…Says enough is enough
A Sokoto based Islamic group, Muslim Solidarity Forum, has cautioned Bishop Mathew Kukah of the Sokoto Diocese to refrain from rebuking President Muhammadu Buhari and for attacking Islam and its adherents.
The group which is an umbrella body for Islamic organizations, Islamic
Centres, Sufi Orders, Imams, Islamic scholars and preachers in the state, in a press statement noted its dismay with Kukah’s Christmas day message and
said the Catholic bishop chose to “attack Islam and Muslims, especially those from Northern parts of
the country. He specifically claimed that President Muhammadu Buhari, whom he qualified, albeit, indirectly as a Muslim and a Northerner, has committed many acts of nepotism, that if a
fraction of it were to be committed by ‘ any non- Northern Muslim President, there would have
been a coup in the country. We don’t know what is clandestinely hidden behind such a
statement”, the group added.
The Muslim Solidarity Forum’s statement which was signed by Prof. Isa Muhammad Maishanu, its Ag. Chairman however said their group is not holding brief for the president though, emphasising that their concern “is the image and reputation of Muslims, which Mr.
Kukah finds pleasure in attacking without an iota of caution, and by referring to him (President Buhari) as a
Muslim, that automatically brings all Muslims in the issue”.
The press statement further explained that “he Bishop has the penchant to speak in parables and innuendos. His reference to a people who
possess a pool of violence to draw from’ no doubt is a reference to those he has always characterized with violence-the Muslims. This is a serious provocation. He even has the gut to say the killings we are witnessing in Nigeria are part of a grand religious design ‘! Religious?
“Enough is Enough Mr. Kukah”, the press statement added emphatically, and further asked rhetorical questions such as: “who are the victims of the killings? What religion do they profess? Is it not a fact that over 90 % of those being killed are Muslims? Who is behind the so-called design?”
Professor Maishanu said “the sensible and objective world knows the truth! We wonder how Kukah who lives peacefully and comfortably in the heart of the Sokoto Caliphate can make such a callous and senseless statement. Is it his
hatred for Islam and the Muslims that has blinded him to this level, even though he claims to be preaching the Gospel of love?”
The acting chairman also said: “For those who are familiar with Kukah’s antics, this is not the first of its kind, as he utilizes every available opportunity during public lectures, homilies, media interviews etc. to pour his spurious and venomous attacks on Islam and Muslims, especially those of Northern Nigerian
extraction.
“It is on record that:
a. He was at the fore-front of antagonizing Shari’ah law implementation in some states of the
Northern Nigeria, even though, it is a constitutional right of the Muslims and is not
applicable to Christians
b. He was a party to and beneficiary of the Christian biased appointments during the Obasanjo
and Jonathan regimes.
c. He has been spreading propaganda that Christians are denied places of worship and are
persecuted in some parts of Northern Nigeria despite the enormous proliferation of
churches in Muslim dominated areas as is glaringly evident.
d. In February 2020, he shamelessly staged a demonstration in the heart of Sokoto over the
killing of a single Christian priest in faraway Adamawa state, presumably, by the Boko Haram insurgents, but did not consider hundreds of Muslim Fulani herders that were
mercilessly killed by the Christian militia in the neighboring Taraba state in 2018.
“Bishop Kukah who lives peacefully and happily at the center of the Seat of Caliphate for almost
a decade now, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of the city that is founded on the teachings of
Islam, and benefiting from the goodwill of Muslim leaders right from childhood and up to this
moment, could not see anything good to appreciate in his Muslim hosts or their religion, to
disparage them. Rather, he is always using provocative and uncouthly language. This actually
signifies a deeply rooted and blind pathological hatred for anything Islamic.
Enough Is Enough Mr. Kukah
“To keep the records straight, it is pertinent to ask Mr. Kukah some questions:
a. Are you having grudges against Muslims because they believe in the Unity of Allah, the
Most High, as taught by earlier Prophets of Allah including Jesus, Son of Mary (Acts 3:13), or
for their belief in the prophethood of Jesus, Son of Mary (Mathew 21:11; John 7:16 and John 13:16).
b. What do you think would happen if the peace-loving Muslims of the Seat of the Caliphate respond to your incessant provocative attacks on them and their religion by adopting the
style of your brethren in some parts of southern Kaduna, Plateau, Bauchi and Taraba States,
who attacked, killed and drove away their innocent Muslim neighbors, like what happened
in Kafanchan 1987, Zangon Kataf 1992, Tafawa Balewa in 1991, 1993,1995 and 2001, Yelwan
Shandam 2004, Zonkwa and Jarkasa in 2011, whenever there is any misunderstanding? We
are not clamoring for such atrocities in the peaceful citadel of the Caliphate.
c. What do you think is restraining the Muslims in all parts of the North not to ambush and kill
innocent Christian passengers traveling along their towns and villages as is done at Gonin
Gora along Kaduna- Abuja, Kaduna-Kachia-Keffi, and Kaduna- Jos roads, as reprisals?
d. How many churches are there in metropolitan Sokoto, Birnin Kebbi, Gusau and Katsina?
What is their total land area vis-a-vis the Christian population in these cities?
e. On the other hand, what is the number of Masjids and their total land areas in Onitsha, Owerri,
Port Harcourt, Enugu, Makurdi, Calabar, Zangon Kataf, Zonkwa etc. vis a vis the Muslim populations of the above cities and towns, you can ask yourself and your local and international masters, who is more tolerant?
f. What is the ratio of Muslims to Christians and their duration in office as military chiefs and
heads of security agencies in Nigeria from independence to date?
g. Currently, what is the ratio of Muslims to Christians in terms of ministers and heads of
government agencies, departments and parastatals?
“These callous statements are unbecoming of someone who parades himself as secretary to the
National Peace Committee and a member of Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), as such,
we call on Kukah to immediately stop his malicious vituperations against Islam and Muslims
and tender unreserved apology to the Muslim Ummah or else quickly and quietly leave the
seat of Caliphate, as he is trying to break the age-long peaceful coexistence between the
predominantly Muslim population and their Christian guests.
Enough Is Enough Mr. Kukah.
“We equally call on Muslim leaders who out of magnanimity have been showing goodwill to Kukah to realize that he is taking their kindness for granted, and he does not appreciate the
gesture, rather this emboldens him to fiercely attack them at any given opportunity.
“We call on him to act as the Bible commands ” Seek ye truth and it shall set you free”, by
embracing the pristine monotheistic teachings of Jesus, son of Mary (peace be upon him) as
finally revealed by Allah the Almighty Lord, through the last Prophet, Muhammad (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) as heralded by Moses (peace be upon him) in Deuteronomy 18:
18 and also by Jesus, son of Mary (peace be upon him) in John, 14: 15-16, 25-26 and John, 16: 7, 12.
“We conclude with a verse from the most recent final preserved Book of guidance from the Lord
of creation directed to those who received earlier Divine Books where Allah says:
Say, ‘ O people of the Scripture, come to a word that is equitable between us and you
that we will not worship except Allah and not associate anything with Him and not
take one another as lords instead of Allah’. But if they turn away, then say ‘ Bear witness that we are Muslims (submitting ourselves wholly to Him) (Surah 3: Al-Imran: 84).”