“Nigeria is dying daily!” Bishop Matthew Kukah cries out

The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah, has raised serious concerns over the worsening insecurity in Nigeria, warning that daily killings across the country have taken on dangerous religious dimensions.

Kukah spoke in Yola, Adamawa State, during the public presentation of a book titled The Man They Could Not Stop, written by Solomon Kumangar, a former Director-General of Media and Communication to Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Fintiri.

Lamenting the frequency and scale of violence, the cleric said Nigeria has become deeply polarised along Christian and Muslim lines, a trend he described as unprecedented anywhere else in the world.

“What is happening in Nigeria cannot happen in Sudan, Cameroon, Niger, Ghana or any other country in the world,” Kukah said.

“There is no other country where 10 people are killed on Monday, 50 on Tuesday, 100 on Wednesday, and the killings continue week after week. How can such a country move forward?”

Kukah further accused Western media of worsening the crisis by framing killings strictly along religious identities.

“Only in Nigeria do people die as Christians and Muslims. The Western media is fuelling the killings along religious lines — 20 Christians killed, 30 Muslims killed,” he stated.

The bishop urged both political and religious leaders to move beyond sectarian interests and focus on building strong institutions capable of fostering unity, peace and national development.

He also commended former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega, for his role during the 2023 Adamawa governorship election crisis, describing his intervention as crucial to restoring stability.

Also speaking at the event, former Senate President and ex-Kwara State Governor Bukola Saraki urged Nigerians to prioritise competence and leadership capacity over party loyalty.

According to Saraki, Nigeria’s progress depends on allowing capable leaders to steer the affairs of the nation, noting that Governor Fintiri’s infrastructural achievements reflected leadership readiness.

Chairman of the occasion and Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule openly encouraged Fintiri to consider joining the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

“If I come with the APC cap and flag, I would hand it to you today as our new member,” Sule said.

In his remarks, Governor Fintiri described himself as “a man of destiny,” recalling the turbulence surrounding the 2023 governorship election.

“There were numerous futile shots at stopping me. The 2023 election was the height of them — embarrassing not just to Adamawa State, but to Nigeria and democracy globally,” he said.

The event was attended by Governors Bala Mohammed and Abdullahi Sule, the Deputy Governor of Oyo State, and representatives from Gombe, Borno, Yobe, Taraba and Plateau states.

Deputy National Vice Chairman (North-East) of the APC, Mustapha Salihu, unveiled the book and urged residents of Adamawa State to continue supporting Governor Fintiri’s developmental agenda.