Nigeria’s Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, says the legislature will discuss US President Donald Trump’s recent comments on Nigeria in collaboration with the executive arm of government.
Speaking during plenary on Tuesday, Senator Akpabio said the matter touches on foreign policy and diplomatic relations, and therefore requires a coordinated national response.
“We have not discussed the issue of President Trump yet in chambers. We shall do so in combination with the executive because we believe it is a matter of foreign policy and diplomatic relations.
“I have refrained from taking any motion on that yet until we know the direction of government and what government intends to do.”
Senator Akpabio said Trump’s position on Nigeria was not based on current realities but on an outdated report from 2010.
“The position that President Trump is taking is not based on current realities.
“The position is based on a purported 2010 report, 15 years ago, that they said some people came on fact-finding from the US Congress and they went to only Plateau and Benue; they did not go to Zamfara and other areas.”
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He said insecurity in Nigeria affects both Christians and Muslims and should not be viewed as a religious conflict.
“If you go to a predominantly Muslim community, terrorists and bandits cause trouble — the majority of those who die there will be Muslims.
“When you enter a predominantly Christian community like Benue and Plateau and then you cause mayhem, the majority of those who will die there will be Christians.”
Senator Akpabio said Nigeria’s diversity should be seen as a strength, not a division, noting that citizens of different faiths coexist peacefully.
“Nigeria’s problem needs to be weighed from all sides, and all we are looking for is peace.
“There is no Nigerian that doesn’t want to sleep with his two eyes closed, and there is no Nigerian that does not live with a Muslim or Christian in his house. Nigeria is multi-religious, multi-ethnic, and we live with one another.
“When people take issues out of Nigeria and misrepresent them to create the impression that Christians and Muslims are fighting, it is totally untrue,” Senator Akpabio said.