Bishop Kukah Urges Christians To Resist Despair

The Bishop of the Sokoto Diocese, His Grace Matthew Hassan Kukah, has urged Nigerians to resist despair despite the numerous challenges facing the nation.

Bishop Kukah spoke during an Easter Sunday Interview with Vatican News, stating that the season’s message is one of hope.

Maintaining hope, he said, is particularly important in these times, when the country is besieged by insecurity and violence.

Instead, he encouraged them to trust in God and remain steadfast.

“The celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the assurance that the Lord has prepared us for moments like these, because he says when we see all these dark clouds of fear and anxiety circling us, it is time for Christians to stand erect. I think the message of Easter invites us to renew our faith in the risen Lord.

“This also means as a nation and as Christians, we still need to do much, much, more by taking the message of peace more seriously, difficult as it might be. It is the best and only antidote to the violence that is around us,” he said.

On the other hand, the bishop also warned against the normalisation of violence, stating that such an attitude results in the undervaluing of human lives.

“Everywhere you turn, the stories are the same. Nigerian soldiers tell us. We can get this job done. But yet, everyday lives are haemorrhaging. The danger now for us is that we could reach a point where we become totally dead to the sacredness of human life. So, it’s a tragedy.

“But you know in Nigeria, the sad thing now is that tomorrow the numbers and atrocities will rise again and the day after, and the day after,” said bishop Kukah.