The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto State, Bishop Matthew Kukah, has said those expecting something good to come out of the Buhari administratiom, would have to pray harder because the current government seems to value the killer more than the victims — a situation he described as 'mysterious'.
Kukah who made the statement in his Easter sermon titled “Nigeria: Before our glory departs,” said it is a very sad situation when a government invests billions of naira on those terrorizing its people, while the affected families are left to grieve alone in silence.
He said the Buhari administration has shown that crime pays, yet wants victims of crimes to be patriotic. He warned that unless victims of crimes are prioritized by government, Nigeria will never heal.
He said, “It is a Mystery, that the (Buhari) government is investing billions of naira in rehabilitating so-called Boko Haram repentant members and their other partners in crime in the belief that they want to turn a new leaf. These criminals have waged war against their country, murdered thousands of citizens, destroyed infrastructure and rendered entire families permanently displaced and dislocated. Why should rehabilitating the perpetrator be more important than bringing succour to the victims?
“When kidnapped or killed, victims and their families are left to their wits. They cry alone, bury their loved ones alone. And our government expects us to be patriotic? The victims of violence need empathy, which the dictionary defines as the ability to understand and share the feelings of the other. A critical deficit of empathy on the side of the government makes healing almost impossible for the victims. We have not heard anything about a rehabilitation programme for the thousands of schoolchildren who have been victims of abduction.
“We seem to assume that their return to their schools is sufficient. Left unaddressed, the traumatic effect of their horrors will haunt them for a long time. Tomorrow’s parents, military generals, top security men and women, governors, senators, and ministers will come from today’s pool of traumatised children. The security quandary is the greatest indictment of this government,” he stated.
Kukah also recalled Buhari’s statement at his swearing-in on May 29, 2015, highlighting the failure to meet up with expectations.
“President Muhammadu Buhari, at his swearing-in as President of Nigeria, said: Boko Haram is a typical case of small fires causing large fires.
“Now, before his watch, the fires are consuming the nation, and in many instances, they indeed start small. The rumblings over the wearing of a hijab in Kwara State suggest that we have not seen the end of individuals sacrificing national cohesion to feed their personal ambitions by starting small fires.
"Most politicians hardly think through the long-term effects of these pyrrhic victories of using religion. What started as a small fire with adoption of Sharia in Zamfara in 1999, spread across the northern states. Ordinary people broke into ecstatic joy. Today, what has become of the north? What are the lessons?”