Friday 25 October 2013

Nigeria Demands an Apology from US Senator, Ted Cruz


I don’t know what to make of this. Its reported that the Nigerian government is demanding an apology from Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) after he joked last week that the new Affordable Care Act exchange website was being run by Nigerian email scammers

The Nigerian ambassador to the United States on Thursday decried Sen. Ted Cruz’s joke earlier this week that “Nigerian email scammers” built the government’s health care exchange website, saying his comments are offensive and demanded an apology.

Ambassador Ade Adefuye told POLITICO that Nigerians are “disappointed and shocked” by Cruz’s comments.
“We deplore the statement, and we demand an apology, and we demand it be withdrawn,” Adefuye said.
Adefuye said he was surprised when Cruz did not deny the “offensive” remarks, adding that it’s inappropriate for a senator to disparage an entire country to score political points. “It is unfair of any senator to essentially use citizens that are law abiding, to use Nigerians as cannon fodder,” Adefuye said. 
“Many people from Nigeria are making meaningful contributions to American society, and Nigerians are very law abiding and making contributions to their host community,” Adefuye said. “It was a joke that went too far, and we demand an apology.”
 A spokeswoman for Cruz said the comments were made in jest and were not intended to impugn Nigerians as a people.

While it’s sad that the actions of a small group of criminals should be used to taint the image of the citizens of a whole country, it is sad that a public official of a country should think this joke is appropriate.

It’s not even funny. That is my view though. You may have a different view.

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