Kukah to Tinubu: Act now to save Nigerians from cross of suffering

Matthew Kukah, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, has asked President Bola Tinubu to rescue Nigerians from the “cross of evil”.

In his 2025 Easter message titled ‘Mr President: Please bring us down from this cross’, Kukah said the country is bleeding from savagery and brutality “never witnessed in the history of our dear country”.

“Every day, innocent citizens are kidnapped and held under the most inhuman conditions,” he said.

“A dark pall of death hangs languidly from north to south. It is impossible to find a home, a family, or a community that has not been caught in the cusp of this savagery.

“Mr President, Nigeria is reaching a breaking point. The nation is gradually becoming a huge national morgue. With a greater sense of urgency, hasten to bring us down from this cross of evil.”

The bishop said while Tinubu did not erect the cross, he must act to stop the bleeding.

“Nigerians have been dangling and bleeding on this cross of pain and mindless suffering for too long,” he said.

“A culture of cynicism and self-doubt over our capacity to secure peace for ourselves pervades our land. Indeed, a majority of our citizens feel that there is no hope in sight.”

Kukah said Christians must still hold on to hope and look up to the cross as a source of strength and renewal.

“These times of great suffering should be times of hope, hope beyond human imagination — a hope which, as St. Paul assures us, does not disappoint,” he said.

He noted that Pope Francis had declared 2025 as the Year of Hope, urging Christians to see themselves as “pilgrims of hope” amid the harshness of the world.

“The road to our collective discouragement in Nigeria has been laid by marauders, murderers, savages and ravenous predators who threaten to overrun our nation,” he said.

“Mr President, immediately rid our dear country of these forces of darkness and bring us down from this cross of cynicism.”

ECONOMIC HARDSHIP

Kukah also raised concern about economic hardship in the country, stating that hunger and sickness “stalk the land”.

He acknowledged the removal of subsidies but warned that palliatives are not sustainable.

“Mere palliative distribution diminishes the dignity of citizens. Make food security a fundamental human right to all citizens,” he said.

He also referenced past confessions by public officers who admitted to bringing in armed elements to gain power, warning that the insecurity they unleashed is now threatening the foundation of the country.

“The bandits have not only become embedded in every sphere of our lives, they threaten to destroy all that holds our communities together. We now hang on the cross at the mercy of these forces of darkness,” he said.

Kukah said rising insecurity is eroding public trust in government.

“Right now, frustration has penetrated every spectrum of our society especially as the government and its security agencies seem to have largely become spectators in the dance of death that has overtaken our country,” he added.

“Is the persistence of the insecurity a statement of the lack of capacity of our men and women in uniform, or is it evidence that those at the top are reaping the fruits of funding their own war machine?

“In other words, are Nigerians lambs being sacrificed to an unknown god?”

He ended by reminding Christians that the resurrection of Jesus empowers them to drive out the darkness in society.

“We are the light of the world, a city set on a hill,” he said.

“We are equipped with the light of Christ to drive out the darkness that threatens to engulf our country. Let us collectively renew our commitment and hope for building a society after the mind of our creator.”

In November 2024, Kukah said almost all Nigerian presidents came into power through unpredictable circumstances.

The bishop noted that despite Tinubu’s claim of being prepared to govern, he still struggles to lead the country.