First Lady meets ex-Archbishop Welby, seeks global support

From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja

First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has urged the global community to adopt the right perspective on Nigeria’s challenges to enable effective solutions, emphasising the need for accurate framing of security issues during a meeting with former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rt. Revd. Justin Welby.

Speaking in her office yesterday, Mrs. Tinubu stressed that ongoing efforts to promote peace and harmony among diverse groups require international support, starting with avoiding biased narratives. “Listening to one side of the story and then concluding is a wrong approach to conflict resolution.”

She commended the nation’s armed forces for their gallantry and called on churches worldwide to “preach right so that people can live right.” She also welcomed the interfaith dialogue initiative, suggesting it include Nigerian security agencies. “Thank you for opening up this Interfaith Dialogue, and I believe that you should also invite not just the Christians and Muslims but also Nigeria’s security to the dialogue to know what they have been doing.”

Welby, accompanied by British High Commissioner to Nigeria Richard Montgomery, shared his experience to bolster Nigeria’s image as a guardian of worship freedom.

He highlighted an upcoming interfaith dialogue in London next week, convened by the Global Forum for Peace in Abu Dhabi under Sheikh Abdallah Bin Baya’s patronage, inviting 12 Christians and 12 Muslims to foster listening and solutions for global conflicts.

“We want to contribute to what President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is doing to promote peace, interfaith wise. All we are after is enduring peace,” Welby stated. “I am here to smooth the way ahead of the Interfaith dialogue and make sure the meeting addresses all that it should.”

The visit follows President Tinubu’s state trip to the UK last month, where the First Lady engaged in interfaith sessions and a church service at Lambeth Palace.

In a separate meeting, Mrs. Tinubu hosted Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, who briefed her on the ministry’s Girls in Tech programme.

Briefing State House correspondents afterwards, Tijani announced a dinner hosted by the First Lady in Abuja to showcase innovations by participants. He also gained her endorsement as the face of a campaign to boost internet access in rural and riverine communities.