Matthew Hassan Kukah who is the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, has asserted that all Nigerians are living under some level of fear and insecurity, especially when traveling, while also emphasing the need to find lasting solutions to the menace.
He made this assertion while speaking yesterday in Abuja at a conference to mark the 10th anniversary of the priestly ordination of Rev. Fr. Stephen Ojapah, a Catholic Priest.
Kukah called on Nigerians to remain vigilant, saying unless the communities are secured, there cannot be any meaningful development.
‘Unless we have a sense of respect for one another is enshrine and we take the sense of community beyond the boundary of religion and begin to see ourselves and create some level of civility around ourselves, it will be difficult. This is where I think religious leaders have a role to play,’ he said.
He also said there is need for national cohesion as ethnicity, social class, region among others have literally become instruments of war among the people.
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He said, ‘Trust is becoming a scarce commodity as we no longer know whom to trust largely because of what the society has become as a result of banditry.’
On his part, the celebrant, called on the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government to prioritise mental health and trauma management to maximise the full potential of all Nigerians in nation-building in times like this.
Ojapah, who was a victim of kidnapping last year, said, ‘As a way of contributing to Nation building, I have decided to use this opportunity of my 10th priestly anniversary, and one year kidnapping to draw the attention of the
Federal Government of Nigeria to two things that can give an average Nigerian.