‘Military smuggled Nigeria into OIC’ — CAN kicks against Buhari’s latest Saudi trip

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) says President Muhammadu Buhari’s attendance of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Saudi Arabia has fueled the speculations about the “Islamisation agenda” of his government.

The Christian body described the trip as unconstitutional, saying Nigeria was “smuggled into OIC during the military”.

Buhari departed for Saudi on Thursday, a day after his inauguration, to attend the 14th OIC summit.

CAN wondered why the president made the trip just after his inauguration, asking if he was willing to attend the meeting of the World Council of Churches or ask the Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo to represent him there.

“With all the cries we have made about the unconstitutionality of Nigeria’s membership of OIC, going for such conference was still the first assignment of President Buhari after being sworn in,” read the statement signed by Adebayo Oladeji, special assistant, media and communications to Samson Ayokunle, CAN president.

“Are the government officials listening to those who voted them into power at all? Is the government not heating up the polity? We wonder if the President is ready to attend the meeting of the World Council of Churches or be asking the Vice President to represent him whenever the members meet.”

CAN called on the president to focus on addressing the security challenges in the country while urging him to strike a balance in his political appointments during his second term.

“As President Buhari begins another term, we appeal to him to have a blueprint for the security challenges facing the country. He should avoid lopsided appointments in every facet of the government, especially, the appointment chief security officers,” it said.

“The security councils and other agencies of the government must not be dominated by people who share the same faith and ethnicity with him. The preponderance of the Fulani people at the corridors of power is what Chief Olusegun Obasanjo refers to as fulanisation agenda.”