Corruption Has Left Nigeria In Comatose – Bishop Kukah

The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, has accused Nigerian leaders of living large at the expense of the citizens.

Kukah, in his Easter message to Nigerians on Sunday, lamented that over the past sixty years of the country’s existence, Nigeria’s leaders “have looked like men in a drunken stupor, staggering, stumbling and fumbling, slurring in speech, with blurred visions searching for the way home.”

Despite the negatives and challenges, the cleric, however, said Nigeria could be great again if the leaders and followers would join hands and do the needful.

The Bishop, as a way forward, urged the government to come up with urgent steps to put the nation on the path of healing and end the immoral culture of nepotism.

He said, “Our leaders chose the feast rather than the fast. We are today reaping what we sowed yesterday. For over 60 years, our leaders have looked like men in a drunken stupor, staggering, stumbling and fumbling, slurring in speech, with blurred visions searching for the way home.

“The corruption of the years of a life of immoral and sordid debauchery has spread like cancer destroying all our vital organs. The result is a state of a hangover that has left our nation comatose.

“Notwithstanding, Easter is a time to further reflect on the road not taken. It is a time to see if this Golgotha of pain can lead us to the new dawn of the resurrection. Nigeria can and Nigeria will be great again. Let us ride this tide together in hope.”

He added that, “The government must design a more comprehensive and wide-ranging method of recruitment that is transparent as a means of generating patriotism and reversing the ugly face of feudalism and prebendalism.

“There is a need for a clear communications strategy that will serve to inspire and create timelines of expectations of results from policies.

“There is a need for clarity over questions of the who, what, when, and how national set goals are to be attained and who can be held accountable.”

National Security

Kukah argued that the situation where the Nigerian Military is the one overseeing the nation’s internal security is not acceptable, both for the country and the professionalism of the military personnel.

He also lamented the huge monetary allocation to the military without corresponding results in the fight against insecurity and called for professional recruitment into the military.

“Second, the notion of rejigging the security architecture is a hackneyed cliché that is now, at best, an oxymoron. It is difficult to fathom our current situation regarding the ubiquity of the military in our national life.

“It is impossible to explain how we can say we are in a civilian democracy with the military literally looking like an Army of occupation with an octopussean spread across all 36 states and Abuja.

“This has very serious consequences both for its professionalism, its integrity and perceived role in protecting society. No other person than the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, who recently referred to the military as facing the dilemma of what he called ‘see finish.’ It is now difficult to say whether the persistence of insecurity is a cause or a consequence of military ubiquity.

” Trillions of naira continue to go into bottomless pits with little measurable benefits. Our military’s professionalism cannot be diluted by the recruitment of hunters, vigilante groups, and other unprofessional and untrained groups,” the Bishop added.

Kukah expressed the belief that the military can defeat the insurgents in months if they are allowed to operate professionally.

He noted that “this is not sustainable because it leaves the military open to ridicule and perceptions of surrender. Fighting insecurity is now an enterprise. I believe our security men and women can defeat these criminals in a matter of months. All we hear and see are fingers pointing to the top. No, this must end.”

“If so, we need to see a relentless and implacable plan to end this menace with a definite deadline for bringing these terrorists to their knees, no matter what it will take.”

Kukah encouraged President Bola Tinubu to take further steps to cut down the overbearing costs of governance and to put in place more comprehensive plans towards achieving both food and physical security across the country.