The Catholic Archbishop of Sokoto, Matthew Hassan Kukah, has described Nigerians as looking “forlorn, disconsolate, lugubrious, and despondent” in their reaction to the outcome of the 2023 election.
He further observed that “Our swagger is gone. We look like men and women returning from a funeral, murmuring discontentment in hushed tones. It is, therefore, not surprising that even the victors are blowing a muted trumpet.”
Kukah, in his Easter message to Nigerians, asked them to rise and reclaim their country from the clutches of the current administration.
According to him, since justice had eluded citizens, and were currently forlorn, dejected and unhappy, Nigerian men and women were like “returning from a funeral with forlorn looks.”
The Bishop commended President Buhari for recognizing that his (Kukah’s) criticisms of the current administration were not borne out of malice, but rather a desire to see Nigeria reach its full potential.
The text of Bishop’s Easter message
“I commend you (Buhari) for the fact that you have known that none of this was done out of malice but that we want the best for our country.
“May God guide you in retirement while we all embark on the challenge of reclaiming the country we knew before you came.
“Nigerians are so collectively frustrated that it is almost impossible to convince them that they can find justice.
“Everywhere you turn today, Nigerians look forlorn, disconsolate, lugubrious, and despondent. Our swagger is gone. We look like men and women returning from a funeral, murmuring discontentment in hushed tones. It is, therefore, not surprising that even the victors are blowing a muted trumpet.
“Unpleasant as this may sound, this blood that they have shed could be seen as blood of the birth of a new Nigeria. It can become the blood of our new birth, our redemption.
”However, we cannot accept that violence and bloodshed are the normal route to power. Because like the blood of Abel, the blood of those who have been murdered continues to cry out to heaven seeking for justice ( Gen. 4:10).
“Though we are tempted with the drudgery of fatigue and despondency, unlike the apostles in the garden of Gethsemane, we should be ready to wait in patience for one hour or more (Mt. 26:40).
“Our dream is merely in suspense, a punctuation mark in the book of our unfinished greatness. Let us see this as a detour, a diversion. We still have our roadmap in our hands.
”It is time to return to the highway so as to choose a road less travelled, a road of hard work, sacrifice, dedication, and hope. The ugliness of yesterday must not define us. We must finish this journey together. We shall neither relent, slow down nor give up.
“The resurrection is a promise that despite the seeming hopelessness, God’s plans cannot be frustrated.
“Those who position themselves at night with stones to guard the entrance of the tomb will find themselves confounded at dawn by an empty tomb. A new Nigeria will emerge from the tombs of our seeming helplessness.
“Yes, we are all angry and we all want justice. Yes, we have the right to be angry and we should be angry. But, angry about what, angry with whom and justice for whom?
”St. Thomas Aquinas, known as the angelic doctor of the church, said: ‘He who is not angry when there is a just cause for anger is immoral because anger looks to the good of justice. If you can live with injustice without anger, you are immoral as well as unjust,” the Bishop enthused.
