"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," he joked.Apparently worried by the attacks he had received from officials from both Nigeria and the United States since he described Nigerians as the fraudsters behind the problems that the Obamacare website is facing, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, has tendered an apology to Nigerians just as he is calling for a meeting where he can publicly explain to Nigeria's official that he had nothing against Nigeria or Nigerians.
The senator who represents Texas State in the Senate was quoted as saying at the end of a Tea Party in Texas last week Monday that fraudsters from Nigeria who majorly operate via electronic mails were responsible for the technical problems which he said had prevented users from registering online for Obamacare.
But in a letter he officially sent to the Nigerian embassy in Washington, DC through Mr. Felix Awotula of the Rehoboth Foundation in Houston, Texas yesterday, Senator Ted Cruz who claimed that he only made a joke in which he used the term "Nigeria email scam" stated that he regretted that it was unfortunate that the world was still living in a time where just about every joke could be misconstrued to cause offense to someone.
The Senator who in the letter, had directed Mr. David Sawyer, the Regional Director of his Southeast Texas office to arrange a meeting for Monday (today) where he can apologize to the Nigerian official, pressed further that he had never, cor would ever, use a blanket term in a derogatory fashion against Nigeria which he described as a vibrant and integral part of the United States. He added that his usage was never directed to the Nigerian community as a whole.
"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 US.
It should be noted that the term in in common usage as a recognized scam and does appear on government website for the FBI, State Department. Additionally, it is part of common vernacular as most media outlets have reported this type of scam using that term.
I, Senator Ted Cruz regret any misunderstanding" the letter a copy which was made available to our correspondent reads in part.
In his reaction to the letter of apology from Senator Cruz, the Nigeria's Ambassador to the US, Prof. Adebowale Adefuye, said that for him to be at the reconciliation meeting, the senator who he (Adefuye) claimed had started to swallow his words must be ready to be physically present as well.
Apart from the letter, Adefuye said: "They have also called on the phone for a meeting at the highest possible level to end this matter once and for all. A condition for my acceptance to be present at the meeting is for Senator Cruz himself to be personally present otherwise I will send my chief of protocol. We are determined to make this case an example that Nigeria and Nigerians cannot be kicked around"
In his reaction, the Nigeria's Consul General in New York, Ambassador Habib B. Habu, OON, said to LEADERSHIP that the most unfortunate thing was that Nigeria's good name was dragged into the murky waters of the US politics through reference to scammers as credited to Senator Cruz.
Ambassador Habu added that he would like to remind the controversial senator that Nigerians were the most educated Immigrant community in the United State, stressing that there was no sphere of human endeavor that a Nigerian had not excelled in the country.
"Nigeria doesn't deserve this unfortunate and unwarranted maligning of its people for a cheap political shot. In consideration of this, I would like, on behalf of all Nigerians, to call on Senator Ted Cruz to withdraw the comment and offer unreserved apology to Nigeria and Nigerians" the Nigeria's diplomat said.
Ambassador Geoffrey Teneilabe, Nigeria's Consul General in Atlanta and its environs, in his reaction said that Senator Cruz's comment which collectively labelled Nigerians as scammers was as unfortunate as it was regrettable.
He added that the utterance of the senator was not a surprise Judging by his recent political brinkmanship of contributing to pushing the US into near economic disaster.
Teneilabe who spoke with our correspondent added that contrary to what the senator was trying to promote by his comments, the estimated over 2 million Nigerian and Nigerian-Americans were exceptionally hardworking people, noting that Nigeria now ranks as the most educated immigrant population group in the entire US.
His words: "There is no crime-free nation in the world, and one is yet to see a nation of angels. Indeed, it is worthwhile to remind ourselves that one of the wealthiest countries in the world also has the highest crime rates in the world"
Apart from the Nigeria's diplomats that have reacted on the controversial issue, diplomats and former United States ambassadors have also reacted.
In a short interview with our correspondent, a former US ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador Robin Renee Sanders, said that she read with dismay the quote from Senator Cruz as it was stereo typical and an unkind remark about a dynamic country with very talent and dedicated people a country where U.S.-Nigerian relations are strong and vibrant in a range of areas from security to business.
Ambassador Sanders continued that the issues with Obamacare was a result of the software development and had nothing to do at all with Nigeria, stressing that it was really unfortunate that a senator from Texas, a state where Nigerians have the largest population, would make that remark.
Another former US ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador Howard F. Jeter while speaking with our correspondent said that Cruz's comment was meant as a joke , but one in very bad taste, adding that he should explain himself and issue an apology to Nigerian-Americans in Texas and Nigerians everywhere. "I do not believe, however, that he will apologize for what he said" he added.
According to Mr. Hubert S. Shaiyen, President of the Plateau State Association in the US, the Ted Cruz's of the world are ignorant of the fact that in the US, for instance, Nigerians constitute the most educated immigrant population.
"While I appreciate the fact that it is his prerogative as a member of a party in opposition to criticize so called "Obamacare", but painting Nigerians with a broad brush, even by Tea Party standards, is beyond the pale" he noted.
Shaiyen threatened to continue to mobilize Nigerians in the diaspora to flood the senator's office with calls demanding an immediate apology. he also said that he would put sustained pressure on the Republican party (Cruz's party) to repudiate his remarks, which he said were 'borderline racist'.
His words: "If the senator or his staff had even bothered to conduct any basic research, he would have found out that Nigerian immigrants have the highest education attainment level in the United States, surpassing every other ethnic group in the country, according to U.S Bureau Census data.
This data was further corroborated by Texas (his state), Rice University and newspaper, the Houston Chronicle. That he would even have the nerve to call Nigerians, email scammers, what better scam is there than single-handedly shutting down government while receiving a paycheck"
Also, the Director of Publicity of the World Igbo Congress in the US, Dr. Acho Orabuchi, Ph.D, said that it was rather unfortunate and unbecoming of a Senator of the United States to denigrate another country, especially a friendly country to the United States.
"For Senator Ted Cruz to ridicule and disparage Nigeria and its citizens in an effort to appeal his Tea Party congregation or political base is beneath his esteemed office" he noted.
Orabuchi pressed further that he was appalled and terribly disappointed in the Texas senator's comment about Nigeria just as he added that Nigeria was a peace-loving country that cherished its friendship with the United States.
In a press statement signed by its Executive Director, Mr. Laolu Akande, the Christian Association of Nigerian-Americans, CANAN urged Senator Ted Cruz to make a formal correction, retracting his distasteful, and disparaging remarks made about Nigerians on Monday in Houston.
The christian organization said that Cruz had maligned all hardworking, decent and outstanding Nigerian-Americans who add value and bring goodwill to their different communities, especially in Texas, with the largest concentration of Nigerian-Americans in this country.
"Although his office did confirm this, explaining that it was just a joke, CANAN finds it appalling and reprehensible that the good name and reputation of Nigerian-Americans is what the Senator can joke with whimsically. This is completely unacceptable.
CANAN does not intend at this point to delve into the very nature of global and international scammers, except to say this condemnable practice is not limited to any one country based on available information and research.
"We consider it an insult that a Senator who should be representing the people of his state could turn against some of his very own constituents in what is clearly a reckless and offensive remark. There is only one decent option open to Senator Cruz: an unconditional and full apology.
While we will be restrained at this point in order to allow for a respectable response from him, CANAN appeals to its teeming members drawn from over 1000 local parishes in the United States, several professional and ethnic groups, to await further developments" the statement reads in part.
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