Which Martin Luther King’s family is Buhari’s aide referring to?

Clarifying the leadership award received by President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to Buhari on Foreign Relations and Diaspora said the award was on behalf of the Martin Luther King’s family.

Clarifying, after The King Center had denied the leadership award presentation, Dabiri-Erewa in a statement signed by her Special Assistant (SA) on Media, Abdurrahman Balogun, said, “The members, led by the Matriarch of MLK, Naomi Barbara King, were in Nigeria as part of the activities initiated to celebrate a low-key Black History Month in Nigeria as part of deepening partnership between Africa and its Diaspora”.

The statement further read that, “As part of the activities, they visited President Muhammadu Buhari and gave him a commemorative plaque for his fight against corruption and what they termed from the “Africania Diaspora” a term for Africans in Diaspora for which the oldest of them all Naomi Barbara King was selected to present on behalf of the family (NOT MLK CENTER) as a sign of appreciation to the Nigerian President”.

The King Center, established in 1968 by Mrs. Coretta Scott King, wife of renowned American activist Martin Luther King Jr. had said neither the Center nor Mrs. Coretta Scott King nor the children of Martin Luther King Jr. approved any award presentation to Buhari.

“The award given to President Buhari of Nigeria was not given by The King Center, at the request of The King Center or by the children of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King,” the Center stated in a tweet on its official Twitter handle.

The award given to President Buhari of Nigeria was not given by The King Center, at the request of The King Center or by the children of #MLK and #CorettaScottKing. @MrFixNigeria

— The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center (@TheKingCenter) March 28, 2018

Owing to the fact that Dabiri-Erewa’s clarification is coming after The King Center denied the award, it becomes imperative to ask which Martin Luther King she is referring to in her statement.

If Dabiri-Erewa is referring to Martin Luther King Jr., then Naomi Barbara King, as quoted in her statement, cannot be referred to as Matriarch of Martin Luther King Jr. family, and as such cannot present an award on behalf of Martin Luther King Jr.’s family

Mrs. Naomi Ruth Barber King (Dr.) is wife of Alfred Daniel Williams “A. D.” King, who is the youngest son of Martin Luther King Sr., and so, Naomi Barbara King can be said to be Matriarch of Alfred Daniel Williams “A. D.” King’s family.

However, she can also be said to be a Matriarch of Martin Luther King Sr.’s family, if the Martin Luther King, Dabiri-Erewa is referring to, is Martin Luther King Sr.

Mrs. Naomi Ruth Barber King (Dr.) is the founder of A. D. King Foundation that was established in 2008.