Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah, has joined numerous Nigerians in condemning recent killings in Plateau, asserting that citizens of Nigeria are gradually losing hope in their governments to protect them.
Bishop Kukah, in a statement he personally signed and made available to newsmen in the state on Saturday evening, said religious leaders, both Muslim and Christian, have continued to use moral authority to encourage their people not to take laws into their own hands.
According to the statement titled “Blood and Crucifixion on the Plateau,” he said the invisible men came to the Plateau again, bearing their gifts of death and destruction.
“They came from the deepest pit of hell, the habitat of the devils that they are. They are children of darkness, sons of Satan. They opted to extinguish and snatch the light of the joy of Christmas from thousands of people on the Plateau.
“They imagined they would ignite an orgy of blood, seduce the ordinary peace-loving people of the Plateau, and set them on a mission of mindless murder of fellow citizens in the name of retaliation. The world would then say that this was a war of religion, with Christians killing Muslims to ignite a larger war. So far, over two hundred lives are gone, and we are still counting, but what next, where next, and who next?
“Over the years, these murderers have left their footprints of blood and tears across the length and breadth of the entire northern states, indiscriminately wreaking destruction across large swaths of land and communities. In all this, the Nigerian state and its security agencies are blindsided, seemingly incapable of cleaning up this Augean stable of sorrow and pain in our land.
” These killers have turned the Nigerian state and its security agencies into objects of cynicism, mockery, and mere lachrymal spectators daily accompanying funeral processions. Across the country, these funerals and the coffins are now part of our landscape.”
He further said religious leaders who have been advising their followers not to take laws into their own hands 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 shed 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.
” By the banks of the Niger River, on the hills of the Plateau, across the lush savannah of the middle belt, we have sat down and wept. We have questions crying for answers: Who are these killers? Where are they coming from? Who is sponsoring them? What are their grouses, and against whom? What do they want? Whom do they want? Who are they working for? When will it all end?
“Why are they invincible and invisible? Who is offering them cover? Are we condemned to live with this and hand this broken nation to our children? Should we all just become inoculated and sedated to make all this bearable? Who will supply the opium to dull our pain? Are we sleepwalking to self-destruction?
” Why has the north become the birthplace of so much bloodletting? Why have these killings been seen as tools of negotiation with the Nigerian state by the protectors of the north? Why has our north become the incubator of all that is destructive? Boko Haram, banditry, and shades of terrorism all live in our region. Why is this so?
” These killers are not ordinary murderers. They are killers for a purpose. It is the task of the intelligence community to tell us who they are, where they live, and what their goals are. These killers are professionals; are they Nigerians, or do they have just Nigerian sponsors? Their sponsors are among us. They must be in high places. They are now embedded in the architecture of the state. President Tinubu must know that the legitimacy of his government hangs on resolving this and giving us our country back.
” We are tired of the confusing, inexcusable, monosyllabic excuses saying, This is an asymmetrical war; we are on top of the situation; you cannot kill an idea; it is not about religion or ethnicity; we will bring them to justice. We, the citizens of Nigeria, feel collectively humiliated and betrayed by those who are collaborating with these murderers and by a government that seems helpless.
” Can we continue to believe that there is no long-term plan to take over the reins of power in the Nigerian state? These people want power. They want it on their own terms. They want their own kind of Nigeria, according to their ideology. These killings are just a preface. These killings are no longer acts by herders and farmers overgrazing fields. No, there is more, and we as a nation will do well to face this threat before it is too late. No evil lasts forever. The world defeated slavery, apartheid, Nazism, racism, and forms of extremism.”
He does, however, commend the government for its responses to these tragedies. ” Unlike before, when no one bothered to visit the scenes, we are seeing very rapid responses from the top. This is necessary but not sufficient as a strategy. Rebuilding these communities requires more than mere physical infrastructure.
“There is a need for clearer, more imagined strategies for rebuilding community cohesion and resilience. Rebuilding hearts is more urgent than rebuilding houses. Merely awarding contracts for the building of houses is not as important as building markets, rebuilding roads, or providing agricultural services,” he added.
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