Matthew Kukah who made the statement at a book launch in Abuja today, January 12 decried the religious crisis in northern Nigeria accusing the elite of bias.
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- Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese, Dr Matthew Kukah has always been an optimist in the future of Nigeria
- But Dr Kukah seems to have had a change of mind
- The Archbishop says he has never been so unsure of the future of Nigeria like now
The Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese, Dr Matthew Kukah has expressed doubt about the future of Nigeria.
I have never been so unsure of the future of Nigeria like now - Kukah
Dr Kukah who made the statement at a book launch in Abuja today, January 12 however noted that the religious crisis in northern Nigeria cannot be understood, if effort is not made to go back to 100 years.
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The event was the book launch of renowned professor and author, Olufemi Vaughan titled Religion and the Making of Nigeria.
The archbishop accused the northern ruling class of continuing to use religion as a cover to hold to power, adding that Nigeria have not been unable to separate criminality from religion.
''If somebody wants to murder in the name of God, if God gave you a licence and gave you a gun, we should able to say that well, that is not applicable here in Nigeria, you are a bloody criminal and you should go to prison.
''It has been impossible for us to prosecute anybody precisely because we have this belief that somehow people can actually and genuinely kill in the name of religion,'' Kukah said.
He continued: ''I think that we need to get our hands around the correlation between religion, development and constitutionalism
''We must understand the religion and violence in Nigeria, the fact that nobody is in charge. The fact that the president, let me put it that way, has never been in charge.
''And I am not talking about being in charge of the armed forces of Nigeria, I am talking about we know where we can go to in terms of appeal.''
On his part, Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka lamented the fact that many Nigerians have ''paid the ultimate price'' because of religion.
His words: ''The innocent ones are the ones who often pay the ultimate price in religious crisis. Even religious leaders cannot denounce the murdering acts of religion.
''Religion now induce trauma and anxiety instead of solace that it claims to give. Religion is the ironic product of human inadequacy.
''There is a monster always waiting to pounce on innocent Nigerians under the name of religion.''
Recently, investment banker, columnist and theater producer, Joseph Edgar stated that religion today is so wealthy that if care is not taken they can compete with the federal government naira for naira in some areas if allowed.
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