The Presidency has berated the bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Reverend Mathew Kukah, for describing Nigeria, under the watch of Buhari, as a massive killing field.
In his Easter message on Sunday, Kukah said both the government and the citizens have become helpless as criminals continue to cause havoc in parts of the country.
Kukah said many citizens are frustrated over the security situation as they wonder if the government has gone AWOL (absent without official leave).
But in a statement issued hours after the bishop’s message, presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu said Kukah’s “bashing” of President Buhari is “ungodly.”
Shehu noted that it is unbecoming of a man of God of Kukah’s influence to keep sacrificing facts and on the altar of personal ideology
“All citizens have their individual ideologies, even their own versions of truth. But if you profess to being a man of God, as Father Mathew Hassan Kukah does, ideology should not stand in the way of facts and fairness,” he said.
“Father Kukah has said some things that are inexplicable in his Easter message. But, in saying that the Boko Haram terrorism is worse than it was in 2015, he did not speak like a man of God.
“Kukah should go to Borno or Adamawa to ask the citizens there the difference between 2014 and 2021.”
The presidential spokesman also faulted the bishop for saying Buhari is not concerned about those displaced because of the security crisis, citing the creation of the ministry of humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development as part of the president’s efforts in that regard.
Shehu dismissed Kukah’s Easter message as “sample of unrestrained rhetoric” which has become the cleric’s trademark during festive periods.
“Some of the comments are no more than a sample of the unrestrained rhetoric Fr. Kukah trades in, which he often does in the guise of a homily,” the presidential spokesman said.
“We urge well-meaning citizens to continue to support the ongoing efforts by the administration to secure the country and move it forward.”
