Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, says those unhappy
with him due to his non-sentimental pose to governmental issues will sing his
praises after the 2023 presidential elections.
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.
At the interview monitored, Kukah urged
religious leaders not to grovel before politicians and to resist the political
class from contaminating their faith.
Kukah also worried that religion has become a hostage to the political forces, adding that faith without reason breeds religious extremism and a situation where people kill in the name of God.
The cleric said, “Nigerian politics as you can see from
Okija to other places has become so highly spiritualise and this is what
happens in an environment when there are no predictors, there are no signs.
Nigerian politician don’t believe they can just win an election by fighting
hard so, they are expecting you to pray for success of their political
enterprise.
“It is not about electoral outcomes or how well electoral
laws are; it is that we are operating in an environment that is so dubiously
spiritual. The challenge for us as spiritual leaders is to maintain the
integrity of faith. I have a bit of experience but I am happy and lucky that I
have been able to go from one generation to the other, from one administration
to the other because you have to be careful of the choices that you make.
“There are lots of people who are unhappy with me today but
I can tell you after 2023, the same people who are unhappy with me today will
be the ones who will be singing my praises. The same people who are singing my
praises today, if they come to power, they will be the ones who will cast me
out.
“I am happy with that label because it suggests a certain
kind of neutrality and this is where we should be going. Religion ought to be
protected from contamination by the power of the state.”
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