Nigerian Bishop’s "controversial" Easter Message Was Prophetic, Catholic Priest Says

The U.S.-based Nigerian Priest says that when prophetic messages are received like Bishop Kukah’s message was, it is good news.

He explains, “This is because such reactions point to the impactful force of the prophetic petards hauled by the man of God at the unjust and wicked citadels of power.”

“Most Nigerian leaders are insensitive to the sufferings and yearnings of our people and impervious to criticism or correction,” the member of the Clergy of Nigeria’s Awgu Diocese says in his April 21 statement shared with ACI Africa.

He says a section of leaders in the West African nation are often uncomfortable with the truth as they are surrounded by liars who tell them what they want to hear. 

In a country where truth is scarce, Fr. Ilo says, “when a man of God like Bishop Kukah speaks truth to power, it is seen by the powers that be as an insult, hatred, and attack.”

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“We can see the histrionics and knee-jerk reactions of the President’s attack dog, Mallam Garba Shehu in this light,” the Catholic Priest says in reference to the Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on Media and Publicity.

He adds that instead of accepting the prophetic truth offered by Bishop Kukah in humility, “President Buhari and his motley band of shrinking faithful, fail to accept the truth that under his watch this blessed country has degenerated into what Forbes magazine has designated as the third most dangerous country to live in.”

In his April 21 statement, the Nigerian Catholic Diocese says that it is the duty of religious leaders like Bishop Kukah and the church "to provide a critical moral framework for evaluating the actions of the state and her actors through Gospel-driven truths, evidence-based rational, moral and spiritual arguments and proclamation in order to awaken the spiritual and moral sense of the leaders and the masses of our people to protect, promote and preserve the common good from which all should draw as from a well pool."

He adds that as a Nigerian citizen, Bishop Kukah "is touched by the pains and sorrows of our people and the congregation that God has entrusted to him."

Describing the Local Ordinary of Sokoto as a true son of the Church,  Fr. Ilo  says Bishop Kukah gave a message that shows his fidelity to the injunction of the Catholic Church to all Catholics as stated in the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes. 

“The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts," the research professor of World Christianity and African Studies says in reference to Gaudium et Spes. 

Magdalene Kahiu is a Kenyan journalist with passion in Church communication. She holds a Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). Currently, she works as a journalist for ACI Africa.