Bishop Matthew Kukah of the Sokoto Catholic Diocese has explained that his criticisms of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is not personal.
Kukah told those who frown at his position that he has no apologies to make. He said he had, even before Buhari assumed the leadership mantle in 2015, been a critic of the policies of his predecessors.
The cleric, who also regretted that politicians were holding Nigeria hostage, however, said he was peeved by the Buhari government on two grounds: the quantum of loss of lives in the country and nepotism.
Kukah spoke yesterday with journalists at the Saint Bakhita Catholic, Secretariat, Sokoto, on activities to mark the end of 2021.
He said those who see him as an ardent critic of Buhari were taking drugs for another person’s headache.
He said: “All that I have been clamouring for, are not personal. There are two issues that bother me with this administration. One is the quantum of loss of lives and I don’t think, there is anybody who is happy about this.
“The second is the allocation of position with favouritism and nepotism. One thing lacking in this administration is the inability to manage our sense of diversity. I have always been a critic of government before this administration and I stand on my challenge to those who don’t reason along with me, to counter my position with superior argument.
“Nigerians are still to learn how to disagree on the disagreeable; we are still to learn how to debate without argument and, we are still to agree that some of our best friends are those that criticize us. Criticism is not an abuse, it is what purifies democracy.”
