Archbishop of Sokoto Archdiocese, Matthew Kukah, has told President Bola Tinubu that Nigerians were suffering from various degrees of pain and hardship due to certain government policies.
Speaking to State House Correspondents after a meeting with the President at the Presidential Villa, he said while one year may not be enough to make a judgement, it was evident that Nigerians were facing a very difficult situation.
According to him, the pains experienced by the people are unintended but certain policy decisions may need to be amended to better serve the welfare of ordinary citizens.
Kukah emphasised that the essence of government is to guarantee the welfare of ordinary citizens, acknowledging that these are difficult times, but also a time for renewal, requiring a commitment to using a good society as a building block.
The cleric stressed that this process cannot be achieved in one lifetime, and the most important thing is to continue on the building blocks of things that are being done well.
Kukah suggested that the government needed to quickly improve the quality of communication so that Nigerians could get a sense of how long it would take before the situation improved.
He expressed believes that this will help provide a clearer understanding of the challenges and the government’s efforts to address them.
“So many people will tell you that one year is not enough to make a judgement. However, from where we all stand, we know that we are all in a very difficult situation,” Kukah said.
“Nigerians are in various levels of pain; pains that are unintended. There are also certain policy decisions that, hopefully, can be amended in order to serve the welfare of the ordinary people.
“I believe that the essence of government is to guarantee the welfare of ordinary citizens. I believe that the times that we’re in now are difficult times and nobody should be under any illusions.
“But this is also time for renewal; we just need to commit ourselves to using a good society. It takes a lot of time and cannot be done in one lifetime. For me, the most important thing is to continue on the building blocks of things that are being done well.
“My argument has always been that the government needs to, very quickly, improve the quality of communication so that Nigerians can get a sense of how long it will take before food is ready,” he added.
