Former Minister of Aviation and a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Osita Chidoka, has backed the submission of the Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Mathew Kukah, on the alleged insensitivity of President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government to address myriads of problems bedeviling Nigeria.
Chidoka berated the criticisms against the Catholic cleric from officials of the federal government and insisted that the present administration has failed to put to bay the increasing insecurity, unemployment, attacks on Christian faithfuls and Christian formations across the northern part of the country.
DAILY POST recalls that the Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Matthew Kukah, had bemoaned the nepotism which he says has characterised President Muhammadu Buhari government and warned that although Christians will not fight back, but “God does not sleep”.
Kukah, in his 2020 Christmas message, claimed there could have been a coup or war in the country if a non-Nothern Muslim becomes president and does some of the things Buhari has done.
He had said, “Every honest Nigerian knows that there’s 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”.
Responding to Bishop Kukah’s position in the state affairs in the country, the Federal Government, urged religious leaders to refrain from stoking the embers of hatred and disunity.
In a statement issued in Lagos, Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed, warned that resorting to scorched-earth rhetoric at this time could trigger unintended consequences.
“While religious leaders have a responsibility to speak truth to power, such truth must not come wrapped in anger, hatred, disunity and religious disharmony,” Mohammed said.
But, speaking further in a statement forwarded to DAILY POST on Sunday, the ex-Federal Road Safety Corps, (FRSC) Boss, Osita Chidoka urged those entrusted with power to listen to the voice of wisdom for solutions to the teething challenges ravaging the country at the moment.
He said, “Bishop Kukah is a Man of God. I have known him since 1997. He was the Priest who prayed on the day I assumed office as Corps Marshal. He has visited with us at Obosi and recommended me to a program at Harvard School of Government in 2005. I respect him.
“His warnings to the nation is prescient and in the tradition of prophets of old. Using paid jobbers and e-rats to attack him on social media is a sign of the times.
“All is not well with our country. Men of goodwill should speak out and those in power should listen and make amends. May the Lord imbue him with strength and lead him alright”, Chidoka added.
