‘Remove clerical robe and join politics’ — presidency hits Kukah for criticising Buhari

The presidency has tackled Matthew Kukah, Catholic bishop of Sokoto diocese, over the cleric’s recent criticism of the Buhari administration.

On Sunday, Kukah, in his Easter message, said the Buhari administration is in hibernation mode while the country is broken and divided.

The bishop said the only thing thriving in the country is corruption, warning that Nigeria must be reclaimed from its impending slide to anarchy.

Responding to Kukah’s sermon, Garba Shehu, presidential spokesperson, in a statement on Monday, accused the bishop of always spreading hate against the Buhari-led administration.

The presidential spokesperson asked Kukah to remove his clerical garb and join partisan politics to see how far he can go, adding that the bishop “purposefully” uses his sermon to create dissensions.

“For a man who has been spreading hate for decades, nothing new in the homily, except for the fact that while millions of Christians were remembering the Lord’s crucifixion on Friday, His descent on Saturday, His resurrection on Sunday, and subsequent appearance to his disciples, Bishop Matthew Kukah was playing politics,” the statement reads.

“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.

“Bishop Kukah neglects the Bible’s teachings in James 1:26: “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless”.

“Easter should be a time for renewal, and for hope. For those in authority – both temporal and spiritual – to come together in word and deed so those who look to them for example can be inspired by their grace.

“Yet Bishop Kukah used his sermon purposefully to make dissensions and quarrels about the law. His accusatory list against the government revealed only his hatred for them.

“Still, when he accused them of division, he gave no examples: merely assertions emanating from his own mouth. His allegation of ethnic and regional divide was innuendo without proof, and he gave none.

“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.”