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2019: Bishop Kukah accuses Buhari of fueling ethnicity

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7 years ago

April 1, 2018

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Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Mathew Kukah, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of fueling ethnic sentiments which Nigerians felt they had overcome.

Bishop Kukah stated this in a letter to the President, noting that Nigerians have never been so alienated from one another.

Kukah said during his campaign, Buhari promised to fight corruption and make the nation secure but he has fallen short of expectations. He said Buhari needs to connect with Nigerians and fulfil his promises.

“You know sir, that you rode into town like a knight in shining armour, carrying the joys, pains, anxieties and fears of a people whose broken dreams had littered and turned the landscape into a kaleidoscopic scenery of desolation and despair,” he said.

“In your campaigns, you promised to restore a sense of national pride in us by slaying the dragon of corruption, banishing the retrogressive scourge of Boko Haram, bringing back our daughters from Chibok and making our country and citizens truly safe.

“We waited in hope right to the end of the first year, but somehow, amidst some hazy weather, all we heard was the sound of screeching tyres with the plane carrying our hopes seemingly unable to take off. It finally did but we had barely gained altitude when sickness struck and you spent the better part of a year seeking healing.

“For now, before your eyes and in your hands, our country, our communities, our people are all in a state of stupor. We have never felt so alienated from one another. The bogeyman of religion, region and ethnicity, which we thought we had overcome by the sheer nature of your support base, has come back with a vengeance to haunt and threaten the very foundation of our existence.

“Mr. President, you are too distant from your people. There is a sad feeling that you do not share in the pain and suffering of your people. You must very quickly find a way of connecting with your people before the devil takes over the space. For taking on this challenge and connecting with Nigerians.”

The bishop also asked politicians to desist from the practice of enriching themselves from the government’s purse. “I appeal to you to please abandon the spirit of selfish accumulation and embrace the principles of integrity and genuine service of our country. Do not let this country collapse in your hands. For accepting to make some sacrifice, respect and listen to our people.”