‘The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not ‘get over’ the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again, but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same nor would you want to.”
–Elizabeth Kübler-Ross
Omoniyi Salaudeen
The recent outburst of emotion by the Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Rev. Fr. Mathew Kukah, on the dismal plight of the nation is still a talking point in most quarters. The indignant man of God in his homily at the Good Shepherd Major Seminary, Kaukau, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, had declared that “Nigeria, does not possess that set of goals or values for which any sane citizen is prepared to die for her.”
That declaration, for crying out loud, speaks to the travesty of leadership failure that has put Nigeria on the list of most dangerous countries in the world. According to the 2019 Global Peace Index, Nigeria now occupies 15th position among 163 most dangerous countries captured by the survey. The report was based on three indices: the level of safety and security in the society, the level of domestic violence and degree of militarization.
Nigeria’s position on the list may not be unconnected to the security challenges it is currently facing, including Boko Haram insurgency, kidnapping, banditry, hostage taking and herdsmen/farmers clashes, among others.
This is coming on the heels of the US’ designation of Nigeria as a country that engages in or tolerates violations of religious freedom. The U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, who announced the damning report in a recent release, included Nigeria on a “Special Watch List (SWL)” of countries that have engaged in or tolerated “severe violations of religious freedom,” an assertion that was swiftly refuted and dismissed as an unwarranted meddlesomeness by the Presidency.
“The Nigerian governments, at the national and state levels, continued to tolerate violence and discrimination on the basis of religion or belief, and suppressed the freedom to manifest religion or belief,” the report stated.
The pervasive insecurity is further accentuated by the country’s worsening poverty index. In a new report by the World Poverty Clock, Nigeria has assumed notorious reputation of being the poverty capital of the world, overtaking India as the country with the most extremely poor people across the globe – with the number increasing by six persons every minute.
Kukah, in his lecture, blamed all of this on the failure of the Buhari-led administration which made security, economy and power its priority agenda at inception, declaring that “Nigeria is at a point where we must call for a verdict. There must be something that a man, nay, a nation should be ready to die for. Sadly, or even more tragically, today, Nigeria does not possess that set of goals or values for which any sane citizen is prepared to die for her.”
Fr. Kukah further voiced out his frustrations, alleging decimation and tales of horror the Christian faithful in Nigeria have had to grapple with in the recent times as a result of the activities of the dread Boko Haram insurgents, the most recent case being the killing of the CAN leader in Michika Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Lawani Andimi.
Spurred by the agonizing experience he had gone through following the killing of seminarian, Michael Nnadi by his abductors, the renowned Catholic cleric poured out his bottled up anger, pointing out the apparent failure of President Buhari to make good his electioneering promise to secure lives and property of Nigerians and also guarantee the dignity and sanctity of human lives.
His words: “Nigeria needs to pause for a moment and think. No one more than the president of Nigeria, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, who was voted for in 2015 on the grounds of his own promises to rout Boko Haram and place the country on an even keel. In an address at the prestigious Policy Think Tank, Chatham House in London, just before the elections, Major General Buhari told his audience: ‘I as a retired General and a former Head of State have always known about our soldiers. They are capable and they are well trained, patriotic, brave and always ready to do their duty. If am elected president, the world will have no reason to worry about Nigeria. Nigeria will return to its stabilizing role in West Africa.’
“No one could have imagined that in winning the Presidency, General Buhari would bring nepotism and clannishness into the military and the ancillary security agencies, that his government would be marked by supremacist and divisive policies that would push our country to the brink. This president has displayed the greatest degree of insensitivity in managing our country’s rich diversity. He has subordinated the larger interests of the country to the hegemonic interests of his co-religionists and clansmen and women.
“The impression created now is that, to hold a key and strategic position in Nigeria today, it is more important to be a northern Muslim than a Nigerian. His North has become one large grave yard, a valley of dry bones, the nastiest and the most brutish part of our dear country.”
In this submission, Kukah was merely amplifying what the CAN had said about the perceived maladministration of the country and the deliberate annihilation of the Christian faithful by the Boko Haram insurgents, an allegation that culminated in a hot exchange of words with the Presidency.
It goes without saying that Nigeria is in its most trying period, the salvation of which lies on the collective action of all led by proactive and responsive leadership. The action of President Buhari, according to concerned groups, like the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), leaves much to be desired.
Bishop Kukah’s career as a Catholic Priest spanned well over four decades. Beyond religion, with his academic credentials combining Philosophy, Theology with Peace Studies, Kukah has always been an unrepentant advocate of social order. Between 1999 and 2001, he served as a member of the Nigerian Investigation Commission of Human Rights Violations. He also served as secretary of the National Political Reform Conference (2005). Between 2007 and 2009, he worked in the committee for electoral reform set up by the Nigerian government. He is an unrelenting crusader for a just society.