Document
Letter to H.E. Olusegun Obasanjo, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and
Chairperson of the African Union, 31 August, 2004
Your Excellency,
Greetings from the World Council of Churches. On behalf of the fellowship of
churches under the auspices of the World Council of Churches, I hereby would
like to express our gratitude first and foremost for your being appointed as the
Chairperson of the African Union. Congratulations. We are especially grateful for
the leadership role that you are now playing with regard to various sites of conflict
in the continent.
I also want to thank you specifically for your resolve to find a solution to the
suffering and alienation of the people of Darfur in Sudan. We also applaud the
recent peace accord signed in Accra between the government of Ivory Coast and
the aggrieved parties in the North. It is imperative that if lasting solutions to
conflict are to be found in the continent, then they must be initiated by African
leaders for the people of Africa!
Under the new dispensation of AU, Africa is called to re-awaken and be restored
to her place of destiny among the family of nations. And we in the ecumenical
movement realize the great burden and responsibility to affirm the leadership of
the continent as custodian of justice and peace.
May the hidden hand of God prevail in the work that you do and may you and
the people of Nigeria remain faithful to the yearning for peace of the whole of
West Africa.
Yours sincerely,
Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia
General Secretary
