CAN, JNI Disagree On Bishop Kukah’s Buhari Comments

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) have disagreed on the comments made by the Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Matthew Kukah accusing the President Muhammadu Buhari administration of promoting religion and ethnicity.

Kukah had attacked Buhari on Tuesday during his sermon at the Good Shepherd Major Seminary, Kaukau in the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State before the burial of Michael Nnadi, a seminarian, who was killed by kidnappers.

He accused Buhari of religious insensitivity in the management of the country’s diversity and declared that the President had “subordinated the larger interests of the country to the hegemonic interests of his co-religionists and clansmen and women.”

But in an interview with THE WHISTLER, the Secretary General of the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), Abubakar Khalid Aliyu, accused Bishop of dishonesty, saying the cleric was deliberately being untruthful.

“It is not surprising that Kukah will say anything like that. Kukah hates Islam and Muslims and if he has his way muslims will not have anything in this country.

“Are there no Christians among the Service Chiefs and in the government? Or is he saying that Muslims don’t deserve anything in this country? As far as he is concerned nothing else matters outside Christianity.”

He said if Kukah does not hate Muslims, he would have spoken out during the Administration of Goodluck Jonathan when the military and the cabinet were dominated by Christians.

 “If not why did he not speak out during the Jonathan era when the government was dominated by Christian? He is playing politics of hate.

“Buhari has become the emblem of hate speech. Right from the inception of his Administration people like Kukah have been against him. It is unfortunate that Kukah is hiding under Christianity to play his politics, and his church has not cautioned him. Kukah does not care about this country, that’s why he could make statements like that.

But CAN has expressed support for Kukah’s outburst, stressing that the federal government is not ready and willing to end insurgency and terrorism.

CAN Public relation officer, Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, who spoke to this website on Wednesday, said that government is paying lip service to the menace of terrorism in parts of the country.

He also said that Muslims occupying key positions of authority in the country posed serious leadership imbalance, and it was not healthy for the polity.

“We have said these things in the past, CAN’s position is that muslims are taking over everywhere in government.

“Let me tell you this, we are not talking of service chiefs alone; all the security agencies that are being used to prosecute war against insurgency, they are headed by muslims.

“What we are saying is that let them overhaul the security architecture of the country; let them balance it fifty-fifty. And let us see if the war against terrorism or insurgency will not be over within few days.”

The CAN spokesman said the argument that there were Christians among service chiefs did not hold water because, according to him, the Navy that is headed by a Christian is not involved in the prosecution of the war against Boko Haram.

“Are they using navy to prosecute Boko haram? Is northeast under water? They are using the Airforce, Nigerian Army, DSS, NIA, name it; they are all headed by Muslims.

“So, what are we talking about; and those that are killing us, they are claiming to be Muslims.”