Nigeria of the U.S. Secretary of
State, Mr. John Kerry.
The effort to make the clarity came yesterday, when the US
embassy acknowledged that it’s action was not meant to belittle Christians in
the meeting with religious leaders in Sokoto as rumoured everywhere, rather,
Kerry had an interactive section with both Islamic and Christian leaders during
the meeting held in Sokoto
The US mission made the statement upon mutterings of
insensitivity on the part of the US as it openly engaged the Sultan of Sokoto,
Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, who is also the leader of the Islamic Umma in Nigerian,
without equivalent interaction with the Christians in the country.
In his response, a spokesperson at the US Mission in Nigerian
Larry Socha stated that: “In Sokoto, Secretary Kerry met with both Christian
and Muslim leaders to discuss religious tolerance and ways to counter violent
extremism affecting all Nigerians.
“The Embassy is in communication with CAN to clarify the
media reports and any misunderstandings. In addition to his meeting with
Christian and Muslim leaders and the individuals you mentioned below, Secretary
Kerry also met with FM Geoffrey Onyeama, U.S. exchange programme alumni,
non-governmental anti-corruption activists, young Nigerian women at a Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) event, and others while in
Nigeria.”
It was however reported that the Secretary General of CAN,
Rev. Musa Asake, confirmed that the embassy had already unlocked communication
with the Christian body and that plans are on ground to fix an appointment with
the CAN president in the nearest future towards clarifying the issues involved.
Secretary Kerry has now visited Nigeria on three occasions;
in January 2015 to Lagos, May 2015 to Abuja for the presidential inauguration,
and August 2016 to Sokoto and Abuja. Nevertheless, the failure of President
Barrack Obama, the first African American president to pay a visit to Nigeria,
the country with the world’s largest black population has continued to rankle
among Nigerians of all faiths.
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