Your Plan To Regulate Social Media Can Undermine People’s Freedom, Bishop Kukah Tells Buhari

By Niyi Olutunde, Akure

The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Most Rev. Dr. Mathew Hassan Kukah, has warned President Muhammadu Buhari over plans to regulate the social media, saying that it could undermine the freedom of the people.

Bishop Kukah gave the warning at the weekend while delivering the convocation lecture at Achievers University, Owo, Ondo state on “Some Reasons Why Nigeria Has Failed To Achieve Greatness.”

According to him, most of the people at the corridor of power at present in the nation didn’t know the sacrifices being paid by patriotic citizens to resuscitate democracy and freedom in the country.

Bishop Kukah who declared that if anyone plans to undermine the freedom of the common people in the country, he’s ready to join others in defending the freedom with last drop of their blood.

He said, “A good number of people in power today don’t even know the sacrifices we paid to get this freedom and democracy.

“Creating rules against social media, we should be careful. Freedom is to speak. Freedom is to speak responsibly.

We fought for this freedom and we will defend it with last drop of our blood. If they think they can take it from us, another is coming.

“A nation thrives on free flow of ideas and information. We are ready to defend this freedom with the last drop of our blood.”

The Bishop, who was honoured with a PhD by the private university, called on Nigerians to see to how religion and ethnicity are separated from politics to prevent politicians from using them to achieve their parochial ambitions to the detriment of the nation’s development.

He said both Christians and Muslims are over 90% in Nigeria but there was nowhere in the world where religion has become an incubus, a burden and a source of dreadful violence as it has done in Nigeria today.

According to him, Nigerians, God has become the greatest excuse for the inefficiency, corruption and shameful degrading life of our people today.

“Our leaders are constantly kneeling before pastors and imams seeking blessings while the rest of the world is moving on, drawing inspiration from sweat, brains and brawn even without evoking God. We evoke God to witness to our corruption and outright larceny.

“In Nigeria, Government is the major source of wealth and power”, he said.

He lamented that most Heads of State produced in Nigeria were co-opted to occupy the seat.

The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, while delivering his lecture said what has held Nigeria down has been the octopussean power and hold that the centre has had on the resources of Nigeria, a hold that those who run our country have used irresponsibly.

The Bishop said, “It is important that our country opens up to business. However, it seems to me that so much effort is being made to make Nigeria in attractive bride often to the detriment of our local professionals and contractors. We have remained on the same spot of potentiality for too long, with a landscape littered with thousands of abandoned projects.

Bishop Kukah who noted that President Muhammadu Buhari was forced to contest in 2015 after he had decided not to run for the seat observing that the idea of enthroning unwilling presidents is one of the critical bane of the nation’s development.

Present at the convocation lecture were the Chancellor of the university, Dr. Bode Olajumoke, the Pro-chancellor of the institution, Dr. Bode Ayorinde, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Tunji Ibiyemi, the Olowo of Owo, Oba Ajibade Ogunoye, among others.