The minister of information and culture, Mr. Lai Mohammed has slammed the Bishop of Sokoto Diocese of the Catholic Church, Matthew Kukah, for his Christmas Day Homily in which he, among other things, accused President Muhammadu Buhari of institutionalizing northern hegemony while reducing other parts of the country to second-class status.
Kukah, it would be recalled had, in his Christmas message entitled ‘A nation in search of vindication’ had stated that there could have been a coup or war in the country if a non-Northern Muslim president had practiced a fraction of Buhari’s nepotism.
“This government owes the nation an explanation as to where it is headed as we seem to journey into darkness.
“The spilling of this blood must be related to a more sinister plot that is beyond our comprehension. Are we going to remain hogtied by these evil men or are they gradually becoming part of a larger plot to seal the fate of our country?
“President Buhari deliberately sacrificed the dreams of those who voted for him to what seemed like a programme to stratify and institutionalise northern hegemony. He has pursued this self-defeating and alienating policy at the expense of greater national cohesion.
“Every honest Nigerian knows that there is no way any non-Northern Muslim President could have done a fraction of what President Buhari has done by his nepotism and gotten away with it.
“There would have been a military coup a long time ago or we would have been at war. The President may have concluded that Christians will do nothing and will live with these actions.
“He may be right and we Christians cannot feel sorry that we have no pool of violence to draw from or threaten our country. However, God does not sleep. We can see from the inexplicable dilemma of his North,” he said.
The cleric also portrayed the country as a nation wrapped in desolation, where horror stalked everyone on the highways, cities, homes and where the prospects of a failed state stared everyone in the face as a result of endless bloodletting, a collapsing economy, social anomie, domestic and community violence, kidnappings, armed robberies, among others.
He further described the country as “rudderless under Buhari”, saying the citizens appeared like people travelling without maps, without destination and with neither a captain nor a crew and having nowhere to turn to.
However, Mohammed in a statement titled, ‘FG urges religious leaders to eschew message of disharmony’ warned religious leaders in Nigeria to “refrain from stoking the embers of hatred and disunity.”
Although the statement did not directly refer to Kukah, the minister urged the cleric that resorting to scorched-earth rhetoric at this time could trigger unintended consequences.
He said religious leaders have a responsibility to speak truth to power, but contended that such truth must not come wrapped in anger, hatred, disunity and religious disharmony.
Mohammed described as “graceless and impious” for any religious leader to use the period of Christmas, which is a season of peace, to stoke the embers of hatred, sectarian strife and national disunity”.
Making an apparent reference to Kukah’s statement that there could have been a coup or war in the country should any other leader exhibit Buhari’s “nepotistic behavior,” the minister said “calling for a violent overthrow of a democratically-elected government, no matter how disguised such a call is, and casting a particular religion as violent is not what any religious leader should engage in, and certainly not in a season of peace.”
He added: “While some religious leaders, being human, may not be able to disguise their national leadership preference, they should refrain from stigmatising the leader they have never supported anyway, using well-worn and disproved allegations of nepotism or whatever,” Mohammed further stated.
“Whatever challenges Nigeria may be going through at this moment can only be tackled when all leaders and indeed all Nigerians come together, not when some people arrogantly engage in name-calling and finger-pointing.”
He said while some religious leaders, being human, may not be able to disguise their national leadership preference, they should refrain from stigmatizing the leader they have never supported anyway, using well-worn and disproved allegations of nepotism or whatever.
Mohammed said whatever challenges Nigeria may be going through at this moment can only be tackled when all leaders and indeed all Nigerians come together, not when some people arrogantly engage in name-calling and finger-pointing.
