Nigerian govt joins Trump’s sh*thole remarks protest, summons US ambassador

The Federal Government of Nigeria has joined South Africa, Botswana and other African countries in protesting against President Donald Trump’s shithole comments by summoning the United States ambassador to Nigeria, Stuart Symington.

Symington is expected to meet with Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama later today, to answer for comments made by Trump who lambasted immigrants from Haiti and Africa, stating that they were coming from ‘shithole’ countries.

Trump’s statement has annoyed many concerned nations and generated serious criticisms from the African Union and the African group of ambassadors to the United Nations who jointly ordered the US President to retract his comments” and also demanded an apology.

Read also: S*ITHOLE ROW: South Africa takes protest to US embassy as Trump insists he’s not racist

“The African Union mission to the UN is extremely appalled at, and strongly condemns the outrageous, racist and xenophobic remarks attributed to the US president as widely reported by the media,” Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, Ghana’s ambassador to the UN, said on Friday.

The government of South Africa also took its protest to the U.S. embassy in Pretoria.

Reacting to Trump’s controversial comments, South Africa’s foreign ministry called the remarks “crude and offensive”.

“Relations between South Africa and the United States, and between the rest of Africa and the United States, must be based on mutual respect and understanding,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

Reports say the government of Botswana, through its foreign ministry also earlier summoned the U.S. ambassador in protest over the Trump’s comments.

 

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