Reverend Father Matthew Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, has told the United States (U.S.) Congress Commission that the President Buhari led Federal Government is helpless in the face of security challenges nationwide.
Reverend Father Kukah, made this known while making a presentation to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in Washington DC, USA.
His virtual presentation was on the persecution of Christians by armed extremist groups in the Northern part of Nigeria.
Reverend Father Kukah said the Buhari government was yet to put in place any tangible move towards tackling insecurity in Nigeria, stressing that the attacks have mostly had religious undertones.
He further accused President Buhari of being Nepotistic, as he has continuously being appointing more people of his ethnicity and faith into political offices.
In his statement, he said: “The North, even the whole country, is invaded by armed bandits, kidnappers etc, who attack communities at will. The fact that the government seems to be either helpless or uninterested in dealing decisively with these people has added more confusion.”
“The contradiction here is that the President has blatantly pursued nepotistic agenda and policies that show very clearly his preference for men and women of his faith.”
He further accused President Buhari, stating that “For the first time in Nigeria, the people heading the three arms of government – President, Senate President, Speaker and Chief Justice – are all Muslims. These are all fine gentlemen, but that is not the point. The level of rivalry between Christians and Muslims has worsened. This kind of situation has never happened before.”
He pointed out that, “the extremists target mainly Christian schools in the North, indoctrinate the children and convert the girls to wives, cooks, spies, sexual slaves and so on.”
He reiterated that, “The story of Leah Sharibu suggests very clearly that there is, in many instances, a relationship between the conditions in which people find themselves and their faith.”
“In 2020, some of our priests in the North were killed. The extremists kidnapped our children and forcefully converted them to Muslims. What is significant here is that we are in a democracy; with weak structures and institutions. These are existential issues. So, we require practical assistance that can help us and our children,” he said.
You would recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had during his campaign promises and on assumption of office in 2015 promised to tackle the challenges of insecurity in the nation, a situation that now seems to be getting out of hand.
