Kukah: No sane Nigerian is happy with these killings

Matthew Kukah, Catholic bishop of Sokoto diocese, says no sane Nigerian is happy with the killings across the country.

Speaking with The Sun on the sideline of the first plenary meeting of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria in Abuja, he said there is no need to waste lives or engage in violence.

He said going by the number of killings and violence recorded during the 2019 general election, Nigerians are disappointed in the political system.

The convener of the National Peace Committee (NPC) said only time can engender the type of democracy that Nigerians yearn for.

“Why do people really want to get into government? If it were just to serve, you don’t need to kill anybody or there doesn’t have to be violence,” he said.

“But the most important thing is that all these are just evidences of the quality and calibre of men and women that we have to deal with in the name of politics.

“No sane Nigerian will be happy with what has happened and what continues to happen. The most important thing for us to understand is that those who have put themselves up for election; it is a measure of whether they are fit for public office; when you assess how people are conducting themselves.

“And all these things suggest that there was ulterior motive. Why do people really want to get into government? If it were just to serve, you don’t need to kill anybody or there doesn’t have to be violence. But the most important thing is that all these are just evidences of the quality and calibre of men and women that we have to deal with in the name of politics. It shows their lack of maturity, it shows their lack of polish, their lack of finesse and their lack of understanding of the ingredients of politics.

“Every Nigerian, every sane human being should be disappointed with the number of lives we have wasted in this country.”