By Anastasia John E.
In a profoundly somber and impassioned Easter message delivered from the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah has painted a harrowing picture of Nigeria, a nation he laments is fast becoming a “huge national morgue.” Addressing President [Bola Ahmed Tinubu], the revered cleric employs the potent imagery of the crucifixion to articulate the pervasive suffering and unprecedented brutality that have engulfed the country, urging the leader to urgently “bring us down from this cross of evil.”
For Christians, Easter marks “the most important event in the history of our faith,” a season celebrating Christ’s triumph over death. Yet, for Nigeria, Bishop Kukah sees a nation mired in a “culture of brutality and savagery never witnessed in the history of our dear country,” a reality that has placed it “outside the purveyor of human civilization.” His words paint a bleak landscape where “across the entire country, every day, innocent citizens are kidnapped and held under the most inhuman conditions,” leaving a “dark pall of death” stretching from the north to the south. The Bishop emphasizes the universality of this tragedy, stating with sorrow, “It is impossible to find a home, a family, or a community that has not been caught in the cusp of this savagery.”
Directly addressing the President, Bishop Kukah acknowledges, “Mr. President, we all admit that you neither erected this cross nor did you effect our collective crucifixion.” However, his plea underscores the urgent need for the current administration to act decisively. “Notwithstanding, Nigerians have been dangling and bleeding on this cross of pain and mindless suffering for too long,” he asserts, highlighting the erosion of national morale, where “a culture of cynicism and self-doubt over our capacity to secure peace for ourselves pervades our land.” Indeed, for many citizens, “there is no hope in sight.” Yet, drawing strength from his faith, Bishop Kukah calls for a renewal of hope, urging the President to “re-enkindle and renew that hope” and to “renew our hope by bringing us down from this cross of brutality and suffering.”
Referencing Pope Francis’ declaration of 2025 as the Year of Hope, Bishop Kukah notes the Pontiff’s understanding of a world where pilgrims often navigate “the harsh currents of a broken world characterized by violence, pain, suffering, tribulation and death.” This global context mirrors Nigeria’s agonizing reality, where “the road to our collective discouragement…has been laid by marauders, murderers, savages and ravenous predators who threaten to overrun our nation.” The Bishop’s demand is clear: “Mr. President, immediately rid our dear country of these forces of darkness and bring us down from this cross of cynicism.”
Beyond the pervasive insecurity, Bishop Kukah highlights the gnawing issues of “hunger, sickness and desolation” stalking the land. While acknowledging the rationale behind the removal of subsidies and the nation’s increased domestic reserves, he cautions against the dehumanizing nature of mere palliatives. “I restate the obvious by warning that mere palliative distribution diminishes the dignity of citizens,” he states, advocating for a more fundamental solution: “Make food security a fundamental human right to all citizens. Mr. President, please bring us down from this painful cross of hunger.”
In a particularly damning indictment of past actions, Bishop Kukah recalls the “confession” of some public officers who admitted to bringing “our current killers into our country as a strategy for upstaging the government of the day and to gain power.” The consequence of this recklessness is a “cancer of insecurity and violence” that has “metastasized” to threaten the very “foundation of our common humanity.” The Bishop warns that “the bandits have not only become embedded in every sphere of our lives, they threaten to destroy all that holds our communities together,” turning kidnapping into a “dog whistle for undermining the very structure and foundation of our country.” In this dire situation, Nigerians “now hang on the cross at the mercy of these forces of darkness,” leading to Bishop Kukah’s urgent plea: “Mr. President, please, bring us down from this cross of insecurity.”
Concluding his powerful message, Bishop Kukah expresses his belief that “a majority of the citizens of our country want to live in peace with one another.” However, he cautions that allowing the current insecurity to persist will “undermine all forms of goodwill that this or any government in Nigeria espouses,” creating a “toxic mix of violence that can spin out of control.” He points to the widespread “frustration” permeating society as the government and security agencies “seem to have largely become spectators in the dance of death that has overtaken our country.” In a moment of profound questioning, Bishop Kukah asks: “is the persistence of the insecurity a statement of the lack of capacity of our men and women in uniform, or is it evidence that those at the top are reaping the fruits of funding their own war machine? In other words, are Nigerians lambs being sacrificed to an unknown god?” His final entreaty to the President is a resounding call to action: “Mr. President, step up, get to the finishing line and bring us down from this cross of shame.”
Despite the gravity of his message, Bishop Kukah concludes with a note of hope rooted in the “resurrection of Jesus,” which he believes “equips Christians to face life’s challenges with confidence.” He reminds Nigerians of their inherent moral compass, stating, “the law of the Lord is written in our hearts.” He urges them not to let the nation’s “structural deformities, the iniquities and corruption” dim their light, for “we are the light of the world, a city set on a hill. We are equipped with the light of Christ to drive out the darkness that threatens to engulf our country.” His final words are a collective call to action: “Let us collectively renew our commitment and hope for building a society after the mind of our creator.” He ends with a wish for a happy Easter to the President and all Nigerians, a poignant juxtaposition of the nation’s current suffering and the enduring promise of renewal.
