Nigeria In A Valley Of Violence, Sorrow – Bishop Kukah

The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Hassan Kukah, has remarked that, despite Christmas being a season of great joy to the world, Nigeria is sadly stuck in a valley of violence and sorrow.

In his Christmas homily titled, “Joy and Hope in a Time of Tribulation,” Bishop Kukah admonished that “we must now draw from the pool of goodwill that has held us together as human beings and as a people.”

The fiery clergy said, “The men of evil that have descended among us are the product of our toxic politics of selfishness and greed for power. The killers among us have sponsors and supporters. They are all among us.

“Thus, whether we choose to call them bandits, miscreants, kidnappers, jihadists, or herdsmen, all we know is that these men and women of violence are our children; they have come out of our own loins. They are both the product of our low level of development and an even lesser level of personal conversion.

“It is little wonder that northern Nigeria remains the theatre of this drama of death. It is the years of miseducation that have turned innocent children into demons full of hatred. Northern Nigeria has the highest rates of poverty, illiteracy and disease.

“The message is simple: we must either renovate, educate or perish. We must choose the light of knowledge and abandon the darkness of ignorance. We must hold ourselves to higher moral codes.

“From Gaza to Sudan, children are being exposed to the violence that threatens their innocence and childhood. In Nigeria, our harvest of this tragedy is rich. We think of the Dapchi and Chibok girls whose fate now seems to have become a distant echo.

“The official complicity of a negligent state seals their fate. Only yesterday, it was Maga, and today it is Papiri. Today, about two thousand children have been subjected to this inhumanity in our country.

“We commend the federal government for the safe return of our abducted children, and we rejoice with their immediate families, their teachers, the Diocese of Kontagora, the Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles, and all who have prayed for an end to this ordeal.”

Bishop Kukah recalled that, occasionally, there seems to be a reprieve, then suddenly we find ourselves lapsing again into sorrow as the murderers among us reenact the orgy of death and destruction.

He reminded the congregation that the birth of Jesus itself was also marked by the violent realities of the time: “Jesus was born in poverty. Fearful for his throne, Herod ordered the killing of all children born around this same time. In the Catholic Church, we celebrate these innocent martyrs on December 28.

“Christmas calls on us to renew our strength, reminding us that this is not the time to falter. The prophet Isaiah reminds us that: Even the young grow tired and weary, stumble and fall, but those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength.

“In all this, we Nigerians must renew our belief that we can win this battle against the evil in our land. This is a battle for our soul as a people and a nation. We cannot outsource its solution. We need to ask what has happened to us and what has exposed us to these evil forces.

“To those who have died, whether by circumstance of abduction, kidnapping, armed robbery, martyrdom, genocide, by whatever name, we all have an obligation. First, we owe them and their families our deepest gratitude and prayers. Secondly, we owe them our commitment to work for a better tomorrow so that God’s Kingdom of Peace and Justice will reign among us,” he stated.