Bishop Kuka berates Buhari over insecurity, says he mocked previous administration

Etim Effiong

The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Bishop Matthew Kukah, says President Muhammadu Buhari is now helpless after mocking the security situation of Nigeria in 2015.

Speaking during his Easter message on Sunday, April 4, Kuka described Nigeria as a killing field owing to the activities of bandits, Boko Haram insurgents and other criminal elements that have plunged the country into hardship.

According to the bishop, Buhari had in 2015 described Boko Haram insurgents as a typical case of small fires causing large fires, adding that the fire is now consuming under his watch.

Kuka, however, criticised the ruling class over the deteriorating security in the country, adding that the criminal elements were multiplying because governments “Pay more attention to rehabilitating bandits and kidnappers than the victims”.

 “Taunted by Boko Haram, ravaged by bandits, kidnappers, armed robbers, and other merchants of death across the nation, there is collective fear as to whether Nigeria’s glory is about to depart!

“Retired military and intelligence officers lament over what has become of their glorious profession as they watch the humiliation of our military personnel.

“Traumatised citizens are tortured daily by bandits. The nation has since become a massive killing field, as both government and the governed look on helplessly.

“A thick and suffocating cloud of desperation, despondency, desolation, gloom, and misery hangs in the hot air. We have no message and have no idea how long this will last. Our people seek solace and protection, but frustration and darkness threaten to drown them. Is their government on AWOL?”

“On May 29, 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari, at his swearing-in as President of Nigeria, said: Boko Haram is a typical case of small fires causing large fires,” Kukah said.

“Now, before his watch, the fires are consuming the nation, and in many instances, they indeed start small.

“In all, Nigeria’s troubles are growing by the day, but our hands must remain stretched out in supplication,” he said.

Citing the killings and abduction of residents in different parts of the country, particularly the North, Kuka stated that politicians will use religion to mobilise for elections, but they cannot use it to govern.

He noted that the prevailing security situations has given Nigerians the impression that those elected into offices to protest the lives and property of the citizens have failed.

Recall that the Bishop, in his 2020 Christmas message, accused President Buhari’s administration of practising nepotism.

The averred triggered many reactions from concerned Nigerians as some, including the presidency, slammed the Bishop over the comment while others maintained that Kuka’s view was the nation’s reality.