Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, has insisted that the removal of Nigeria from the religious violators’ watchlist by the Biden-led US administration is a triumph of diplomacy, sagacity over hate-driven foreign policy and itself founded on false propaganda.
Shehu said this in an article titled: WHAT BIDEN’S REMOVAL OF NIGERIA FROM RELIGIOUS VIOLATION WATCHLIST MEANS,” which was forwarded to DAILY POST on Friday.
The presidential aide said the US-Nigeria relations are now reset and both countries can jointly seek resolution to other critical matters – including the fight against terrorists across the Sahel region.
He noted that President Buhari is truly satisfied with the decision by the United States to remove Nigeria from that unwanted list of countries.
According to him, since Nigeria was included in December 2020, in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s election loss, it has taken only 11 months for this decision to be reversed under the Biden administration.
Shehu explained that Nigeria should never have been on the list, adding that Nigeria made that list after paid right-wing American lobbyists were funded millions of dollars by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, to spread falsehoods and misinformation about Nigeria.
He further stated they took advantage of well-meaning, God-fearing Americans to whom they spread their lies.
Recall that the US had on Wednesday delisted Nigeria from the list of countries violating religious freedom.
US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, made this known in a statement on Wednesday.
In December 2020, the US had listed Nigeria among countries blacklisted for violating religious freedom.
