Bishop Kukah’s pungent Christmas Epistle

By RingTrue with Yemi Adebowale,

President Buhari is the only one unaware that Nigeria is a multi-ethnic, multi-religion and multi-cultural country and that everybody must be given a sense of belonging with fair top appointments.

I always look forward to Bishop Matthew Kukah’s Christmas Epistle to Nigerians. This Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese never disappoints. Put more precisely, he never fails to speak truth to power. No sentiments; he tells it as it is.  Kukah has maintained this position for ages.

In his 2023 Christmas message last Sunday at St. Mary Catholic Church, Sokoto, titled, “Let us turn a new leaf, ”Kukah took on the incompetent President Muhammadu Buhari, declaring that while Buhari would be leaving office in good health, “Nigerians are in pain on account of his failure to fulfil his promises to fix the country.”

Kukah, who berated Buhari on his policies and inability to tackle corruption, cited nepotism as a major factor that characterized his regime. He flayed the President for nepotism in his choice of appointees whom he described as mediocre, adding that the nation has paid the price for entrusting power to characters that treated it as their family property.

On Buhari’s nepotism, I agree fully with Kukah and this has always been my position too. Nepotism is indeed a cancer which Buhari has unleashed on this country for almost eight years now. His appointments are largely skewed.

Nigeria is feeling Buhari’s failings the most in the area of security because of nepotism in security appointments. Our beloved country is now one big killing field, with terrorists running riot. Under Buhari, almost all security and para-military agencies are headed by his Fulani kinsmen without result. Our President does this with so much impunity.

Aside the Chief of Defence Staff, Lucky Irabor and Chief of Air Staff, Isiaka Amao, this is what Buhari has: Director-General, Department of State Security, Yusuf Bishi; National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno; Chief of Army Staff, Faruk Yahaya; Chief of Naval Staff, Awwal Gambo; Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service, Hameed Ali; Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Buba Marwa; Comptroller- General, Nigeria Immigration Service, Isah Jere Idris; Commandant, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Ahmed Audi; Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba; Minister of Police Affairs Maigari Dingyadi; Director General, National Intelligence Agency, Ahmed Rufai Abubakar,  the Controller-General, Nigerian Correctional Service, Haliru Nababa and the Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Dauda Biu.

Then, add the awkward Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi. What has Nigeria gained from Buhari’s endless  sectionalism in security appointments? Nothing! This country is bleeding profusely. I urge Buhari to think deeply about the four siblings killed by kidnappers this week in Garin Dogo, Lau LG of Taraba State, after collecting N60 million from their father. As usual, the killers may never be arrested.

Buhari is the only one unaware that Nigeria is a multi-ethnic, multi-religion and multi-cultural country and that everybody must be given a sense of belonging with fair top appointments. Why should most of the key federal government departments and agencies be headed by people from a section of this country? I am talking about big agencies like Customs, NPA, Pencom, NNPC, FIRS, NCC, NBC, TETFund, SEC, CAC, UBEC, NIMASA, NMDPRA, NPHCDA, FAAN, NDIC, AMCON and NUC. Buhari evidently cares less about the unity of this country.

Our President has indeed been stoking this country’s fault lines for almost eight years with his skewed appointments. He fully understands the importance of Section 14 (3) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended), which mandates federal character in all appointments and has chosen to persistently mock it.

Nigeria is indeed worse than it was before Buhari took office. The economy continues to depreciate, throwing more Nigerians below poverty.

Kukah captures it thus: “Who would have imagined, after listening to the campaign speeches ahead of the 2015 elections, the new President’s inaugural speech that we will be so worse off than we were? Yet, it could get even worse if we do not pause and pause very seriously.

“Is being the poverty capital of the world and one of the most violent states in the world an achievement? And our suffocating internal and international debts?”.

For me, fixing Nigeria requires a President with physical and mental capacity; a truly Nigerian President in all  ramifications, who will see everybody as one and treat everybody equally.

A President who will ensure that the sensibilities of all Nigerians are respected and reflected in federal appointments.  Nigeria can no longer afford an ethnic and religious bigot as President. This is my message to beloved countrymen as we head towards the 2023 Presidential election.