Presidency tackles Kukah, NEF over comments on security

Presidency tackles Kukah, NEF over comments on security

The Presidency has, again, come out hard on some prominent Nigerians and groups accusing President Muhammadu Buhari of dividing the country and poor handling of the security challenges .

The latest of such condemnations were by Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese Matthew Kuka and the Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF).  NEF  had a week ago called on Buhari to resign, citing reasons of mismanagement and others.  Bishop Kuka, in his Easter message on Sunday,  accused the Buhari-led administration of reducing Nigeria to a broken nation and Nigerians to a broken people.

However, in a tweet on his verified Twitter handle, https://twitter.com/FemAdesina,  Special Adviser (Media and Publicity) to the President Femi Adesina, said those alleging that  Buhari was dividing the nation were the very people that use their “mouths with evil’ to cause disharmony.

“Those who divided Nigeria with their mouths with evil, unguarded speaking, are the ones now accusing President Buhari. How sad! Their wicked intentions shall not come to pass”, Adesina said.

Kukah had in his Easter message titled ‘To Mend a Broken Nation: The Easter Metaphor (on Nigeria)’, said: “Our dear country, Nigeria, still totters and wobbles as we screech towards a dangerous and avoidable canyon of dry bones. Nonetheless, we still cling to hope, a hope in the resurrected Christ, knowing as St. Paul; said, ‘this hope does not disappoint us’ (Rm.5:5).

“Nigerians can no longer recognise their country which has been battered and buffeted by men and women from the dark womb of time. It is no longer necessary to ask how we got here. The real challenge is how to find the slippery rungs on the ladder of ascent so we can climb out. Yet, we ask, ascend to where? For us as Christians, ascent is to the loving embrace of the resurrected Christ who is Lord of history.

“One would be tempted to ask, what is there to say about our tragic situation today that has not been said? Who is there to speak that has not spoken? Like the friends of Job, we stare at an imponderable tragedy as the nation unravels from all sides. The government has slid into hibernation mode. It is hard to know whether the problem is that those in power do not hear, see, feel, know, or just don’t care.”

Last Tuesday, NEF, in a statement by its spokesman, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed,  asked the  President to ‘seriously consider resigning, citing rising insecurity as its reason.

“We cannot continue to live and die under the dictates of killers, kidnappers, rapists and sundry criminal groups that have deprived us of our rights to live in peace and security.

“It is now time for President Buhari to seriously consider that option since his leadership has proved spectacularly incapable of providing security over Nigerians.”