Nigerians frustrated with election outcome — Kukah

Catholic Archbishop of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah, said yesterday Nigerians were frustrated by the outcome of the 2023 election, asking them to rise and reclaim their country from the clutches of the current administration.

He also noted that justice had eluded Nigerians, saying that explained why they were currently forlorn, dejected and unhappy.
Kukah, who stated this in his Easter message to Nigerians, described them as men and women returning from a funeral with forlorn looks.

He, however, commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the fact that he had recognised that his criticisms of the current administration were not borne out of malice, but rather a desire to see Nigeria reach its full potential.

“I commend you (Buhari) for the fact that you have known that none of this was done out of malice but that we want the best for our country.

“May God guide you in retirement while we all embark on the challenge of reclaiming the country we knew before you came,” Kukah said.

The cleric condemned the violence that trailed the elections, saying it could not be accepted as the new ladder to power.

Kukah said: “Nigerians are so collectively frustrated that it is almost impossible to convince them that they can find justice.

“Everywhere you turn today, Nigerians look forlorn, disconsolate, lugubrious, and despondent. Our swagger is gone. We look like men and women returning from a funeral, murmuring discontentment in hushed tones. It is, therefore, not surprising that even the victors are blowing a muted trumpet.

“Unpleasant as this may sound, this blood that they have shed could be seen as blood of the birth of a new Nigeria. It can become the blood of our new birth, our redemption.

”However, we cannot accept that violence and bloodshed are the normal route to power. Because like the blood of Abel, the blood of those who have been murdered continues to cry out to heaven seeking for justice ( Gen. 4:10).”

The bishop empathised with aggrieved citizens and asked them not to give up in the quest for justice but align their hopes with the celebration of Easter.

“Though we are tempted with the drudgery of fatigue and despondency, unlike the apostles in the garden of Gethsemane, we should be ready to wait in patience for one hour or more (Mt. 26:40),” Kukah said.

“Our dream is merely in suspense, a punctuation mark in the book of our unfinished greatness. Let us see this as a detour, a diversion. We still have our roadmap in our hands. Vanguard