State of the Nation: Catholic Bishops Stand With Kukah |The Source

By Uche Mbah

The Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), on Monday, said it stood by Bishop Matthew Kukah’s Christmas Day message where he told truth to power in no uncertain terms, and which has generated criticisms and encomiums form different quarters.

Kukah had said that Nigeria was on the verge of becoming a failed state and that if the President was not Buhari, there could have been a coup.

In his now controversial Christmas message, titled: ‘A Nation in Search of Vindication’, Kukah had alleged that the Federal  Government  owes the nation an explanation as to where it is headed “as we seem to journey into darkness.

“The spilling of this blood must be related to a more sinister plot that is beyond our comprehension. Are we going to remain hogtied by these evil men or are they gradually becoming part of a larger plot to seal the fate of our country?”, he queried.

In a press release made available to journalists in Abuja, the National Director of CSN’s Social Communication, Fr. Mike Umoh,  their attention has been drawn  to attacks on the Bishop by those claiming he is out to instigate violence and put a cog in the wheel of unity of federating states of the country with his message. According to Umoh,  with the heightened security and economic challenges facing the country, the Catholic Church in Nigeria had no option than to stand by Kukah’s position on the state of the nation.

“We are quite aware of the 2020 Christmas Message by our revered Bishop Hassan Kukah and the enormous space it has enjoyed on social media and in the public sphere.

“As expected, the agents of evil have gathered to attack the person of the Bishop and to discredit the simple obvious truth of the message. This is the stock in trade of evil people.

“However, they often succeed when good people –Christians- choose to do nothing. We are therefore calling attention to this new development so that we can all rise in unison and stand for truth.

“The situation in Nigeria no longer allows anyone to sit on the fence, indifference is now a greater form of sin. Everyone must choose and stand up for what he/she believes in.

“The truth about our nation is also that there are only two parties now existing: the good and the evil, the oppressed and the oppressor, the suffering people and the benefiting government officers and their families.”

Umoh called on Nigerians to stand in support of the truth and warned  against falling for the whims and caprices of players of the religious and tribal card even at the expense of the general good of the nation.