The Catholic Bishop of the Sokoto Diocese, His Eminence, Matthew Kukah, says he has never been unsure of Nigeria’s government like the way he is presently. The respected cleric said this at the launch of a book: “Religion and the making of Nigeria” in Abuja yesterday. The book was written by Prof. Olufemi Vaughan.
“As a Nigerian and a citizen, I have always been an incurable optimist. But I have never been as unsure about the future of this country as I am now.
People say they are killing for religion, but intentions are not enough. As it is, we may never be able to prosecute anybody because we have not been able to separate criminality from religion. In Nigeria, we have a feeling that somehow, people can genuinely kill in the name of religion. I think that unless Nigeria as a country is prepared to make laws and ensure that all citizens live by same and be answerable by the same law, what we are witnessing is a symptom, not the disease. The creeping inequalities, the inability of this system to deliver has made us uncomfortable. The point, therefore, is not for us to keep praying. Should religion lead to the un-making of Nigeria? The answer is ‘No’. But the government of Nigeria should separate religion from politics and economics and let everybody make his claims,” he said.