Buhari replies Bishop Kukah, face your job or join politics

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday responded to the criticism of his administration by the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Rev Matthew Kukah. The President told the Catholic Bishop to face his job or join politics.

The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Garba Shehu, in a statement on Monday evening, declared: “We respectfully ask Bishop Kukah to leave government to the voters and the politicians they elect, while he concentrates on his job, as it is expressed in James 1:27: ‘Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.’

“Or else, he should put away his clerical garb, join partisan politics and see how far he can go.”

The presidential aide protested that Bishop Kukah chose to use the Easter period, which serves as a period of reflection for Christians, to “make dissensions and quarrels about the law. His accusatory list against the government revealed only his hatred for them”.

According to the SSA: “Still, when he accused them of division, he gave no examples: merely assertions emanating from his own mouth. His allegation of ethnic and regional divide was innuendo without proof, and he gave none.

“His list of things he claims as broken – from churches to mosques to schools and motorways – belie all those that have been built, and others built anew during this government’s time in office.”

Shehu Garba said that Bishop Kukah’s criticisms of the Buhari administration, if for any reason, should be done in the “spirit of gentleness.”

He maintained: “if Bishops or religious leaders believe they have a willing audience for tales of government error or fragility, they do an injustice to their flock by filling their ears with talk of division and hateful thoughts

“Nigeria knows too well Bishop Kukah’s views of the government. He has made quite clear how much he dislikes them from the day they were elected.”