Author: Oluwasegun Adesuyi

The presidency has again reacted to comments credited to the Catholic Bish­op of Sokoto, Most Revd. Matthew Kukah, in which he addressed the United States Congress on the lackadaisi­cal approach by the Federal Government to tame terror­ism.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, who launched the counter attack on Kukah, described the action as castigating the Nigerian government before a foreign parliament.

Shehu also said it was most disappointing that the comments came from a cler­gy, a situation that could be traced to overt opposition.

Recall that recently, Kukah said the Federal Government has failed to handle the issue of security which it promised to do before taking over pow­er.

He said this during his virtual presentation to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in Washing­ton, DC, on the persecution of Christians in Nigeria by armed extremist groups in the North.

Kukah said the people are yet to see any tangible move towards tackling Nigeria’s insecurity which, according to him, has a religious under­tone.

He stated that the people were agitated, adding that there was palpable fear and tension across the country.

The clergy, in his testi­mony before the US Con­gress Commission, claimed religious violence against Christians in Nigeria was a recurring experience of many years, but the spate of the attacks has risen steadily in the last 10 years.

But reacting to Kukah’s statement, Shehu said it was unfortunate, and disappoint­ing, for citizens of Nigeria to bear witness to one of their Churchmen castigat­ing their country in front of representatives of a foreign parliament.

According to Shehu, “We are all too familiar with these overseas political tours that opposition politicians take – visiting foreign leaders and legislators in the United States, United Kingdom and Europe. So, the argument goes, if they are heard seri­ously abroad, then Nigerian citizens back home should surely listen to them too.

“But in order to be heard at all, and to maximise me­dia coverage back home for their activities, inevitably these visits involve painting the worst possible picture of our country before their cho­sen foreign audience.

“Soon enough we ines­capably hear an identical list of racist tropes against Northerners, how one reli­gion dominates governance above all others, how the government is doing noth­ing to address herder-farm­er disturbances, and how the government spends money on infrastructure to benefit everyone but the group and religion of the speaker. Of course, in order not to disap­point their western audience, regardless of fact, the list is always the same-and always slanted for whoever wishes to cross-check.

“Nigerians expect this from their unimaginative opposition – but it is troubling when a so-called man of the Church copies the worst ex­cesses of those seeking per­sonal advancement in public office.

“Only this government has put forward the first and singular plan in nearly a century to address herd­er-farmer challenges – a fact recognised by international NGOs, including the Inter­national Crisis Group. To declare to a foreign audience that this government does nothing is an incredible falsehood.

“To suggest that invest­ment in infrastructure be­tween Nigeria and Niger is wasteful and biased – when a similar infrastructure proj­ect between Lagos and Benin has revolutionised the two neighbouring economies to the advantage of both our countries – is quite disturb­ing.

“There is no bias in this government when the president is Northern and Muslim, the vice president Southern and Christian, and the cabinet equally balanced between the two religions. But neither is there any­thing in our constitution to state that political posts must be apportioned according to ethnicity or faith. It takes a warped frame of mind for a critic to believe ethnicity is of primary importance in public appointments. It is yet more troubling to hear a Churchman isolating one group for criticism purely on ethnic lines.

“With due respect to the es­teemed position he holds, the Bishop’s assertion that only Christian schools are being targeted by bandits or terror­ists is not supported by the facts on the ground. It is sad to say but also true that vic­tims of crime, kidnapping, banditry and terrorism cut across all strata of the soci­ety. Sad but true that Kanka­ra students in Katsina State were stolen by bandits of the same Islamic faith as those they took away. The same may be true of those who are still holding the 134 students of the Islamic School at Tegi­na in Niger State. The nation witnessed the sad incident of the female students abduct­ed by bandits at Jangebe in Zamfara State and the over 100 predominantly Muslim students of the Federal Gov­ernment Girls College Birnin Yauri in Kebbi State who are currently in captivity- and the nation’s security agencies are hard at work to release them unharmed.

“The attack on Christian students is sad and unaccept­able; so also is the abduction of students of other faiths. The claim that only Christian schools are being targeted is totally untrue.

“As a nation and a people, we must together define evil as evil. We must not allow our religious differences to divide us. No one gains but the evil doers when we divide our ranks according to ethnicity and religion in confronting them. The bandit, kidnapper and terrorist are the enemies of the people who should be confronted in unison.”