The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of
Sokoto, Matthew Kukah, says a military approach will not end pro-Biafran
protests across the country.
Kukah, who spoke in an interview with
our correspondent on Tuesday, was reacting to the fresh charges filed
against the founder of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.
The cleric insisted that the Federal Government should settle the crisis arising from the agitation for Biafra out of court.
The Federal Government had on Friday
filed six counts, including treasonable felony, against Kanu before a
Federal High Court in Abuja.
Kanu’s detention is fuelling pro-Biafran protests across the country.
Kukah said, “A military and judicial
approach would not work. We are in a democracy where dialogue, diplomacy
and patience are the hallmarks of good leadership. The Federal
Government should open a backdoor channel to get Kanu to renounce
alleged hate speeches and violence.
“My position on Kanu is straightforward.
I am not in any way saying that he is innocent but in order to avoid
upheavals and tension, the government should settle through engagement.
One of the parties has to trade something for something else. We are not
in a military regime. Dialogue is the solution.”
The cleric also called on President
Muhammadu Buhari to treat the recent killings of some members of the
Islamic Movement of Nigeria by the Nigerian Army in Zaria as a national
disaster.
He said he expected the President to declare a national mourning due to the number of deaths recorded in the clash.
Many lives were lost when soldiers clashed with the members of the group also known as Shi’ite, in Zaria last week.
Members of the group reportedly blocked a
federal highway and tried to prevent the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen.
Tukur Buratai’s motorcade from driving through.
He said, “As far as I am concerned, the
Zaria killing is a national disaster. I expected the President to have
declared a national mourning, especially because of the number of people
that lost their lives. There is no way the President would not be held
responsible because the buck stops at his table. However, this is not
the time to apportion blame because there is enough blame to go round.”
Kukah, therefore, shunned calls for the
removal of Buratai over the killings, saying that would not bring back
those that lost their lives.
He said Buhari’s critics should wait for the panel of enquiry inaugurated to investigate the killings to submit their report.
0 comments:
Post a Comment