Kukah: Nigeria Should Remain as One Entity

Laleye Dipo in Minna

The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese Archbishop Hassan Kukah has stated that there is no alternative for the country than for Nigeria to remain as one nation.

Kukah made the remark in Minna Niger state yesterday while speaking at the ‘Interfaith Dialogue and Engagement’ organised by the Development Initiative of West Africa and the Kukah Centre. He advised Nigerians to put aside the past and forge ahead for the unity and progress of the country.

“There is a lot we can do together to build a better and peaceful Nigeria and leave it as a legacy”, the respected clergyman said. He charged Nigerians to be patient and tolerate one another saying that “there is the need for the people to put the past behind them and forge ahead in building a peaceful and stable nation.”

Kukah suggested that to achieve a stable country government should work towards improving the quality of conversation between Muslims and Christians, saying that “if the problem can be dealt with at the university level the nation would have achieved a lot.

“Universities are the incubators of the leaders of tomorrow. The reason we are having confusion in the country is because we have not dealt with this problem at the university level; the conversation between Christians and Muslims at the universities has to improve.”

He submitted that: “whether the nation likes it or not, the next leaders of the country are the almajiris and the youths who are roaming the streets aimlessly.”

Niger state Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello in an address at the event warned of the imminent danger that faced the nation with the large number of children roaming the streets in the country especially in the north.
Bello said in the process of trying to prevent crime, the nation was indirectly breeding crime with the perpetuation of the almajiris policy, adding that: “the number of children roaming the streets across the nation is becoming alarming and must be addressed.

“It is sad that while we are trying to prevent crime in the country, we are breeding it indirectly. We must be concerned with the number of children roaming the street. The danger is that the next generation we are breeding are generations of children on the streets with these children, we are breeding danger particularly in this present dispensation”, he added.

The governor, who was represented by the Special Adviser on Religious Affairs, Mallam Ahmad Tanko said “the reason why most children are still on the streets is because parents have failed in the discharge of their responsibilities.”