PDP and APC dispute as Kukah criticizes Buhari over 2015's pledges

The Sokoto Catholic Diocese Bishop, Matthew Hassan Kukah, made claims that the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (ret.), had broken his campaign promises from 2015. This sparked a dispute between the Peoples Democratic Party and the All-Progressives Congress on Sunday. The PDP supported the priest, claiming that his evaluation of Buhari's administration was accurate, but the APC denounced the Christian leader's remarks as ungodly and biased.

In his Christmas sermon at St. Mary Catholic Church in Sokoto on Sunday, Kukah said Buhari will leave office in good health but noted that Nigerians were in suffering as a result of his inability to keep his campaign pledges to fix the country.
Kukha, who had often criticized Buhari's policies and incapacity to combat corruption, pointed to nepotism as a key characteristic of his administration. The priest, on the other hand, applauded the President's efforts in the field of infrastructure, where he agreed that the environment had much improved, particularly in the area of highways.

Speaking against the backdrop of Buhari’s several trips to a United Kingdom hospital for medical treatment, the cleric noted, ‘’I speak for myself and Nigerians when I say, we thank God that He mercifully restored you to good health.
‘’We know that you are healthier now than you were before. We can see it in the spring in your steps, the thousands of miles you have continued to cover as you travel abroad. May God give you more years of good health. However, I also wish that millions of our citizens had a chance to enjoy just a fraction of your own health by a measurable improvement in the quality of health care in our country. It is sad that despite your lofty promises, you are leaving us far more vulnerable than when you came, that the corruption we thought would be fought has become a leviathan and sadly, a consequence of a government marked by nepotism. In my Christmas message last year, I pointed out the fact that you had breached the Constitution by your failure to honour and adhere to the federal character provisions of our Constitution. The evidence is all before us all.’’

On School Children

The bishop emphasized how the Buhari administration has similarly failed to free numerous schoolchildren who have been abducted by rebels and robbers and said that Nigeria is still suffering from these failures.

Further criticizing the President for what he called nepotism in his selection of inferior appointees, Kukah added that the country has paid a price for handing authority to people who treated it like family property. “Nepotism is a cancer which has consumed us in the last few years. We have paid the price of nepotism entrusting power into the hands of mediocres who operate as a cult and see power purely as an extension of the family heirloom,’’ he lamented.

The bishop called for a change of strategy to confront ‘’those who sit on the throne of power in arrogance and are determined to reduce our country to a jungle,’’ stressing that Nigerians needed to stand up firm against their oppressors. Noting that a caste system has emerged in the country, Kukah challenged the citizens to rally together ‘’to destroy those who have institutionalised a caste system in our societies because every life matters.’’
He stated, ‘’Although the responses to my messages suggest that, generally, Nigerians listen to our voices in the wilderness. However, the deliberate culture of pauperization and destitution of our people continues. So, we need a change of strategy so that we can turn a new page. We need a new strategy to confront those who sit on the throne of power in arrogance and are determined to reduce our country to a jungle. We need a new strategy that separates men and women of honour from those who have chosen dishonour. We need a new strategy that provides a clearer moral guide for ordinary citizens who, based on the moral strength of culture and religion, are seeking to build a good society, even if with straws. We need to stand up and stand firm. We need new mechanisms for saying no to the violence of governance.’’
Advocating a collective action against the oppressive system holding sway in the country, the priest said, “A caste system has emerged in our country. It has consolidated its hold and blunted the cutting edge of all institutions.’’
Known for his vehement sermons against poor leadership, Kukah raised concern about the backsliding under the Buhari administration, arguing that things were worse than they had been before the President assumed office. ‘’We keep asking questions in seminars, conferences and committees as to why we are unable to progress, but nothing ever happens. Why has progress eluded us?
‘’Who would have imagined, after listening to the campaign speeches ahead of the 2015 elections, the new President’s inaugural speech, that we will be so worse off than we were? Yet, it could get even worse if we do not pause and pause very seriously,’ he warned.
Known for his vehement sermons against poor leadership, Kukah raised concern about the backsliding under the Buhari administration, arguing that things were worse than they had been before the President assumed office.

References
Punchng, '2015 promises: PDP, APC clash as Kukah slams Buhari' (online, 2022) <https://punchng.com/2015-promises-pdp-apc-clash-as-kukah-slams-buhari/>.