The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Mathew Kukah on Thursday said Nigerians have never been as divided, cynical, sad and frustrated as they are today under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The clergyman also reiterated the stance of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Prof. Wole Soyinka, who had said Nigeria was more divided than ever.
He disclosed this while presenting a keynote address at the 60th independence lecture series organised by the Association of Retired Career Ambassador of Nigeria (ARCAN) in Abuja.
According to Kukah, berated Buhari for showing the “greatest degree of insensitivity in managing the country’s diversity”, describing his appointments as “lopsided and against the spirit of a united Nigeria.”
Commenting on the plight of Nigerians, the cleric said, “We have never had it this bad in our history where power is privatised and shared based on religious and ethnic considerations.”
He added, “We are finding it difficult to manage our diversity. Indeed, this is not a period in our history to talk about merit or meritocracy.
“If Buhari does not visit the idea of people feeling excluded from the system, then he is laying a bad foundation. Even many Northerners are also not happy with the skewed appointments by the President. The truth is, we cannot continue to live in a country where there is no feeling of inclusion because we are not a conquered people.
“I call on President Buhari to appreciate that Nigerians expected more than what we have today. We have never as divided, cynical, sad and frustrated as we are today. We pray the world will not leave us behind.”
According to Kukah, “If the people are afraid of the government, that means there is no democracy. How do we explain that 60 years later, we don’t have electricity, good health system and roads, nor can we give the young ones quality education?
“Nigerians must insist that anybody seeking a public office must have the requisite qualifications because the new world does not have a place for our method of recruitments which rewards people on basis of ethnic and religious affiliation”.