The chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Kaduna State Chapter, Rev. Joseph Hayab, has condemned the Special Assistant to the President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity Malam Garba Shehu, over his attack on Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah’s Easter message on the insecurity in the country.
The Bishop of Sokoto in his Easter message, had lamented the precarious state of insecurity in Nigeria, describing Nigeria as a ‘killing field’, a message that did not go down well with the presidency.
According to Hayab, it is actually Garba Shehu’s comments that are both ungodly and unholy and not Bishop Kukah’s as claimed by the presidency, stressing that Garba Shehu had since his assumption as the spokesman of the government caused great embarrassment to the country.
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Speaking at a special CAN Easter prayer session for Peace and Security in the State and Nigeria, Monday in Kaduna, Rev. Hayab further frowned at why the Revered Cleric is always being singled out for attacks by the presidency and the likes of Garba Shehu, anytime he speaks the truth to those in power.
According to the state chairman, ‘Anytime Bishop Kukah speaks truth to power, we hear people coming out to challenge him and the word used by Garba Shehu is simply that Kukah’s message is ungodly or unholy. l want Garba Shehu to know that he’s the one making ungodly messages to Nigerians’.
‘If Garba Shehu will be man enough to go back, sit and listen to himself in the past six years, he (Garba Shehu) has caused this country so much embarrassment from his statements. When Kukah asked them to do what is right, is that what he did wrong?’
He further enquired, ‘l want to even answer him because he said Kukah should go to Adamawa or Borno to find out that people will tell him life is now better. In which country, are we not in Nigeria or is Garba Shehu living in the federal republic of another country not Nigeria?’
‘I can tell you what is happening in Borno, what is happening in Yobe, just as they think they have the privilege of information, we also have. The church is virtually everywhere, a lot of our members have been victims, so we know the story, we know the pains they go through, so there’s nothing that has changed in terms of security challenges in parts of the country’.
‘So we cannot celebrate our government just because we just want to please anybody in government. We want to tell our government the truth because we want them to be better and do what is just.’
While commending Kukah for his patriotism as one Nigerian that has been that voice that is consistent in saying the truth, he noted that ‘the country does not want the truth because people are afraid to say what Nigerians are going through. If we keep quiet, evil will come and take us on our beds, but when we speak, we may help the president, governors, the IG, service chiefs to know what they do not know.’
According to him, ‘what is happening today is that they (government) don’t listen to Nigerians, they only pay attention to praise singers.’
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK