Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, has urged Nigerians to renew their commitment towards self-examination and repentance, for God to do great things for the nation.
In his Christmas message titled, “Time to Reclaim Nigeria’s Greatness”, the cleric said Nigeria’s problems will not be resolved by palliatives as, the problems are deep and structural.
According to him, happiness and joy mean different things while, happiness is spontaneous, fleeting, momentary, ephemeral, short-lived and passing, often marked by open gesticulation, joy on the other hand is very deep, reflective, solemn, awe-inspiring, sacrificial, meditative and often impossible to put into words.
Bishop Kukah further remarked that, “now, you have what you prayed for, what you dreamt of, what you longed for. For the better part of over twenty years, you have plotted to be our President. For years, you campaigned for a new Nigeria through restructuring or overhauling the defective machinery of the Nigerian state.
To President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, he enjoined him to base his Renewed Hope Agenda on a solid foundation of faith and hope for the restoration of glory for our country.
“Under your watch, we must end the ugly instrumentalization of religious, ethnic or regional identities. You have had enough time to think of the answers to many questions that are crying for answers.
“We have seen the first faltering steps of policy decisions which have elicited a mixture of controversy, anxiety and praise. This is to be expected. You have promised us a Renewed Hope Agenda, but know that hope has worn thin in our dear nation. Nigerians have almost lost hope in the fact that a government can really and truly care for them.
“We also, have seen some renewed hope in your effort to run an inclusive government. We want an end to partisanship. The problems of Nigeria are deep seated and they are based on a culture of corruption that has become the foundation stone of governance. This evil structure has to be dismantled”, he added.
