Matthew Kukah, Catholic bishop of Sokoto diocese, says the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is in hibernation mode while the country is broken and divided.
Kukah, in his Easter message on Sunday, said the Buhari administration has divided citizens on the basis of ethnicity, religion and region.
The cleric said the only thing working in the country is corruption, while he warned that Nigeria must be reclaimed from its impending slide to anarchy.
“Our dear country, Nigeria, still totters and wobbles as we screech towards a dangerous and avoidable canyon of dry bones,” Kukah said.
“One would be tempted to ask, what is there to say about our tragic situation today that has not been said? Who is there to speak that has not spoken? Like the friends of Job, we stare at an imponderable tragedy as the nation unravels from all sides. The government has slid into hibernation mode.
“It is hard to know whether the problem is that those in power do not hear, see, feel, know, or just don’t care. Either way, from this crossroad, we must make a choice, to go forward, turn left or right or return home. None of these choices is easy, yet, guided by the light of the risen Christ, we can reclaim our country from its impending slide to anarchy.
“The challenge of fixing this broken nation is enormous and, as I have said, requires joint efforts. With everything literally broken down, our country has become one big emergency national hospital with full occupancy. Our individual hearts are broken. Our family dreams are broken. Homes are broken. Churches, Mosques, and infrastructure are broken. Our educational system is broken. Our children’s lives and future are broken. Our politics is broken. Our economy is broken. Our energy system is broken. Our security system is broken. Our Roads and Rails are broken. Only corruption is alive and well.
“The greatest challenge for Nigeria is not even the 2023 elections. It is the prospect for the reconciliation of our people. Here, the Buhari administration sadly has divided our people on the basis of ethnicity, religion, and region, in a way that we have never witnessed in our history. This carefully choreographed agenda has made Nigerians vulnerable and ignited the most divisive form of identity consciousness among our people. Years of friendships, cultural exchange, and collaboration built over time have now come under serious pressure from stereotyping.”
Kukah noted that the way out is for the government to enforce the secular status of the Nigerian state so as to give citizens necessary freedom.
In his 2021 Easter message, the Catholic Bishop had described Nigeria as a killing field under Buhari.
His message irked the presidency which accused him of distorting facts about the insurgency and general insecurity.
Source: Top Stories
