The 266th and current Pope of the Catholic
Church, Pope Francis, has shunned Nigeria in his first official trip to Africa.
He is billed to have a two-day stay in the
state capitals of each of the countries he visits. This is the pope’s first
visit to Africa and he is all out to have as many inter-religious meetings as
possible. Since his election as the first Latin American pope, Francis has
met the most needy on each of his 10 foreign tours. In Nairobi, he will visit
Kangemi, a slum that is home to 650,000 people. He will say a Mass at a
university in the capital.
In Uganda, Pope Francis is scheduled
to pay a visit to the home for the disabled in Nalukolongo while his last
stop is Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, where the
centrepiece of his visit to a country plagued by inter-communal violence is a
meeting with Muslim leaders in the Koudoukou mosque.
This adds to the
numerous times Nigeria has been sidelined from receiving important
international figures. President Barack Obama sidelined the vast nation on his first African trip as head of state in 2009.
Instead he visited Nigeria’s shrimp-sized neighbour, Ghana, where he lauded the
smaller country’s democratic achievements. Obama also left Nigeria out
again in his 2013 visit to Africa. SOURCE: NAIJ
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