The Nigerian Presidency on Monday hit the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Reverend (Dr) Matthew Hassan Kukah and other Nigerians “going to America, going to feed them with incorrect positions about what is happening in the country.”
Presidential Spokesperson, Femi Adesina, said on Channels Television’s ‘Sunrise Daily’ breakfast programme on Monday that Nigeria has no business being on the list in the first instance but blamed some individuals for running to the US to state “incorrect positions.”
On Friday, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media and Publicity), Garba Shehu, blamed the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) for Nigeria’s listing on the religious violators’ watchlist, accusing the secessionist group for allegedly funding and spreading falsehoods and misinformation about Nigeria for 12 months.
The aim of the IPOB campaign, Shehu said, was to drive a wedge between the two major faiths in Nigeria (Christianity and Muslim), adding that that “the removal of Nigeria from the religious violators’ watchlist by the Biden-led US administration is a triumph of diplomacy and sagacity over hate-driven foreign policy, itself founded on false propaganda.”
U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, in a statement last Wednesday, had blacklisted Russia, China and eight other countries as religious violators, leaving out Nigeria which was placed on the same list of ‘Countries of Particular Concern’ on the issue of freedom of religion in 2020.
Blinken, who was later in Abuja last Thursday and Friday, reportedly told the President Muhammadu Buhari that the delisting of Nigeria from the list of religious violators was based on facts.
Many Nigerians and groups including the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), have since faulted the removal of Nigeria from the list, insisting that Christians are still being persecuted in the country amid an alleged plot to Islamise Nigeria.
But Adesina, who did not categorically mention the names of Nigerians “feeding” the US with “incorrect positions,” however made a veiled reference to Bishop Kukah and other critics of the President Buhari government who have cried out to the US for help in recent times.
Kukah, an unapologetic critic of the Buhari government, had in a virtual appearance before the U.S. Congress in July 2021 accused the President of nepotism and of making key appointments that favoured individuals of his faith (Islam). The Presidency however denied the allegation.
According to Adesina, “Nigeria being taken off the watchlist of countries that repress religion. Very good. The Secretary (Blinken) spoke about it. He said America did it when they found out that putting Nigeria on the watchlist was not based on facts and we know the things that happened.
“Nigerians themselves going to America, going to feed them with incorrect positions about what is happening in the country. That was why Nigeria was put on that watchlist. But when America discovered that it was not based on facts, Nigeria was removed from the watchlist. It is a very good development for us.”
When contacted for comments, Reverend Father Christopher Omotosho, Director, Social Communications of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, said Adesina does not deserve a response.
Omotosho also stated that at the appropriate time, Kukah would speak on the removal of Nigeria from the list of religious violators.
Copyright PUNCH