Sophia Michaels
Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah has called for an end to the war between Israel and Hamas.
Kukah also urged former US President Barack Obama, King Abdullah of Jordan, former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, former Ireland President Mary Robinson, and former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to intervene as mediators with Israel over the ongoing war in Gaza.
Kukah made this call during an interview with Arise Television on Tuesday.
He noted that, when looking at the past, the Palestinian predicament has developed into an unaddressed and unrecognised issue, manipulated by powerful nations, with the five Permanent Members treating the Palestinians as mere pawns, lacking any clear, meaningful objectives.
The Bishop said, “America has to be in the room because they are, for now, pound for pound, the most powerful nation in the world.
“There are so many battles that are being fought simultaneously, and there’s a lot of heavy lifting to be done, but primarily, my concern is that we need to deploy a certain level of moral courage and moral authority to say: “Listen, people, it can’t go on like this.”
He also stated that the United Kingdom must be present for highly practical strategic considerations, as they were the ones entrusted with the mandate.
“I found that Gordon Brown, not only has the intellectual capacity, but he is also somebody who is visibly invisible, so I thought he would be a good representation,” he added.
According to Kukah, the world is grappling with a generation of young individuals who are making their voices heard, seeking a transformed world and a new way of life, and this conveys to hegemonists that any identity constructed will eventually cease to exist.
Kukah stated that a key takeaway for Nigeria from the Israel-Hamas war is the potential harm in using identity as a weapon.
He said that it is absurd for anyone to take a human life in the name of religion.
The cleric said, “We (Nigeria) are not the only diverse country in the world. It is important that the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria come to terms with the fact that there are processes.
“People must now be punished for crimes they commit.
“The weakness of the Nigerian state is largely responsible for the rising role and place of non-state institutions.”
“Why should my complexion or the language I speak be an issue? Right now, it is, and we do not have a process for redress, so this is why all these things about religion continue to come back.”
