By Banji Ayoola
It is graceless and impious for any religious leader to use the period of Christmas, which is a season of peace, to stoke the embers of hatred, sectarian strife and national disunity; the Federal Government has fired back at Catholic bishop, Rev Father Mathew Hassan Kukah .
In a statement issued on Saturday in Lagos by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, it warned religious leaders that resorting to scorched-earth rhetoric at this time could trigger unintended consequences.
The statement was made available to newsmen by Mr. Segun Adeyemi, Special Assistant to the President (Media), Office of the Minister of Information and Culture.
It said that while religious leaders have a responsibility to speak truth to power, such truth must not come wrapped in anger, hatred, disunity and religious disharmony.
According to the statement: “Calling for a violent overthrow of a democratically-elected government, no matter how disguised such a call is, and casting a particular religion as violent is not what any religious leader should engage in, and certainly not in a season of peace.”
It stressed that instigating regime change outside the ballot box is not only unconstitutional but also an open call to anarchy.
Besides, it said while some religious leaders, being human, may not be able to disguise their national leadership preference, they should refrain from stigmatising the leader they had never supported using well-worn and disproved allegations of nepotism.
Government said whatever challenges Nigeria may be going through at the moment could only be tackled when all leaders and indeed all Nigerians come together.
It said such challenges could not be tackled “when some people arrogantly engage in name-calling and finger-pointing.”
Kukah, in his 2020 Christmas Message, had alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari is presiding over a country with prospects of a failed state.
He contended that “there is no way any non-Northern Muslim president could have done a fraction of what President Buhari has done by his nepotism and gotten away with it.
” There would have been a military coup a long time ago or we would have been at war.”
In a story titled: “Nigeria Suffers Under Buhari’s Nepotism – Kukah,” published by The Radiance in its December 25 edition, the cleric had deplored what he called nepotism by the Buhari Administration and accused the government of institutionalising northern hegemony while reducing other parts of the country to second class status.
In his Christmas message entitled “A nation in search of vindication,” he said there could have been a coup or war in the country if a non-Northern Muslim President had practiced a fraction of President Muhammadu Buhari’s ‘nepotism’.
He said: “This 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?
“President Buhari deliberately sacrificed the dreams of those who voted for him to what seemed like a programme to stratify and institutionalise northern hegemony. He has pursued this self-defeating and alienating policy at the expense of greater national cohesion.
“Every honest Nigerian knows that there is no way any non-Northern Muslim President could have done a fraction of what President Buhari has done by his nepotism and gotten away with it.
“There would have been a military coup a long time ago or we would have been at war. The President may have concluded that Christians will do nothing and will live with these actions.
“He may be right and we Christians cannot feel sorry that we have no pool of violence to draw from or threaten our country. However, God does not sleep. We can see from the inexplicable dilemma of his North.”
