Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto has expressed his displeasure that, more than two years into President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, the nation is still at the same level.
The cleric highlighted the rise in insecurity as one of the areas of worry and stated that, nearly three years into the present administration, he had anticipated that the problems of high food prices would have been resolved.
The fiery cleric said he had anticipated that, given the amount of money available to the government, they could have developed a capacity and imagination to do much more during a live Zoom interview on Sunday night on Boiling Point Arena, a forum for discussion on governance, leadership, accountability, and nationhood, which our correspondent attended.
He remarked, “I am quite unhappy that we are still where we were on the issues of hunger, the sufferings, the mass sufferings in the land.”
“Given the resources at our disposal, I would have thought that we would be able to develop the capacity and creativity to do much more than simply push money to governors—money that is still being wasted endlessly with very little effect on the ground.”
Therefore, the continuance of poverty in the face of what I believe to be plenty is concerning because, like a joke, millions of Nigerians are now finding it difficult to discuss. We’ve come a long way from discussing billions just two years ago. Trillions are becoming more and more familiar to us. Like a joke, like a joke.
“I know, but it’s not in the hands of the people.” I’m merely stating that it’s clear that money has been washed over the establishments. However, there isn’t a drop of it, unlike water, which is present everywhere. In response to your inquiry, I regret that people continue to endure. People continue to live in poverty.
“I had thought that food prices would have significantly decreased to less than what they are now by now. Although some will argue that two and a half years is insufficient, I would have anticipated seeing.
However, if Friday is going to be good, I shall see it on Wednesday, as the Muslim beggar will say. Therefore, it is to imply that the government urgently has to generate a higher sense of urgency in dealing with the very basic issues of livelihood and the quality of life of Nigerians,” he stated.
Kuka bemoaned the problem of insecurity and urged the government to put its hands back on the plough.
“The second, and possibly even more significant, is the ongoing tragedy that has engulfed us in terms of our incapacity to get rid of this banditry, the never-ending killings, and how life in Nigeria has just become so worthless,” he stated.
“Those two crucial problems keep me up at night and cause me great discomfort.” Therefore, I would still like to see and encourage the government to give them much greater consideration. And I’ve been saying this for a very long time: without timetables, you can’t develop.
“I believe that Nigeria has the capacity to put an end to banditry in those areas, so we need to plan much more aggressively.” Someone will suggest that because the public’s perception of security agencies has been so seriously damaged, the intelligence community is capable of eliminating the murderers among us.
“Therefore, how can we address these issues collectively, restore social order, reestablish national unity, and put an end to the suffering of common Nigerians?”
In response to accusations from some quarters that he denied what has been called Christian genocide in the nation, the Bishop stated that he has never claimed that there are no Christian murders occurring there.
“I have never denied that Christians have been killed in Nigeria.” I’m not sure where it originated from, so perhaps I shouldn’t say that I refuted it,” he remarked.
“And if you read a text I have about my response to this issue, it is the outcome of a lecture I gave in Rome when they were receiving a global report of 1,270 persecutions of Christians worldwide. I brought up the issue.” We might be victims of language, I remarked. By God, this should not have happened when there was persecution or genocide.
“Now, I don’t want to go into the specifics of how I was misrepresented, but I was astonished to hear Christians claiming that I indicated that Christians are not persecuted in Nigeria. The only explanation I can offer to people who are about to understand that this has been my life is that I have never denied the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
“I want you to name one Nigerian who has written and spoken as much about this subject as I have, regardless of whether it’s a religious leader or something else,” he remarked.
In light of this, he added, Nigeria can look for assistance anywhere as long as banditry and other criminal activity are put an end to.
“These murders shouldn’t have occurred in the first place, therefore we should seek assistance from Trump or anyone else we can. However, we must never forget that we are losing our identity as Nigerian citizens today.
“We stop to be Christians the day our sorrow or concern is solely for ourselves. Therefore, it doesn’t matter to me; I’ve always argued that Nigerians are dying, our nation is damaged, and we must immediately fix it. And as I’ve mentioned, Nigeria’s ability to defend its residents has been severely limited, regardless of one’s gender, race, or status as a police officer, military officer, or black or white.
And it’s because we are Nigerian citizens, not because we are Christians or Muslims. He added, “And the challenge is for him to quickly fix our country so that no enemy can return to us.”
