Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, has dismissed claims that he denied the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, insisting his remarks had been mischaracterised and taken out of context.\n<\/p>\n
Speaking on Sunday during the radio programme Boiling Point, Bishop Kukah said he was shocked by reports suggesting he claimed there was no persecution or genocide against Christians in the country.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to go into the details of the mischaracterisation of what I said, but it shocked me that Christians were going around saying that I said there is no persecution of Christians in Nigeria. The only clarification I can give is that I\u2019ve never denied that there is persecution of Christians in Nigeria,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n
Kukah explained that the controversy arose from differences in language in global reports and local discussions about violence against Christians. He recalled presenting a lecture in Rome during the launch of a global report on Christian persecution.<\/p>\n
\u201cI raised the issue, and I said, look, we may be victims of language. Whether it\u2019s persecution, whether it\u2019s genocide, by God, this thing ought not to have happened,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n
The bishop challenged critics to identify anyone in Nigeria who had addressed the issue as extensively as he has. \u201cWherever we can get help from, Trump, whatever, these killings ought not to have happened in the first place,\u201d he added.\n<\/p>\n
While acknowledging that Christians face attacks, Kukah stressed that insecurity affects all Nigerians regardless of religion or ethnicity.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my central argument about security in Nigeria, it doesn\u2019t matter where you are, whether you are Muslim, whether you are Christian, you are in danger of being abducted,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n
He urged Nigerians not to limit compassion to their own groups: \u201cThe day our grief or our concern is only for ourselves, that day we cease to be Christians.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Calling for urgent national reflection and reform, Kukah said Nigeria must be fixed quickly. He argued that many of the country\u2019s challenges stem from citizens\u2019 indiscipline, irresponsibility, and failure to hold leaders accountable, warning that expecting a \u201csaviour\u201d from government is misplaced.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have been a troubled country, but a country of great promise. Terrible mistakes have been made; we ought not to be where we are,\u201d he said, adding that citizens often mirror the failings they condemn in politicians. Corruption, opportunism, and disregard for due process, he noted, are pervasive among Nigerians themselves. <\/p>\n
\u201cMany are running private businesses; ask our workers how fair and equitable we are. The elite should not pretend that some saviour will come from somewhere. It is a result of our collective irresponsibility,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n
Kukah highlighted voter apathy, lack of civic engagement, and absence of a protest culture as major obstacles to reform.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t care about government, the government will not care about you. People are dying, but people are partying. We must learn a culture of protest and the sacrifice that comes with it, not lamentation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He stressed that discipline and adherence to faith-based and civic principles are crucial for national transformation.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe day we decide to live by the dictates of our faith, this country will be completely different. We will have a new Nigeria the day we decide to be sufficiently disciplined.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Contrasting Nigeria with other African nations, Kukah praised the late Tanzanian leader Julius Nyerere for fostering dignity and self-worth. \u201cAsk at Niger; people who are poorer than Nigerians have a sense of dignity,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n
Assessing the President Bola Tinubu administration, Kukah expressed concern over persistent banditry and insecurity.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cOur inability to rid ourselves of banditry and insecurity must be taken seriously. We need timelines to address this issue,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n
He also called for urgent measures to address hunger, human survival, internally displaced persons, and gaps in foreign policy.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe security agencies must ensure restoration of social order. There should be new, aggressive plans to end IDP camps. Also, our foreign policy remains in a state of flux. With all the trips the president has made, no ambassador has been appointed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, has dismissed claims that he denied the persecution of Christians in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17771,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[11181,11182,11183,11184,11185,122,9287,11186,11187,152],"class_list":{"0":"post-17770","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tanzania","8":"tag-bishop-matthew-kukah","9":"tag-christian-persecution","10":"tag-civic-responsibility","11":"tag-insecurity-in-nigeria","12":"tag-national-security","13":"tag-nigeria","14":"tag-nigerian-politics","15":"tag-religious-violence","16":"tag-sokoto-diocese","17":"tag-tanzania"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17770\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}