The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Matthew Kukah, has told President Muhammadu Buhari to focus on bringing the country out of its present bad state and stop lamenting about the performance of his predecessors.
Kukah noted that Nigerians knew his predecessor, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, was not good enough and that was why they chose him (Buhari).
He therefore urged the President to stop boring people with continuous tales of what Jonathan failed to do.
Speaking at a dinner organised by the Ondo State Government after the 2016 Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria held in Akure on Wednesday, Kukah said: “We didn’t vote a government to complain about yesterday, if we wanted yesterday the new government would not be there. The previous government didn’t only do bad things; they did a lot of good things.
“I think the business of government is not our business; our business is, the previous government did bad, that is why we voted a new government. It is really about taking responsibility. No matter how much you praise or abuse (former President Goodluck) Jonathan, he is no more the President of Nigeria. I think that people must understand that you take power to solve problems not to agonise.
“We are not asking you to change the whole world, but Jonathan created problems: we are now riding a train between Abuja and Kaduna now; the train wasn’t there before. Things that Jonathan did that can help Nigeria, let’s continue with them. The bad things that Jonathan did and those who deserve to go to prison should go to prison.”
Kukah said that the only way the current administration could succeed in fighting corruption was to first solve the problem of poverty and inequality in the country.
“I still believe that unless we get to the root cause of poverty and inequality, which are really the evidences and symptoms of corruption; you can talk of fighting corruption all the rest of your life and very little is going to happen.
“Sending people to prison will only be useful if it puts bread on the table of the people, “ he added.
In his contribution, Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, reiterated the call for the restructuring of the country to reflect a truly federal state.
