The
United States Mission in Nigeria has opened communication with the Christian
Association of Nigeria, CAN, towards clarifying allegations of religious and
sectional partisanship in last week’s visit to Nigeria of the U.S. Secretary of
State, Mr. John Kerry. U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry U.S. Secretary of
State, John Kerry The move came as the embassy, yesterday, affirmed that it did
not disparage Christians in the meeting with religious leaders in Sokoto as it
claimed that the secretary interacted with both Muslims and Christians during
the engagement in Sokoto. The mission’s assertion came upon mutterings of
insensitivity on the part of the United States in publicly engaging the Sultan
of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, who is the head of the Islamic Umma in
Nigeria, without a corresponding interaction with the Christian community.
Responding to the issues raised, in an email to Vanguard, a spokesman at the
U.S. Mission in Nigeria, Larry Socha said: “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.” The Secretary General of CAN, Rev. Musa
Asake, confirmed that the embassy had already opened communication with the
Christian body and that an appointment with the CAN president would be made 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.
However, 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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