Everyone Loses If Nigeria Disintegrates – Kukah

Matthew Kukah, bishop of Sokoto Catholic diocese, has implored those agitating for secession from Nigeria to have a rethink.

Speaking during a virtual interview with Toyin Falola, academic and historian, on Sunday, Kukah said a disintegrated Nigeria portends a gloomy outcome for everyone.

He said as Nigerians, we are joined together and nobody should pretend we are not.

“I don’t think any Nigerian, in his right sense, should pretend nothing binds us together. This 923,768 km² that Lugard gave us binds us together. All of us are now global citizens but I know all of us are still nostalgic about this country. It is not going to remain like this and let none of us be under any illusion that anybody stands to gain anything if this country breaks up, nobody is interested in this country breaking up but the point is that who we were yesterday is no longer who we are today,” he said.

He said Nigerians are right to be aggrieved about insecurity in the country as it is the government responsibility to provide security for lives and properties.

He said the the present administration has not done anything or paint a picture that shows it’s serious about Nigeria’s growth and development.

He noted that the government is tacitly responsible for the insecurity and unrest that pervades the nation, saying the government’s laid back and carefree approach to some issues is enough to incite the citizens.

“The challenge is for us to create a conducive environment and this is why I worry about this government because the government has not created a narrative that points in a direction that we should be going. We don’t expect the president to do everything, we are not expecting angels, but it is that a nation has to survive on a vision about where we are going and how we are going to get there. But when you raise this question, people begin to think that you are an enemy of the state or that you are inciting citizens,” he said.

“You don’t need to incite anybody in Nigeria because government has created an environment for that development by making loose a bunch of people going around killing everyone. Who do you need to incite? You can only incite the government to take its responsibility to secure our country, it is not too much to ask.”

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