The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Dr. Matthew Hassan Kukah, has categorically denied ever calling for a violent takeover of government in the country.
Kukah, who stirred the hornet’s nest with his biting Christmas Day message in which he admonished President Muhammadu Buhari on the state of the nation, rubbished the widespread insinuation that he was advocating a coup d’etat in Nigeria.
Kukah, who made the denial on Tuesday, said he never called for a coup and neither did he have any personal problems with the President. His main grouse with Buhari, the Bishop said, was the President’s leadership style.
Reacting to the acerbic criticisms that have dogged his steps since the message hit the media, Bishop Kukah said his traducers misconstrued the message.
“Whatever I said can please or displease anyone,” Kukah said in a chat with journalists. “But that is my own opinion and doesn’t stop others from saying their own opinion. If you think my motive is wrong, say yours.”
He blamed a section of the media who, he accused, twisted the message.
“It is unfair for a journalist or news medium to report that I called for a coup while expressing my personal views about Nigeria,” Kukah continued.
“I have no iota of grudge with President Muhammadu Buhari, but what I strictly and categorically said was that using religion as a tool for playing politics is unacceptable and would not be accepted.”
Insisting he never aimed to sow discord in the country, the outspoken Catholic cleric however maintained that he did what he did out of patriotism and his undying love for the country.
“My message was an opinion and for the love of the country,” he said, stressing that he had the constitutionally guaranteed right to voice his opinion on any issue of national interest.
“I am a Northerner, born and brought up in Barnawa village, a suburb of Kaduna and I hold no grudges against any northerner, be it Muslim or Christian,” he emphasized.
Kukah said he was pained by the seemingly endless bloodletting in Nigeria as a result of spiraling insecurity, declaring: “I am pained and sad that my critics fail to see that.
“The loss of lives in the last 10 years and even before the advent of the current government calls for concern.”
Bishop Kukah said he hoped for a Nigeria where justice, peace and fairness reign, declaring:: “The reactions are a reflection of every citizen that makes up the country.
“I am someone who doesn’t take offence in what others say about me.
“What I said was my opinion based on evidence and the happenings in the country and if you look into the records, there is evidence that justifies that statement, and if anyone thinks I am wrong, they should come out with a superior position.”
He also had a word for those who accused him of playing politics and, consequently, advised him to leave the pulpit and join the fray.
“There is no Catholic Priest available for party politics in Nigeria,” he responded, saying that could only have been possible had he lived during the time of the late Mallam Aminu Kano.
“I have no plan and will never play partisan politics for any reason. Those who link my message to partisan politics are only playing to the gallery.
“Take, for instance, brilliant Nigerian youths making comments about Chelsea or Arsenal and have never been to England. Does that make them players of such club sides?
“So, why will someone think because Bishop Kukah is speaking, therefore, he is a politician?
“People who make this argument are ignorant of elementary politics and ignorant of the role of a Priest.
“The truth is that a lot of us have not seen a priest saying what I am saying. The truth of the matter is, we are all in politics, but party politics for me, no.
“I am not a member of any political party and I cannot be. If it comes to voting, I exercise my right.”
