TheCable

The presidency says the claim by Matthew Kukah, Catholic bishop of Sokoto diocese, that only Christian schools are affected by insecurity is false.

In his address to the United States Congress Commission, Kukah had criticised the Buhari administration for failing to address insecurity.

He also accused Buhari of showing preference to people of his religion, which according to him, has worsened the level of rivalry between Christians and Muslims.

But reacting in a statement on Sunday, Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, said Kukah is trying to sow discord and strife among Nigerians.

Shehu also described Kukah’s claim that only Christian schools are being targeted by bandits or terrorists as untrue.

“With due respect to the esteemed position he holds, the Bishop’s assertion that only Christian schools are being targeted by bandits or terrorists is not supported by the facts on the ground,” he said.

“It is sad to say but also true that victims of crime, kidnapping, banditry and terrorism cut across all strata of the society. Sad but true that Kankara students in Katsina State were stolen by bandits of the same Islamic faith as those they took away.

“The same may be true of those who are still holding the 134 students of the Islamic School at Tegina in Niger State. The nation witnessed the sad incident of the female students abducted by bandits at Jangebe in Zamfara State and the over 100 predominantly Muslim students of the Federal Government Girls College Birnin Yauri in Kebbi State who are currently in captivity — and the nation’s security agencies are hard at work to release them unharmed.

“The attack on Christian students is sad and unacceptable; so also is the abduction of students of other faiths. The claim that only Christian schools are being targeted is totally untrue.”

According to the presidential spokesman, it is unfortunate and disappointing for citizens of Nigeria to bear witness to “one of their churchmen” castigating their country in front of representatives of a foreign parliament.

“Only this government has put forward the first and singular plan in nearly a century to address herder-farmer challenges — a fact recognised by international NGOs, including the International Crisis Group. To declare to a foreign audience that this government does nothing is an incredible falsehood,” Shehu said.

“There is no bias in this government when the president is northern and Muslim, the vice president southern and Christian, and the cabinet equally balanced between the two religions.

“But neither is there anything in our Constitution to state that political posts must be apportioned according to ethnicity or faith.

“It takes a warped frame of mind for a critic to believe ethnicity is of primary importance in public appointments. It is yet more troubling to hear a churchman isolating one group for criticism purely on ethnic lines.”

The presidential spokesman advised Nigerians to live in harmony, despite their religious differences.

He said no one gains but the evil doers, “when we divide our ranks according to ethnicity and religion in confronting them”.

“The bandit, kidnapper and terrorist are the enemies of the people who should be confronted in unison,” he added.

Meanwhile, this not the first time Kukah will tackle the presidency over issues of security and national development.

In his Easter message earlier in the year, Kukah described Nigeria as a “killing field” under the Buhari administration, saying both the government and the citizens have become helpless as criminals continue to cause havoc in parts of the country.

But the presidency tackled Kukah, saying “he did not speak like a man of God”.