2015: Nigeria’s next president is in God’s hand —Rev Kukah

ARCHBISHOP of the Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Most Reverend Matthew Hassan Kukah, has declared that the issue of who becomes the president of the country in 2015 is in the hand of God.
He said that the issue cannot be manipulated by any man against the will of God, calling on Nigerians to shun any politician or political party with ethnic and religious tendencies, ahead the 2015 elections.

The cleric also called on the political class to see public service as a call to serve God and humanity and not a call to self-enrichment or to champion ethnic interests, adding that the responsibility of rescuing the missing Chibok girls should not be left to the government alone.Kukah made this known while speaking at a public lecture entitled: “Politics, Christians and good governance in Nigeria: The Challenge to be Different”, at the second session of the Second Synod of the Diocese of Evo, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Friday.“Loyalty to ethnic affiliations as a factor for choosing candidates in elections in Nigeria is the foundation of the stunted electoral process and corruption in the polity and all Nigerians, especially Christians, must streamline and balance their loyalties between ethnic interests and the unity, growth and development of the country”, he said.

 He traced the myriad of all crises facing the country to allegiance to ethnic and primordial sentiments, maintaining that when ethnicity becomes a prism through which citizens look at and react to national issues, the result would always be conflict and corruption.Kukah said crisis and corruption would be unavoidable because ethnic and religious biases would not allow for the enthronement of leaders whose interest and pursuits would be for the good of the country as a single entity.“The question at the centre of all the problems and crises that the country is going through from time to time is the question of how to manage the pluralistic nature of our society and country and once this problem is addressed, the country would experience peace and development”, he added. He said the challenge was the burden of political and Church leadership and therefore called on all Nigerians in political leadership positions and those seeking political office to fashion out ways in which to make the best out of the nation’s diversit.

 He insisted that the Nigerian ethnic, religious and political diversities should not be an excuse to perpetrate violence and killing as currently being experienced in some northern parts of the country.He enjoined Christians in political positions to properly understand the position of God on the role of the church in enthroning a culture of accountability in governance in Nigeria.Expressing dissatisfaction with those blaming the Federal Government over the continued abduction of the Chibok girls by Boko Haram, the cleric said the issue of the release of the girls was the responsibility of all and should not be left for the government alone.“The way we talk about issues affecting Nigeria is making everything to look as if we are at war with one another. We must mind what we say about the president and the country. Other African countries are not happy with us; other developed countries are not happy with us but we are not the worst country.
“Some people said the president is weak; that he is sponsoring impeachment against his enemies and that he is encouraging Boko Haram. All these are very dangerous to our democracy. As far as I am concerned, the ultimate is the peace of the country”, he said.