Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew
Kukah, says it is not too much for Nigerians to ask the Federal Government to
secure lives and properties, adding that government at all levels must provide
the enabling environment for citizens to thrive.
The cleric known for his
criticisms of the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari
(retd.), stated this on Sunday during a virtual interview with academic and
historian, Toyin Falola.
His comments came amid the rising
insecurity in all parts of the country with bandits, insurgents, kidnappers and
other criminals having a field day terrorising Nigerians.
During the interview, Kukah also
lamented that politicians fall back on clerics when they don’t deliver on the
issues of governance but stressed that the Nigerian state must run with a
sustainable vision for all to thrive.
According to him, economic
discontentment amongst Nigeria is one of the causes of insecurity in the
country.
Kukah said, “To create a good
society, you don’t treat unequal people equally and you don’t treat equal
people unequally because if you have a society where just being a woman
penalises you, or just belonging to a different religion penalises you or just
being of a different social class penalises you, then you don’t have the hope
of pulling together the resources, mental ability and otherwise that people
have.
“So, for me, in the final
analysis is how do you create an environment where everybody thrives according
to their abilities? That is the responsibilities of those who create and manage
the state because not everybody is going to be a civil servant, not everybody
is looking for a job from government, people just want to be able to do the
things they need to do.
“But now, if you have a country
where you can’t even do the things you want to do whether you are a government
official or a private citizen because of insecurity, because the light is not
there, because the roads are not there, then you have a problem. You don’t need
a prophet to tell you that that society is breeding and creating discontentment
that could manifest itself in violence.”
Continuing, the cleric noted that
Nigerians are “terribly angry” over the insecurity in the land, economic
hardship, amongst others.
He said, “The challenge is for us
to create a conducive environment and this is why I worry about this government
because the government has not created a narrative that points in a direction
that we should be going. We don’t expect the President to do everything, we are
not expecting angels, but it is that a nation has to survive on a vision about
where we are going and how we are going to get there. But when you raise this
question, people begin to think that you are an enemy of the state or that you
are inciting citizens.
“You don’t need to incite anybody
in Nigeria because government has created an environment for that development
by making loose a bunch of people going around killing everyone. Who do you
need to incite? You can only incite the government to take its responsibility
to secure our country, it is not too much to ask.”
Kukah also said nobody will gain
anything if Nigeria breaks up.
“I don’t think any Nigerian, in
his right sense, should pretend nothing binds us together. This 923,768 km²
that Lugard gave us binds us together. All of us are now global citizens but I
know all of us are still nostalgic about this country. It is not going to
remain like this and let none of us be under any illusion that anybody stands
to gain anything if this country breaks up, nobody is interested in this
country breaking up but the point is that who we were yesterday is no longer
who we are today,” he stressed.
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