United States (US) Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz has finally apologized to Nigerians over his remarks that the Nigerian scammers (419) are the one running the Obamacaresignup website. Addressed a crowd of about 1,000 people on October 21st, Cruz said: “You may have noticed that all the Nigerian email scammers have become a lot less active lately. They all have been hired to run the Obamacare website.”
This snide drew criticism and protests from Nigerians at home and abroad, including a protest letter written by Ambassador Professor Ade Adefuye, Head of Mission Embassy of Nigeria in which he sought an apology from Cruz: “It is not the practice of any Nigerian diplomatic mission to interfere in the domestic affairs of our host countries. But we will not sit back; fold our arms while a politician assaults the integrity of our country and people in the process of appeasing the base instincts of a few misguided elements in his constituency. Distinguished Senator the least we can say is that Nigerians feel offended by you. They demand an apology”.
In his apology, Senator Cruz stated: “It’s unfortunate that we’re living in a time where just about every joke can be misconstrued to cause offense to someone.
“To the good people of Nigeria- a beautiful nation where my wife lived briefly as the child of missionaries — no offense was intended.
“I am fully appreciative of the range of mutual economic and security interests that make Nigeria an important friend to the United States.
“And even to those few unscrupulous email scammers who were the subject of the joke, I apologize to you for the unfair comparison to the utterly dysfunctional Obamacare website”.
However, his apology is being taken with a pinch of salt by some Nigerians. Prof. Bolaji Aluko, who initiated a website, to collate signatures protesting Cruz’s statement, said the apology was not genuine.
He said: “”We demand an apology, acceptance of which will be predicated on the speed of its issuance, and our judgment of its genuineness.
“In my humble opinion, this apology is not “genuu” – so the petition, which currently has 606 signatories, will not be brought down. This is NOT a satisfactory apology. The petition continues….even if we have to deliver it to Sister Heidi”. The website already has 606 sign-ups.