The Catholic Bishop of the Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah, has voiced profound concern over Nigeria’s worsening security crisis.
In his Easter message delivered on Sunday, Bishop Kukah cautioned that the country is gradually becoming a vast national morgue due to relentless killings and pervasive violence.
He decried the scale of human suffering across the nation, describing the current situation as characterised by “a culture of brutality and savagery never witnessed in the history of our dear country.”
Employing the metaphor of the crucifixion to underscore the nation’s agony, Kukah called upon President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to take immediate action and deliver citizens from what he termed “this cross of evil.”
“Mr. President, we all admit that you neither erected this cross nor initiated our collective crucifixion. However, Nigerians have been left bleeding and dangling on this cross of pain and mindless suffering for far too long,” he said.
The Bishop condemned the rising incidence of kidnappings, killings, and other forms of violent crime across the country, asserting that no household or community remains unaffected by the wave of insecurity.
“A dark pall of death hangs languidly from north to south. Every day, innocent citizens are kidnapped and held under the most inhuman conditions. Nigeria is reaching a breaking point,” Kukah warned.
He also criticised the government’s handling of economic hardship, particularly its dependence on the distribution of palliatives, which he argued undermines the dignity of the people.
“While we agree that removing fuel subsidies was a necessary decision and acknowledge the availability of more domestic resources, the reality is that farming has become one of the most dangerous occupations in Nigeria for over a decade. Mere palliatives are insufficient. What Nigerians need is sustainable access to food and security,” he stated.
Calling for urgent reforms, the Bishop urged President Tinubu to enshrine food security as a fundamental human right.
“Make food security a constitutional right for all citizens. Mr. President, please bring us down from this painful cross of hunger,” he appealed.
Despite the bleak outlook, Bishop Kukah encouraged Nigerians to remain hopeful, reminding them of their shared responsibility to banish the darkness engulfing the nation.
“The structural deformities, iniquities, and corruption of our country must not be an excuse to lose hope. We are the light of the world, a city set on a hill. With the light of Christ, we can build a society that reflects the will of our Creator,” he said.
He concluded his message with blessings for the nation and a call for renewed faith in Nigeria’s potential.
“I wish you, Mr. President, and all Nigerians, a blessed and happy Easter,” he added.
