Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Continuing Protection Of Religious And Other Freedoms

by Eze Eluchie

The sycophantic disposition of Consul-General at Nigeria’s High Commission to South Africa, Mrs Uju Ajulu Okeke, during the recent visit of President Buhari to Johannesburg, is worrisome and hopefully not a precedent others will feel compelled to imitate.

Though there is no indication that Mr. President made any insistence that the Nigerian Ambassador MUST cover herself up in Islamic Hijab whenever she is around the President, was any such preference subtly communicated?

A key question that crops up is: Will others in Ambassador Ajulu Okeke’s shoes, who feel a need to ingratiate themselves to the new helmsman, need to conform to particular religious dress-codes, or religious doctrines, to keep their jobs, continue to provide for their families, continue to be relevant under a regime headed by Mr. Buhari, a self-confessed devout Muslim.


It is hoped that basic freedoms, particularly of religious preferences, right to expression and other fundamental rights, continue to be respected and preserved as we march on our tenuous and precarious route towards democratic governance. 



Picture: President Buhari with Ambassador Ajulu Okeke in Johannesburg and the Ambassador alone.


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