KUKAH BLAMES NORTHERN ELITE FOR BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY

Warns FG against over dependence on military force

The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Rev. Matthew Hassan Kukah, yesterday accused the Northern elite of contributing to the emergence of the Bokom Haram insurgency by neglecting the ordinary people in their immediate environment for some years now.

He also warned the federal government against over dependence on the use of military force to tackle the insurgency, saying the strategy was capable of creating a hyper sense of importance in the military class, at the detriment of democratic leaders.

The cleric spoke at a lecture marking the 43rd convocation ceremony of the University of Nigeria (UNN), Nsukka, where the former deputy senate president, Chief Ken Nnamani, was chairman of the occasion.

While stating that the Northern elite shared in the blame for the emergence of the sect, Kukah said the elite should take responsibility for the deplorable state of affairs, owing to their neglect of the common people, who voted them into power.

Speaking further, he said the Northern elite abandoned the masses, which culminated in the emergence of the sect, adding that government’s attitude had not also helped matters. According to him, terrorism starts with the recruitment of people, who are vulnerable and see no foreseeable end to their vulnerability in a society where the haves would not care about the plight of the have-not.

Kukah, who also picked holes in the ongoing National Conference, particularly in the timing of the conference, said bloodletting had continued to dominate national issues, without any corresponding solution in sight. “If you go there, you find out that so far, everybody is talking about everyone else and none is talking about Nigeria. It is important for Nigerians to forgive one another to save the nation,” he said.

On the theme of the lecture, ‘After the Insurgency: Some Thoughts On National Cohesion’, Kukah said government at all the levels had not been vigilante enough on intelligence gathering, which was supposed to be the focal point in guarding the nation’s sovereign.

Source: New Telegraph