The Roman Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah, on Thursday said that the fate of the over 200 schoolgirls, who were abducted nearly six months ago by the Boko Haram insurgents, would define the future of the country.
Bishop Kukah, who stated this at the thanksgiving mass to mark the 80th birthday of the Esama of Benin Kingdom, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, described the continuous captivity of the girls, whose whereabouts were still unknown, as the metaphorical “bondage” of Nigeria.
He said, “Any man who attends a wedding ceremony, any man who gives out his daughter in marriage, any man who goes to the graduation of his daughter must pause and think about the Chibok girls who are still in captivity.
“These girls and their fate remain a metaphor for defining the future of our country. They are the future that we are dreaming about and their bondage is metaphorically the bondage of our people”.
The clergyman frowned at the flagrant display of wealth by some privileged Nigerians, many of whom he said were in possession of “unearned income stolen from our commonwealth”.
He also lamented that, in spite of the abundant resources in the country, peace had eluded many parts of the country, especially in the North-East.
While commending the celebrant for his numerous contributions to the development of the country, Kukah charged privileged Nigerians on the need to shun acts of disservice to humanity, as they make use of their wealth.
He said, “According to a CNN report last week, the ownership of private jets in our country has gone up by 650 per cent.
“We have been told by the Chairman of the EFCC that many of these private jets have not been registered in Nigeria and that they are registered in foreign countries that are largely save havens and so, the sources of income cannot be traced nor can they be taxed for the things that they possess and yet, we have not only the ministries of foreign affairs but we also have bilateral relations with different countries”.
Kukah, who said that although there was nothing wrong with private jet ownership, however, stated that “there is something intrinsically and existentially wrong with wealth in Nigeria” largely due to the dearth of peace in the country.
He said, “Boko Haram is now an army of occupation, which has taken over our Catholic churches, driven many from their homes and now holds our children in bondage. Can we continue to celebrate amidst all these?”
