The Presidency has asked the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, to consider pulling off his pastoral cassock and partisan politics.
The message sent to the priest on Monday was in response to his criticism of the administration of President Muhammadu Buahri, the latest of which came in his Easter Sunday sermon.
Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Garba Shehu, delivered the message in a statement with the caption: ‘Kukah’s virus of hate.’
With quotes from the Bible, Shehu criticized Kukah, noting that “from his pulpit, he devoted his Easter message not to Christ’s death and rebirth so Man might be saved – but to damning the government in the most un-Christian terms.”
While accusing Kukah of neglecting Bible’s teachings, Shehu said Easter should be a time for renewal, and for hope and “not a time for religious leaders to play politics, or politicians to play religion.”
He added, “Nigeria knows too well Bishop Kukah’s views of the government. He has made quite clear how much he dislikes them from the day they were elected.
“Whether expressing his political views is a good use or an abuse of religious office is for others to decide. But the people of Nigeria have spoken – twice: they support this government at the ballot box. They have not been swayed by hateful talk from any bully-pulpit.
“We respectfully ask Bishop Kukah to leave government to the voters and the politicians they elect, while he concentrates on his job, as it is expressed in James 1:27: ‘Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.’
“Or else, he should put away his clerical garb, join partisan politics and see how far he can go.”
In his sermon on Sunday had knocked the government over the worsening insecurity in the country, corruption and disunity being witnessed in the country.
“Our dear country, Nigeria, still totters and wobbles as we screech towards a dangerous and avoidable canyon of dry bones,” Bishop Kukah said in his Easter Message on Sunday titled, ‘To mend a broken nation: The Easter metaphor’.
He declared that while every aspect of life in Nigeria has been destroyed while corruption is enthroned.
“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. Either way, from this crossroad, we must make a choice, to go forward, turn left or right or return home. None of these choices is easy, yet, guided by the light of the risen Christ, we can reclaim our country from its impending slide to anarchy.
