One of the fearless Catholic Bishops in Nigeria, Matthew Hassan Kukah, has disclosed that he’s saddened by the current state of insecurity in the country.
Kukah who is the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese said that the quest to achieve a united Nigeria, devoid of regionalization and fractionalization, remained an illusion.
“The quest for national cohesion remains an illusion and the
result therefore is that marketing Nigeria becomes an act of
frustration. In part because too many issues have still not been
resolved. Tragically as the population has increased we have not been
able to craft a narrative.”
The Catholic Bishop was speaking at the National Conference and
Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations
(NIPR).
According to him, Nigeria is one of the most dangerous countries in the world to live in.
Kukah decried the fact that quacks have taken over every institution in the country, including the country’s political space.
“Is there any institution in Nigeria that has not been taken over
by quacks, including our politics? There is no institution you can
blame in this country, everywhere. That is why it is even so dangerous
and so important to think about how to advertise Nigeria. I mean, where
do you start?
The Catholic Bishop submitted that the problems in Nigeria had very
little to do with the things that had been ascribed, but that it has
everything to do with our inability and sheer incapacity to manage the
country’s diversity.
“I think that the problems in Nigeria have very little to do with
the things that we ascribe, but is everything to do with our inability,
sheer incapacity to manage diversity. Managing diversity is a science.
If we do not have a sense of direction and purpose; a nation that does
not have a clarity of vision as to where it is going, and what the tools
that are required,” Vanguard quoted him as saying.
“When you live in a country like Nigeria, where people are safer
with their nephews, cousins, brothers, sisters, as special assistants,
personal assistants, then we are in trouble. How we manage diversity in
Nigeria then becomes an issue.”
It’s difficult to market Nigeria
Bishop Kukah said “The question then is if you want to market
Nigeria, where do you start from. We are practising politics of very
poor quality. Our politics have become so regionalised, fractionalised.
“Whenever I look at the map of the last elections, I do not feel
proud as a Nigerian. That you will have an election where very clearly,
the country is divided into two and the lines are precise.
“If this is the kind of country that we have, how do we develop the capacity to manage diversity.”
He berated a situation whereby state governors lobby to be on the president’s entourage whenever he’s travelling out.
“When a president is travelling, the governors are struggling to
go with him. And yet in reality, for those journeys, like when the
president is going to China, there must be an academic expert who
understands China, who should be able to brief the President.
“This is the only country where the only experts are those
manufactured by those in power. Does it not surprise you? The country
has become averse to expertise, to intellectual contribution. The
incredible capacity of our people is in suspended animation.
“It is really frightening what is happening in Nigeria. With the
kidnapping in Katsina yesterday, there are no more sacred spaces in the
country.”
According to him, is it sad that “so many of our people are objects of humiliation around the world.”
The Catholic, therefore, challenged the Federal Government led by
President Muhammadu Buhari to do something urgently to salvage the
country from total collapse.
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