Despite his many lofty promises, President Muhammadu Buhari is leaving Nigerians “much more vulnerable” than when he took office on May 29, 2015, according to Bishop Matthew Hassan-Kukah of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto.
There is no doubt that President Buhari’s health has improved over the past seven and a half years, but Bishop Hassan-Kukah wished that millions of Nigerians could share in Buhari’s improved health by having access to better healthcare services in the country. He made this statement in his 2022 Christmas message, “Nigeria: Let Us Turn A New Page,” which was made available to the media by the Director, Social Communications of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Rev. Fr Christopher O.
“Mr. President Sir, a merry Christmas to you and your entire family. I speak for myself and Nigerians when I say, we thank God that He mercifully restored you to good health. We know that you are healthier now than you were before. We can see it in the spring in your steps, the thousands of miles you have continued to cover as you travel abroad. May God give you more years of good health.
“However, I also wish that millions of our citizens had a chance to enjoy just a fraction of your own health by a measurable improvement in the quality of health care in our country. It is sad that despite your lofty promises, you are leaving us far more vulnerable than when you came, that the corruption we thought would be fought has become a leviathan and sadly, a consequence of a government marked by nepotism. In my Christmas Message last year, I pointed out the fact that you had breached the Constitution by your failure to honour and adhere to the federal character provisions of our Constitution. The evidence is all before us all,” Kukah said.
READ ALSO: At Christmas, Buhari, CAN, And Governors Preach About Love And Hope
However, he praised the President for his efforts to improve infrastructure and put an end to fraud in the election system. “Am I to assume that you were aware of the Muslim-Muslim ticket within your Party but did nothing about it? Kukah spoke out right away. We continue to pray for a credible, fair, and free election.
In addition to pleading with Nigerians to be “vigilant,” Kukah bemoaned the abducted “children remaining in the forests, in the hands of bad guys” and encouraged them to adapt their tactics in order to overthrow the haughty politicians who are trying to turn the country into a jungle.
“This is the last Christmas for this present government’s administration. Let us all do our duty as we have a chance to choose new leaders. Do not be cynical. God is not done with us. Choose leaders who, in your view will love us, will care for us, will cry with us, will laugh with us. Look ahead and do not look back,” he said.
“Although the responses to my messages suggest that, generally, Nigerians listen to our voices in the wilderness. However, the deliberate culture of pauperization and destitution of our people continues. So, we need a change of strategy so that we can turn a new page. We need a new strategy to confront those who sit on the throne of power in arrogance and are determined to reduce our country to a jungle.
“We need a new strategy that separates men and women of honour from those who have chosen dishonour. We need a new strategy that provides a clearer moral guide for ordinary citizens who, based on the moral strength of culture and religion, are seeking to build a good society, even if with straws. We need to stand up and stand firm. We need new mechanisms for saying no to the violence of governance.”
READ ALSO: Yearning For One Nation Bound In Freedom, Peace And Unity
Kukah expressed sadness that despite his repeated warnings, a suspect jihadist culture has kept Nigeria in check and that the Federal Government now merely turns a blind eye.
“Before our eyes, the capital letters that spelt Nigeria are falling to the pressures and irruptive forces of primal ethno-religious nationalisms. Before our eyes, a dubious jihadist culture has held our nation to ransom with the government simply looking away.”
Although the President’s men said he was criticising their leader or speaking on behalf of the Christians in the north, he claimed that “none of my detractors has quarrelled with my facts.”
“If they accuse me of stating inconvenient facts/truths, then, they can at least give the facts their interpretations. For example, who will quarrel with the fact that our glory has departed as a country? Where is our voice respected today even within the African continent which looks up to us for leadership?
“Is being the poverty capital of the world and one of the most violent states in the world an achievement? And our suffocating internal and international debts? And you do not think our glory has departed?” he quizzed.
Hi there friends, its wonderful post concerning educationand completely explained, keep it up all the time.
Hello there, simply become aware of your blog through Google, and found that it is really informative. I’m gonna watch out for brussels. I will appreciate should you continue this in future. A lot of other folks will probably be benefited from your writing. Cheers!
Hi there to every body, it’s my first visit of this blog; this weblog contains awesome and in fact fine data in favor of readers.
Very rapidly this website will be famous among all blogging and site-building users, due to it’s nice articles
Sweet blog! I found it while browsing on Yahoo News. Do you have any tips on how to get listed in Yahoo News? I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there! Thanks