Nigeria’s Problems Are Artificial – Bishop Hassan Kukah

Bishop Kukah

Catholic bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Mathew Hassan Kukah, said yesterday that Nigeria’s problems are artificial and that Nigerians are their own worst enemies.

Kukah who addressed the press prior to the celebration of the Golden Jubilee of the Sokoto Diocese, affirmed that the Catholic Diocese in its quest to contribute to knowledge has no fewer than 16 nursery and primary schools as well as six secondary schools across the three states of the diocese (Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara).

He noted further that the Bishop Kukah Unity Cup Finals will be played in Sokoto as part of activities to mark the occasion.

Lamenting that Nigeria’s problems are artificial, hence the need to trace and apply our history that once served as our unifying point rather than attacking each other on religious grounds, Bishop Kukah said he is concerned about Nigerians and not the antics of politicians.

The revered cleric urged the older generation of the country not to transfer bitterness to the younger generation.

“We need to find a way of educating ourselves first about who we are and how we were staying together in peace before the advent of religion. We should start seeing ourselves as citizens of Nigeria and not as a member of any religion, hence we cannot handover these bitterness to the younger generation. Therefore, I felt we should find a way of uniting these young Nigeria.”

While insisting that, achieving this will only be possible via the realization of our potentials by been educated, Bishop Kukah observed that the current issue of insurgency in the north was simply a product of long term negligence of extremism and lukewarm attitude towards education.

While divulging that the north is still going to be confronted with challenges of education, infrastructural and other social amenities deficiency, Kukah urged the north and Nigerians at large time embrace education hence the need to move forward.

“North treated education with suspicion but they should note that education doesn’t mean changing your religion. And for the north to go forward, it has to go a bit forward and keep off it’s self judgement mentality.

“In Nigeria, some believed that God has primarily given them the right to decide or judge who is a right or wrong Christian of Muslim. And, Nigeria will never known peace until we come to realize that we are human being first and not the religion which happens to be by providence”.

The Catholic Bishop further lamented that Nigerians should be in sober reflection over the disturbing daily news of killings, maiming and all manner of inhuman treatment meted out on Nigerians which seems not to disturb the country longer.

“We are watching dead bodies now in Nigeria while watching and drinking tea”.

Responding to questions on the fate of the country after 2015, Bishop Kukah said, Nigerians are allowing others to define their fate and future, hence, we are allowing ourselves to be defined by countries who doesn’t mean well for us.

“Talking of Nigeria to be or not after 2015, I feel bad because we have based our assessment not on any critical analysis about our media rather about what outsiders are telling us. And, we are our own worst enemies in Nigerian hence these outsiders are creating this stampede to ensure that people invest and steal money to save in their own countries I anticipation that the country will break. No criminal in the world is stealing and saving in other country like Nigerians.

“The question of whether there will be a Nigeria after 2015 does not even arise hence the need not to continue to allow ourselves been weigh down by the excesses of these colonial masters”.