Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Rev. Fr. Matthew Hassan Kukah, has said all Nigerians are living under some level of fear and insecure, especially when traveling, thus the need to find a lasting solution to the menace.
He said this on Thursday in Abuja at a conference to mark the 10th anniversary of the priestly ordination of Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Stephen Ojapah.
Rev. Fr. 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 stated that there is need for national cohesion as ethnicity, social class, region among others have literally become instruments of war among the people.
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, urged the federal government to prioritize mental health and trauma management to maximize the full potential of all Nigerians in nation-building.
Ojapah, who was a victim of kidnapping in 2022, 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.”
