The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah in a Christmas homily on Sunday called for courage honesty, truth, humility, trust and firm commitment, on part of government.
He said lies and blackmail is no solution to fixing Nigeria, while he criticised President Muhammadu Buhari for allowing insecurity, corruption and division in Nigeria.
Speaking in his Christmas message
titled, “Nigeria: Let Us Turn A New Page”, the fiery Clergy lashed at those he “Buhari’s Friday men”, for attacking him each time he took swipe of government.
Kukah who is known for speaking truth to power, noted that government officials have not been able to fault his criticism of government each time he spoke out.
According to him, Buhari’s men have gone too far of accusing him of being against the Islam and the North, stressing that they were chasing shadows rather than addressing the substance of his criticism.
He said: “The important thing is that none of my critics has quarreled with my facts. If they accuse me of stating inconvenient facts/truths, then, they can at least give the facts their interpretations.
“For example, who will quarrel with the fact that our glory has departed as a country? Where is our voice respected today even within the African continent which looks up to us for leadership?
“Unless we count lining up behind others for handshakes across Europe and America as achievements, we will be remiss not to worry about our declining global influence. Is being the poverty capital of the world and one of the most violent states in the world an achievement? And our suffocating internal and international debts? And you do not think our glory has departed?
“Clearly, in almost every department and with all indicators, our nation has become a tale of two cities. We have wars between the rich and the poor, men and women, across generations, along party lines, social classes, religion, ethnicity and so on.”
“The centre has given up in almost every department. Fixing our country and getting it back requires courage, honesty, truth, humility, trust and firm commitment. Lies and blackmail are no substitute,” Kukah said.
He added that despite the many lofty promises of Buhari, he is leaving Nigerians “far more vulnerable” than when he assumed office on May 29, 2015.
Kukah said he does not doubt that the health of the President had improved in the last seven-and-a-half years and wished millions of Nigerians enjoyed a fraction of his improved health through access to better healthcare services in the country.
“Mr. President Sir, a merry Christmas to you and your entire family. I speak for myself and Nigerians when I say, we thank God that He mercifully restored you to good health. We know that you are healthier now than you were before. We can see it in the spring in your steps, the thousands of miles you have continued to cover as you travel abroad. May God give you more years of good health.
“However, I also wish that millions of our citizens had a chance to enjoy just a fraction of your own health by a measurable improvement in the quality of health care in our country. It is sad that despite your lofty promises, you are leaving us far more vulnerable than when you came, that the corruption we thought would be fought has become a leviathan and sadly, a consequence of a government marked by nepotism.
“In my Christmas Message last year, I pointed out the fact that you had breached the Constitution by your failure to honour and adhere to the federal character provisions of our Constitution. The evidence is all before us all,” Kukah added.
