Stop blaming the past; Nigerian Bishop tells Government

Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto Diocese in Nigeria has lamented the trading of blame by officials while ordinary citizens continue to suffer.

The Bishop has called on the Nigerian government of President Muhammadu Buhari elected in March 2015, to stop apportioning blame to the previous administration and get on with the task of improving the lives of Nigerians. Speaking recently to the people of Sokoto about the spirit of Easter, Bishop Kukah said hunger among citizens was, in fact, the worst form of corruption that could ever face any nation.

“Fixing the Nigerian economy remains a mirage as today’s experts blame yesterday’s consultants. Both leaders and policy makers are trading blame while the lives of ordinary citizens continue to hang precariously.” Bishop Kukah added, “We are tired of all the cacophony of voices that have turned our suffering into a laboratory for theoretical experimentations. What we want to know is how to put food on the table. Hunger is the worst form of corruption any nation can live with,” the Bishop said.

Nevertheless, Bishop Kukah urged Nigerians not to lose hope for a better tomorrow.

 “Just when we thought we had woken up to a new dawn, we realise now that yesterday’s litany of woes is still with us. Fear still grips the land. It is tempting to ask, is this the change we voted for? However, rather than lose hope and concede to the cynics, let us pause for a moment in the spirit of Easter to reflect on our situation,” the Bishop encouraged Nigerians.

Bishop Kukah challenged Nigerians to keep working together to better the nation.

 “In moments of hopelessness, we often evoke nostalgia to romanticise the past, sedate our imagination and pretend that yesterday was better than today. But, like the Israelites, we must continue with this desert walk till we see the promised end; as the Israelites, if we want change, better days, freedom, we all have to pay the price for this by our sacrifices,” the Bishop emphasised.

Looking at the challenges of the country in the context of the Jubilee Year of Mercy declared by Pope Francis, Bishop Kukah said repentance was a precondition to gaining God’s mercy and forgiveness and as such all Nigerians need to come before the Lord in repentance.

 “Repentance is never an end in itself. Repentance is only a precondition, a path towards gaining God’s mercy and forgiveness. In turn, forgiveness is the stepping-stone to reconciliation. Reconciliation waters the ground and allows justice to flow like a river (Amos 5:24).” The Bishop added, “Therefore, all of us, as individuals, families and communities must genuinely seek the face of God in personal penance” (Ps. 27:8).

Bishop Kukah cautioned Nigerians: “Mere religiosity, endless prayers, gold rosary beads, pilgrimages, incense, are no substitute for heeding the words of Jesus that, only the pure of heart shall see God (Matt. 5:8). Only repentance can guarantee that,”  The Ordinary of Sokoto diocese said.

(CNSNg.org)

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