I didn’t call for coup, Kukah responds to overwhelming condemnations over Christmas message

Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Rev. Fr. Matthew Hassan Kukah , on Tuesday, denied that he called for coup against the Muhammadu Buhari’s Government.

His response was coming after overwhelming condemnations of the cleric from government, groups and individuals across religions and ethnic backgrounds for saying in his Christmas message that had it been a non-Northern Muslim that emerged President, he would not have done up to what President Buhari has done when there would be coup against him.

The message, according to critics, Kukah also projected Islam as violent religion thus leading to his incurring the wrath of Islamic organisations, especially the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), which called him a first class blackmailer for so claiming.

The DEFENDER reports there was a particular call interpreted to mean demanding arrest of the controversial cleric who is Secretary of the National Peace Committee.

Responding, the apparently adamant Kukah urged Nigerians to ignore the allegation of inciting coup, which he described as lie against him.

He disclosed this in a chat with journalists, and asked Nigerians to dwell on the statement he made, not on lies against him.

He explained that his message, titled ‘Another Christmas with Dark Clouds of Death,’ was based on his love for the country without any political or ulterior motive.

On the attacks on him, he said he was pained that his critics had failed to see that many innocent lives were being lost on daily basis and had failed to show concern for the loss of lives in the last ten years, even before the advent of this administration.

Kukah however did not deny the allegation of calling Islam a violent religion, which has earned him the qualification of ‘first class blackmaiker’ by MURIC.

He said: “The reactions are a reflection of every citizen that make up Nigeria. It is sad that when you drop something in Nigeria, everybody goes back to their enclave and abandons the larger picture. I am someone who never takes offence to what people say about me.

“What I said was my opinion based on evidence and what has happened in Nigeria, and if you looked into the records, there is evidence that justifies that statement, and if anyone thinks I am wrong, they should come out with a superior position.”

He described as unfair news reports that he called for a coup while expressing his personal view about Nigeria.

In clear terms, the Bishop bemoaned what he called the nepotism, which he said had characterised President Muhammadu Buhari’s government and warned that although Christians will not fight back, but that “God does not sleep”.

He said there could have been a coup or war in the country if a non-Nothern Muslim becomes president and does some of the things Buhari has done.

The DEFENDER’s checks revealed ‘nepotism’ to mean “the practice among those in power or influence by which they favour relatives or friends over others”.

By bringing “Christians” and “non-Northern Muslim” into his no-longer new issue of acclaimed nepotism that he and some other elites have been raising against the President is, however, unclear if Kukah means nepotism to be that the now second-term governing Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been favouring Muslims of the North against Christians of North, South as well as against Muslims of the South.

He was attacked for using these divisive terms in an already charged society, even after his response, as people condemning him wonder he still pretends not to know the gravity of the statement.

To those calling him to drop his priesthood cassock and join the political fray, Kukah said if he was to join politics, it would have been during the time of the late Aminu Kano and not now.

He said: “I have no plan and will never play partisan politics for any reason. Those who link my message to partisan politics are only playing to the gallery.

Kukah, who is on the board of American University of Nigeria owned by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s 2019 Pr sudebtial Candidate Atiku Abubakar, argued that his views on governance and politics would not make him a politician, saying: “Take, for instance, brilliant Nigerian youths making comments about Chelsea or Arsenal and have never been to England, does that make them players of such club sides?”

He also argued that people who called him a politician because of his comments on governance were totally ignorant of elementary politics and the role of a priest.

“Whatever I said can please or displease anyone, but that is my own. I have no problem with Muslims, Christians, or any other religion but what I don’t like is when someone is using a religious issue to play politics, it is wrong.”