PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan’s decision to attend the meeting of Organization of Islamic Countries meeting this weekend has sparked security and stability concerns among the country’s top diplomats, politicians and analysts.
Sharpedgenews.com was told on Thursday that President Jonathan’s attendance of the OIC event in Cairo in view of the deep-rooted suspicions between the Muslims who steer the affairs of the organization and the reported shoe attack on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by fellow Muslims who accused him of aggressively pursuing an agenda of imposing a Shiite variety of the religion to Sunni Islamic countries, raise reasonable doubt on the security of a Christian leader as President Jonathan.
It was also reliably gathered by sharpedgenew.com that some “dishonest and self-serving” presidential aides often provide Dr. Jonathan with “dangerous” advice. One of our sources, who pleaded anonymity because of the sensitivity of overseas schedules for the president said that “hawkish” aides often manipulate the president into awkward thoughts and decisions after unbiased technocrats such as diplomats might have submitted dispassionate situation reports.
According to one of such sources, the decision to follow Obasanjo to London in order to launch a foundation cannot be seen as patriotic because the same event should have served as an opportunity to invite expected guests to Nigeria. Unlike the practice with some Nigerians, Americans and British do not come to Nigeria to launch projects.
Speaking in the same vein, a serving diplomat said that Jonathan should easily have sent a diplomat to represent him. The diplomat said Jonathan’s decision to attend the meeting demonstrated that the neutrality of his office in the region is in doubt.
The diplomat said that “would be difficult to convince cynics that President Jonathan has not been blackmailed to give in to the demands of Boko Haram to convert to Islam. It is also giving to be hard to convince anyone that other faiths suffer worse treatment in the nads of Christian leaders, while Islam benefits.
Nigerian’s controversial membership of the OIC has always led to bloody riots as adherents of rival faiths allege that the membership of the organization affronts the multi-religious status of the country and its constitution.