Nigeria: Bishop Kukah warns against normalising violence, emphasises hope in the risen Christ

Vatican News with Delphine Asu – Abuja

Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto Diocese, in an Easter interview with Vatican News, highlighted the importance of maintaining hope amid ongoing difficulties, particularly the insecurity and violence plaguing Nigeria.

Renewal of faith in the risen Christ

In light of these challenges, Nigerians, Bishop Kukah said, should not succumb to fear but instead trust in God and remain steadfast.

"The celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the assurance that the Lord has prepared us for moments like these, because he says when we see all these dark clouds of fear and anxiety circling around us, it is time for Christians to stand erect. I think the message of Easter invites us to renew our faith in the risen Lord. This also means, as a nation and as Christians, we still need to do much, much, much more by taking the message of peace more seriously, difficult as it might be. It is the best and only antidote to the violence that is around us," he said.

Bishop Kukah further explained that Christians should encourage one another, recalling the resurrection as proof of Jesus’s victory over evil. He urged the faithful to remain firm in their faith.

Do not get used to violence

Bishop Kukah also condemned the recent Palm Sunday killings in Nigeria, expressing concern about what he described as the authorities' failure to fulfil their primary responsibility: protecting lives.

About 27 people in Nigeria’s Plateau State were killed by gunmen in the Archdiocese of Jos on Palm Sunday. Officials at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria have called for urgent government intervention to ensure protection, especially during the Easter period, to prevent a recurrence of such incidents.

"Everywhere you turn, the stories are the same. Nigerian soldiers tell us, ‘We can get this job done.’ But yet everyday lives are haemorrhaging. The danger now for us is that we could reach a point where we become totally dead to the sacredness of human life. So, it's a tragedy. But you know, in Nigeria, the sad thing now is that tomorrow the numbers and atrocities will rise again and the day after and the day after," Bishop Kukah said.