Secession: It’s Cheaper To Stay Together, Says Bishop Kukah

Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, seemed to knock out
secessionist calls on Saturday when he said the cost of staying
together as a nation is cheaper than the cost of dividing
Nigeria.

He, however, blamed the All Progressives Congress government of
the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), for making
people feel alienated from governance through inequality in power
distribution at the highest levels.

Kukah spoke virtually at the 2021 edition of The Platform, an
annual conference organised by Pastor Poju Oyemade of the Covenant
Christian Centre, Lagos.

The programme was themed, ‘Is Devolution of Powers The Solution
To Nigeria’s Problems’.

The fiery cleric said, “The challenge now is how do we connect
back because all the things we are hearing now, nobody would have
expected to hear them and now everybody wants to go home.

“Yes, it may be right for everybody to want to go. Yes, it may
be right for people to want to feel so dissatisfied that they want
an end to what we have today. But the cost of staying together is
far cheaper than the cost than the cost of everybody going his
way.

“The most important thing here is that the government must give
us a reason – the body language – we need to be inspired as a
country to inspire ourselves that this country is worth the
psychological, the spiritual and the cultural engagements.”

Lately, secessionist calls have increased across the country
especially in Southern Nigeria. From the Indigenous Peoples of
Biafra to agitators of Yoruba Nation, amongst others, the
separatist calls rise, fueled by the unprecedented insecurity in
the country as well as the supposed nepotism and unequal
distribution of economic resources by the Buhari government.

“Anybody who loves this country would have to accept the fact
that the APC as a government and the President must take
responsibility for the fact that the way power has been distributed
in Nigeria has created a sense of alienation and it is the
underlining factor why people feel the way they feel, why people
feel so disenchanted, why people don’t feel a sense of
psychological, emotional, cultural or even economical involvement
in their country and there is the need to reclaim all of those
things back,” Kukah added.

Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, seemed to knock out
secessionist calls on Saturday when he said the cost of staying
together as a nation is cheaper than the cost of dividing
Nigeria.

He, however, blamed the All Progressives Congress government of
the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), for making
people feel alienated from governance through inequality in power
distribution at the highest levels.

Kukah spoke virtually at the 2021 edition of The Platform, an
annual conference organised by Pastor Poju Oyemade of the Covenant
Christian Centre, Lagos.

The programme was themed, ‘Is Devolution of Powers The Solution
To Nigeria’s Problems’.

The fiery cleric said, “The challenge now is how do we connect
back because all the things we are hearing now, nobody would have
expected to hear them and now everybody wants to go home.

“Yes, it may be right for everybody to want to go. Yes, it may
be right for people to want to feel so dissatisfied that they want
an end to what we have today. But the cost of staying together is
far cheaper than the cost than the cost of everybody going his
way.

“The most important thing here is that the government must give
us a reason – the body language – we need to be inspired as a
country to inspire ourselves that this country is worth the
psychological, the spiritual and the cultural engagements.”

Lately, secessionist calls have increased across the country
especially in Southern Nigeria. From the Indigenous Peoples of
Biafra to agitators of Yoruba Nation, amongst others, the
separatist calls rise, fueled by the unprecedented insecurity in
the country as well as the supposed nepotism and unequal
distribution of economic resources by the Buhari government.

“Anybody who loves this country would have to accept the fact
that the APC as a government and the President must take
responsibility for the fact that the way power has been distributed
in Nigeria has created a sense of alienation and it is the
underlining factor why people feel the way they feel, why people
feel so disenchanted, why people don’t feel a sense of
psychological, emotional, cultural or even economical involvement
in their country and there is the need to reclaim all of those
things back,” Kukah added.