The Catholic Church in Nigeria has defended one its bishops after he came under attack from Muslim leaders for criticising the president.
Muslim leaders in northern Nigeria condemned Bishop of Sokoto Matthew Kukah after his Christmas Day message, A Nation in Search of Vindication.
The message was an outspoken Christmas Day attack on President Muhammadu Buhari, accusing him of leading the country into darkness.
He said: “This government owes the nation an explanation as to where it is headed as we seem to journey into darkness. The spilling of 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 for what seemed like a programme to stratify and institutionalise northern hegemony by reducing others in public life to second-class status. 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 got 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.”
In a prompt reaction, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture warned that “resorting to scorched-earth rhetoric” could trigger unintended consequences. “Instigating regime change outside the ballot box” is not only unconstitutional, but also an open call to anarchy, he said.
About the recent child abductions, according to The Pulse, he said: “We thank God that the children have been returned safely. This is the easy part. The challenge now is how to deal with the scars inflicted by a derelict nation which is still unable or unwilling to protect its citizens.
“Yes, we commend the federal and state governments for the rescue operation.
“The larger issues now are whether the federal government understands the evil web of intrigues into which Boko Haram has tied it. Will the Federal Government continue to reward and fund Boko Haram by playing its game? How long can this circle of deceit last for, given that every kidnap merely strengthens their arsenal?”
Bishop Kukah has been an outspoken critic of Buhari, accusing him of nepotism and comparing his government to Boko Haram. He has said Nigeria is an epicentre of terrorism and a failed state.
In August, Aid to the Church in Need reported his comments that the systematic violence against Nigerian Christians by Fulani herdsmen constitutes genocide. He was speaking following the execution of five aid workers by Islamic State West African Province, and said he believed the recent violence was genocidal and that Muslims were also victims of the violence.
According to The Guardian of Nigeria Bishop Kukah’s latest comments have divided the north.
The Guardian reported that the Northern Islamic Coalition threatened legal action, while Muslim Rights Concern said his Christmas message was in effect a call for a coup.
The Northern Islamic Coalition warned his sermon could incite hatred against Muslims from the north and threatened to take legal action in the International Criminal Court.
The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum called for the arrest and prosecution of Kukah. In a statement the national president Alhaji Yerima Shettima, said his message was a “treasonable felony” against the Nigerian state and said he had used nepotism as a “weapon of calumny” against the government and people of Nigeria.
He said: “Such a reckless statement by Kukah betrays something much more sinister against both the north and the nation as a whole because Nigeria is at a stage that it requires responsible advice for attaining peace and stability, not deliberate attempt to mischievously compound our problems.”
The Christian Association of Nigeria defended the bishop, saying that given current events n Nigeria “with kidnapping, banditry, horrible atrocities committed against hapless citizens by members of Boko Haram, Nigerians should be united in condemning and finding solutions to the awful condition that we are in as Bishop Kukah has rightly done.”
The Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria stood by the bishop.
In a press release made available to journalists in Abuja, and reported by Vanguard, head of social communication Fr Mike Umoh voiced concern about the attacks on the bishop and said the bishops shared his concerns about the security and economic challenges facing Nigeria.
He said: “We are quite aware of the 2020 Christmas Message by our revered Bishop Hassan Kukah and the enormous space it has enjoyed on social media and in the public sphere.
“As expected, the agents of evil have gathered to attack the person of the bishop and to discredit the simple obvious truth of the message. This is the stock in trade of evil people.
“However, they often succeed when good people Christians, choose to do nothing. We are therefore calling attention to this new development so that we can all rise in unison and stand for truth.
“The situation in Nigeria no longer allows anyone to sit on the fence, indifference is now a greater form of sin. Everyone must choose and stand up for what he/she believes in.
“The truth about our nation is also that there are only two parties now existing: the good and the evil, the oppressed and the oppressor, the suffering people and the benefiting government officers and their families.”
Bishop Kukah spoke out amid growing fears about the apparent descent of Nigeria into lawlessness.
On Sunday night, the auxiliary bishop of Owerri Catholic Archdiocese in Imo State, Moses Chikwe, was kidnapped in Owerri at gunpoint along with his driver.
In the same state, a youngCatholic priest Fr Valentine Ezeagu was kidnapped on 15 December, although he was freed 36 hours later after his abductors witnessed him praying the Rosary.
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