In Long Easter Message, Kukah Calls Nigeria ‘Field Of Death’

The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, has described Nigeria as a field of death, shocking Nigerians who have long seen him as aligned with President Bola Tinubu.

Kukah has come under increased scrutiny after accepting Tinubu’s appointment as the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State.

He has routinely spoken in defence of the administration, especially since his appointment, but has not spoken regularly against the rampant killings in Jos, Plateau State, and Southern Kaduna, which used to be the basis for condemning the last government.

In the face of the Kaduna, Benue, Plateau, and Kwara massacres, where many Christians were reportedly killed, the once fiery cleric defended the administration, saying, “One year is not enough to make a judgement,” after meeting Tinubu in 2024 at the Presidential Villa.

He urged Nigerians “to commit ourselves to the fact that building a good society takes a lot of time. It’s not something that is done in one lifetime.”

He came under attack, especially when he condemned the late former President Muhammadu Buhari under similar circumstances and described his government as a failure.

But in a long Easter message on Sunday, Kukah warned that Nigeria is drifting dangerously amid what he described as “endless turbulence,” cautioning that the country could slide into a deeper crisis if urgent steps are not taken to restore trust, security, and good governance.

In the 2026 Easter message titled ‘Faith and Hope in Times of Turbulence’, Kukah painted a grim picture of a nation weighed down by insecurity, economic hardship, and leadership challenges, asserting, “Turbulence is Nigeria’s surname.”

He then described Nigeria as one trapped in a cycle of instability worsened by what he called “self-generated turbulence by the local elites.”
He opined, “After over 20 years and well over 20,000 corpses, the grim harvester still roams freely across the country.”

Lamenting, he said, “For now, our nation has become what the late Pope Francis referred to as a field hospital.”

Kukah warned that “years of fatigue have lured ordinary citizens into the treacherous embrace of bandits,” noting that some individuals now serve as informants, thereby “trading the future of their families and communities.”

Specifically on governance issues, Kukah accused Nigeria’s political elite of failing to fulfil campaign promises, leaving millions of citizens in poverty and many young people without hope for a better future.

“The Nigerian landscape,” he said, “is still riddled with unredeemed promissory notes.”
“Unemployment,” he lamented, “is smothering the dreams of young people in the cradles of their hope.”

To Kukah, “merely distributing food is an admission of the failure of our nation to develop robust and aggressive agricultural plans capable of ending hunger.”

President Tinubu has ramped up the distribution of rice as elections approach. Through his son, Seyi, bags of rice are distributed daily across the country through the City Boy Movement.

Kukah condemned the practice but struck a chord of hope, saying, “We may be struck down, but we cannot be destroyed,” while emphasising the need to strike a balance between the right to self-defence and the pursuit of peace.

Amid this, he urged citizens to play active roles in rebuilding the country, warning, “It is a great mistake for us to ignore the role each and every one of us can play.”

“Let us not surrender to despair, as we could become guilty bystanders,” he advised.

Drawing on biblical imagery, the cleric said, “The boat of our nation is threatening to sink, yet even in His sleep, He is awake to command the storm to be still.”

He said that while prayer is necessary, Nigerians “must also work hard, believing that the walls created by war and division will ultimately fall.”