The Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Most Rev Matthew Hassan Kukah has warned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that the legitimacy of his government hangs on resolving the incessant killing of Nigerians.
Kukah who gave the warning in a statement issued on Sunday in reaction to the killing of about 200 residents of Plateau State around Christmas time, noted that the sponsors of the heinous crime were now embedded in the architecture of the state.
The cleric, therefore, called on President Tinubu to review the security arrangement of the country and implement permanent solutions to end the attacks.
“President Tinubu must know that the legitimacy of his government hangs on resolving this and giving us our country back.
“Sadly, with time, Nigerians are gradually losing hope in the ability of their government to protect and secure them. While we religious leaders have continued to use our moral authority to encourage our people not to take the laws into their hands, we risk being swept away by the anger and frustration of our people.
“We even risk being seen as accomplices to an erring state. The Nigerian state itself risks becoming an undertaker in the eyes of its citizens. Our cups of sorrow are overflowing. We have cried enough tears. We may pretend that we are not at war, but truly, a war is being waged against the Nigerian state and its people. God forbid, but we could snap anytime, anywhere and for any reason.”
He said years of military involvement had led to the mistaken notion that issues of security were military issues, adding that years of a “guns and bullets approach” had led to the growth of corruption, lack of cohesion, collaboration, and coordination, and infighting among the security agencies.
He said, “There is an urgent need to re-set the national security architecture. Enough is enough. National security is a function of robust, deep intellectual analysis and mapping of the goals and even ambitions of a country, its local, regional or global place in the world.”
Kukah, however, commended the government for the way it responded to the tragedies, “unlike before when no one bothered to visit the scenes, we are seeing very rapid responses from the top.”
However, according to him, it is not sufficient as rebuilding these communities requires more than mere physical infrastructure.
He said there is a need for clearer, more imagined strategies for rebuilding community cohesion and resilience, adding that rebuilding the people’s hearts is more urgent than rebuilding houses.
“Merely awarding contracts for the building of houses is not as important as building markets, rebuilding roads, providing agricultural inputs for farmers, and so on,” he said.
SaharaReporters reported on Tuesday that the Plateau State Command of the Nigerian Police Force had said that no fewer than 86 persons were killed with 221 houses completely burnt down during the Christmas Eve attacks by gunmen in the state.
Shortly after, President Tinubu condemned the attacks and directed security agencies to apprehend all the assailants.
The death toll has since risen to over 200 with several others injured.
