President Muhammadu Buhari has praised Sokoto Diocese Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah for choosing peace.
Buhari described the clergyman as a “vigorous fighter” while receiving members of the Executive Committee of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) on Wednesday.
According to WITHIN NIGERIA, Kukah stated in his 2022 Christmas message that everything in Buhari’s administration had failed miserably.
The Bishop alleged nepotism, favouritism, and a violation of federal character in Buhari’s administration.
He claimed that Buhari had failed to keep his campaign promises to Nigerians.
He bemoaned how the president’s broken promises had left the public vulnerable.
However, in a rebuttal titled: Kukah, Don’t Cook Me Nonsense, the Special Adviser Media and Publicity to the President, Femi Adesina, took on Kukah, noting that if Kukah was succeeding in his duty as a priest, his adherents should be less prone to corruption, and the leviathan should have been slain or severely wounded.
Mr Adesina noted that “corruption is still the monster the Bishop claims it is, then he, too, is failing as a moral authority and guide”.
However, it appears that the two have buried the hatchet, as Adesina stated that when the clergyman saw him at the state house during a visit, he pulled him in and began laughing, asking if they should be fighting or greeting each other.
Read the statement below:
WHAT’S BISHOP KUKAH COOKING AGAIN?
Matthew Hassan Kukah, Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, was among Executive members of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) who visited President Muhammadu Buhari at State House, Abuja, on Wednesday, January 11, 2023.
Recall that at Christmas, the Bishop had given a homily that was unduly critical of the President, and which was filled with inexactitudes. I had responded via an article entitled; Kukah, Don’t Cook Me Nonsense.
When the Bishop came into the Council Chamber, venue of the visit, he pulled me, and started laughing, asking whether we should be fighting or greeting each other.
We laughed heartily. During group photographs, the President, never holding malice against anyone, shook hands with the Bishop, describing him as “most vigorous fighter.”
After it all, the Bishop invited me for a personal picture with him. Bishop Kukah was cooking peace this time, and how refreshing it was.