Kukah: ‘Buhari makes it difficult for Nigerians to celebrate diversity’

Bishop of the Catholic diocese in Sokoto, Mathew Kukah says President Muhammadu Buhari has in the last five years made it difficult for Nigerians to celebrate diversity.

Kukah said this while speaking at The Platform, an annual conference organised by Covenant Christian Centre in Lagos hosted in commemoration of the nation’s 60th independence anniversary.

The cleric argued that Nigeria’s diversity and the principle of federal character have been betrayed because the chief Justice and those in charge of affairs at the Senate and House of Representatives are from the same religion.

He said, “I think even the most optimistic Nigerian must conceive that we are nowhere near coming to define the real sense of democracy. Beyond just going through the process of cycles of election, we have a very serious problem with recruitment methods.

“Reflecting federal character should be like viewing ourselves in the mirror and celebrating our diversity because the table is big enough to occupy everyone

“But when you don’t have that and you put all your apples in one basket, naturally you cannot make headway, because you’re violating the constitution and thinking that we are in a democracy.

“This president (Buhari) in my view in the last few years has made it very difficult for us to celebrate diversity. And Nigerians will concede that a reward system that is so skewed, whether in favour of men, women, Christians or Muslims is unacceptable because when it was time to vote, all of us came out to vote.

“We need to very quickly reset the template if we are to take our place after 60 years of independence. If we are unable to provide our people with water, food, light, security, then it is a tough call. I am not a happy Nigerian but I remain a hopeful Nigerian.”

Recall that in February 2020, Kukah accused Buhari of running a nepotistic government, adding that Nigeria is not a country any sane person should die for.