The distribution of palliatives to Nigerians amid the severe hardships facing the country has been criticized by the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah.
After the removal of fuel subsidy and the implementation of various economic policies, governments at all levels have initiated palliative measures, such as distributing food items to the vulnerable, to alleviate the hardship in the country.
The cleric criticized the distribution of these palliatives, highlighting that they often fail to reach the intended recipients due to rampant misappropriation of funds allocated for such purposes.
Kukah voiced his concerns during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics program.
His words: “We need to see a much more robust programme designed by the government to help us go away from just lining up and collecting palliatives when we are not at war.
“I think it is the height of indignity to see Nigerians lining up every day under the sun and waiting to collect bags of rice, which probably never come, not because money has not been given but because everybody who gives out money in Nigeria from the Federal Government knows that a good part of this money is always stolen.
Speaking earlier, Kukah stated that the country needs healing, urging the government to fix insecurity issues in the country.
He said, “This is a severely broken and fractured nation; the evidence is before all of us. What we have been doing in the name of politics is picking up the pieces. The entire country is littered with broken dreams, hopes, and promises made and never fulfilled.
“There are more than half a million abandoned projects in the country. It’s a testament to the brokenness of our country. The country in the last 10 years or more has become almost a graveyard; we’re burying people in the hundreds, and we are not at war. We don’t need to explain further how broken our country has been.
“Nigerians are not looking for handouts. Ordinary farmers just want to go back to their farms. People just want to be able to get back to their lives. Ending insecurity is the beginning of this healing, and a decisive programme and plan to end it is the beginning of the healing.”
The cleric added that rather than blame the government or an individual, we should return to the scene of the crime to see the range of opportunities missed.