National Peace Committee

BLOOD & CRUCIFIXION ON THE PLATEAU

Bishop Matthew Hassan KUKAH

1: Those invisible men came to the Plateau again, bearing their gifts of death and destruction. They came from the deepest pit of hell, the habitat of the devils that they are. They are children of darkness, sons of Satan. They opted to extinguish and sn**ch the light of the joy of Christmas from thousands of people on the Plateau. They imagined they would ignite an o**y of blood, seduce the ordinary peace- loving people of the Plateau and set them on a mission of mindless murder of fellow citizens in the name of retaliation. The world would then say that this is was a war of religion, Christians killing Muslims to ignite a larger war. So far, over two hundred lives are gone and we are still counting, but what next, where next and who next?

2: Over the years, these murderers have left their footprints of blood and tears across the length and breathe of the entire northern states, indiscriminately wrecking destruction across large swaths of land and communities. In all this, the Nigerian state and its security agencies are blind-sided, seemingly incapable of cleaning up this augean stable of sorrow and pain in our land. These killers have turned the Nigerian state and its security agencies into objects of cynicism, mockery and mere lachrymal spectators daily accompanying funeral processions. Across the country, these funerals and the coffins are now part of our landscape.

3: We are gradually taking eerie solace in the fact that these killers do not respect the boundaries of religion, region or ethnicity. We seem to be consoled that they are destroying Churches as well as mosques, killing Christians as well as Muslims. We seem to be lulled into a feeling of collective consolation and we all believe that we are all victims of an endless o**y of violence that has taken over our land. There is a method to this madness. The choice of location, communities, timings, the seeming hooded identities of the killers mask a fact: we may not know who they are, but someone wants something from the Middle Belt. Stretch your imagination from the emergence of the modern Nigerian state and connect the dots.

4: Sadly, with time, Nigerians are gradually losing hope in the ability of their government to protect and secure them. While we religious leaders have continued to use our moral authority to encourage our people not to take the laws into their hands, we risk being swept away by the anger and frustration of our people. We even risk being seen as accomplices to an erring state. The Nigerian state itself risks becoming an undertaker in the eyes of its citizens. Our cups of sorrow are overflowing. We have cried enough tears. We may pretend that we are not at war, but truly, a war is being waged against the Nigerian state and its people. God forbid, but we could snap anytime, anywhere and for any reason.

5: By the banks of the Niger river, on the hills of the Plateau, across the lush savannah of the middle belt, we have sat down and wept. We have questions crying for answers: Who are these killers? Where are they coming from? Who is sponsoring them? What are their grouses and against whom? What do they want? Whom do they want? Who are they working for? When will it all end? Why are they invincible and invisible? Who is offering them cover? Are we condemned to live with this and hand this broken nation to our children? Should we all just become inoculated and sedated to make all this bearable? Who will supply the o***m to dull our pain? Are we sleep walking to self-destruction?

6: Why has the north become the birthplace of so much bloodletting? Why have these killings seen as tools of negotiation with the Nigerian state by the protectors of the north? Why has our north become the incubator of all that is destructive? Boko Haram, Banditry and shades of terrorism all live in our region. Why is this so? These killers are not ordinary murderers. They are killers for a purpose. It is the task of the Intelligence community to tell us who they are, where they live and what their goals are. These killers are professionals and are they Nigerians or they have just Nigerian sponsors? Their sponsors are among us. They must be in high places. They are now embedded in the architecture of state. President Tinubu must know that the legitimacy of his government hangs on resolving this and giving us our country back.

7: We are tired of the confusing, inexcusable. monosyllabic excuses saying, this is an asymmetrical war, we are on top of the situation, you cannot kill an idea, it is not about religion or ethnicity, we will bring them to justice. We, citizens of Nigeria feel collectively humiliated and betrayed by those who are collaborating with these murderers and a government that seems helpless. Can we continue to believe that there is no long-term plan to take over the reins of power of the Nigerian state? These people want power. They want it on their own terms. They want their own kind of Nigeria according to their ideology. These killings are just a preface. These killings are no longer acts by herders and farmers over grazing fields. No, there is more and we as a nation will do well to face this threat before it is sunset. No evil lasts forever. The world defeated Slavery, Apartheid, Na**sm, Racism, and forms of extremism.

7: So far, I commend the government in its responses to these tragedies. Unlike before when no one bothered to visit the scenes, we are seeing very rapid responses from the top. This is necessary but not sufficient as a strategy. Rebuilding these communities requires more than mere physical infrastructure. There is need for clearer, more imagined strategies for rebuilding community cohesion and resilience. Rebuilding hearts is more urgent than rebuilding houses. Merely awarding contracts for building of houses is not as important as building markets, rebuilding roads, providing agricultural inputs for farmers and so on.


8: There are growing concerns as to the sophistication, professionalism and capacity of the security agencies. Years of military involvement has led to the mistaken notion that issues of security are military. This guns and bullets approach has seen the growth of corruption, lack of cohesion, collaboration and co-ordination, infighting within the Security Agencies. We civilians hear stories of orders from the top at the last minute, about credible intelligence provided but not used by those at the top. People are dying and no one’s job is threatened. There is an urgent need to re-set the national Security architecture. Enough is enough.

9: This culture of investigation as excuses must end. The media and we the people must continue to remind the government of its obligations to be accountable. If investigations are made public and rewards or punishment are carried out, then it builds confidence. It will enable people to become involved in their own security. Only by pursuing, apprehending and bringing these evil men to justice can we begin to speak of a genuine reconciliation among our people. Bringing criminals to justice is justice to the criminal and justice to the victim too. Fixing our economy is desirable, but it must hang on a rigid security scaffolding to protect citizens and nation. The youth are fleeing their own country. The elites are fleeing their own communities. The poor are becoming refugees outside their own communities. Mr. President, give us back our communities. Give us back our country.

10: Finally, national security is a function of robust, deep intellectual analysis and mapping of the goals and even ambitions of country, its local, regional or global place in the world. It thrives on creating scenarios based on a proper understanding and reading of geo-politics and locating where a country wants to be. So far, we have thrived on ad hoc and arbitrary options.
On the Plateau and elsewhere, so much academic research has been done. All the President needs to do is to order a review of all the options and find the political will to get our nation back on track. The current crucifixion of the Middle belt is merely a metaphor. However, for us as Christians, in the cross, there is salvation. May this new year begin the healing of our dear nation. Happy new year and God bless our dear country.

NO CASE OF CORRUPTION AGAINST JONATHAN – KUKAH
August 17, 2015 : Eniola Akinkuotu

In an interview with Channels Television monitored by ENIOLA AKINKUOTU, National Peace Committee member and Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Bishop Matthew Kukah, speaks about President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption war and other issues

There were talks that some members of your committee had been approached to mediate in anti-corruption matters. Although you have debunked that, your committee has said that the Federal Government’s excessive talk on probe is distracting. Is this true?
Brutally, what you are asking is what I have heard people say and that is that former President Goodluck Jonathan has approached us to beg the President. First of all, I am a priest and anybody is free to beg me to beg someone or to beg God. But more importantly, there is no way that I or any member of the committee can be told to go and beg President Muhammadu Buhari for a favour in anything relating to corruption. His body language does not suggest that and only a fool would undertake that kind of mission. I think I can speak for the members of the committee. Before we went to see the President at 9am on that same day, we spent about an hour with former President Jonathan. And please let us not lose sight of what has happened in this country. Jonathan said it and I am sure Nigerians have heard it that when we met with the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, they also made it very clear that not all of them were in support of the singular decision that Jonathan took and I think that as Nigerians, we must become sufficiently serious and realise that that singular act is what has kept us as a nation. With all the billions and trillions in the world coming from the outer space, we would need to have a nation first. So, I think that even for that singular act alone, Nigerians must be appreciative of what President Jonathan did.

As for how this country will move forward, President Jonathan was eloquently clear in saying that he was not afraid of probe but we are saying that if you are going to a forest to catch a monkey, you don’t go blowing a whistle or beating a drum. And I don’t think that we should be preoccupied with how this probe is going to be undertaken. There are no charges against President Jonathan or anybody for that matter. And please let me make it very clear, anybody is free to approach the committee with any ideas, including former President Jonathan or President Buhari.

But from your interview with State House correspondents, it seems your committee is not satisfied with the manner this administration is going about with its fight against corruption. Is that right?
Please, let us not forget that the vice-president of this country is one of the best lawyers I know. He is also a professor of law. I don’t think people like him can preside over illegalities. What everybody should focus on is that it might be Jonathan today, and we don’t have a case against Jonathan on the table. Even if we do, this public lynching is not going to help anybody. Nobody knows whether when Buhari steps aside, he might face the same thing. What we are talking about is that we are not in a military regime, we are in a democracy and somebody has said there are no probes in a democracy but only investigations. We are not going to grow in this nation until we have finished probes. Let us not forget, Abacha has been dead for almost 20 years and we were promised his monies but some of the monies have not been recovered, so let us not kid ourselves. Even if you are going to go into a probe, it is not a substitute for governance and we are interested in the fact that every sane Nigerian must be conscious of the fact that it might be another person today and might be you tomorrow. And I think that we should not become so preoccupied with Jonathan to the extent that we forget the spectacular benefit that we gained under his presidency. Politics has ended and now is the time for governance.

How come all that was reported from your visit to Jonathan was that the treasury looters will soon be brought to trial?
That is simply because the media has its own prejudices just like the rest of us in Nigeria. There are people in the media who believe that Jonathan and the PDP and other bad people should be hounded out of this country or whatever and I have no problem with that. All I am saying is that if you have a problem, there are processes for dealing with that. The committee cannot inherit the prejudices of other people. For some inexplicable reasons, some sections of the media have made insinuations that impugn on the integrity of the members of the committee and as I said, I called every member of that committee to serve on that committee and I know how and why I called every member. I can vouch for their personal integrity and I know that they can speak for themselves. But I think it is not fair that the media should create the impression that somehow we should be out on this public lynching of people when we have no evidence against anybody.

Are you saying that if things (probes) continue the way they are, we might lose what we might have gained with the transition from one government to the other?
Absolutely! I don’t want to say this but frankly I am quite irritated by the way we are frittering away the opportunities that God has given to us. When you stand on quicksand for too long, it becomes impossible to get out. There are not many people in the world that want Nigeria to succeed. We’ve never had this show of goodwill before and I believe the rest of the international community and others must be laughing at Nigeria on how we are conducting ourselves in this way and manner and how we remain our own worst enemies. For goodness sake, governance does not foreclose people going to prison and so on, and I don’t believe that even if you recover all the monies that have been stolen from us, it will not go the same way. I think the challenge for me and for those in power is that the APC has to prove itself. Secondly, let us be faithful with little things so that we will know what will happen to us when greater things are entrusted into our hands.

But what has brought this concern to the fore for the committee?
I don’t know; you tell me. Because the journalists that started this scare mongering about the committee being approached by President Jonathan is as if we are saying that the government should not probe. Please, I am well over 60 and I think my records speak for me. I cannot be associated, by any stretch of the imagination, with anything dubious or hypocritical. I cannot see how any member of our committee can be associated with such an attempt. What will be my gain for example, for saying I don’t want XYZ to be probed? I am simply saying that it can be me tomorrow and it might be you tomorrow but for goodness sake, had President Jonathan not done what he did, let us look across the road and look across Africa and let us see the tragic situation that we are in in Africa. See what is happening in Burundi, see what happened in Cote d’Ivoire, see what happened in Rwanda. When the crisis of transitions meant that people put their personal interest before any other interest and I think that history will not forget what President Jonathan did and it is not in our interest to pretend that even if he stole all the money in the world, and even if the world is bringing everything into Nigeria, I am not sure where President Buhari will be, I am not sure if I would be sitting here, I don’t know where the vice-president or any of us would be today. I am saying let us keep our eyes on the ball.

It seems what you are trying to impress on the President is that governance must start. Do you believe that you haven’t seen anything in the direction of governance?
I think we didn’t all expect that we would have to wait till September to have ministers and I think that unless we want to be hypocritical, many of us have openly said that if this was the fourth time that President Buhari wanted to be President, and successfully became President, the truth of the matter is that you would have identified many Nigerians across the board who are fit to do the job but again it is his prerogative to decide how to govern. But I am saying that given what we heard the APC said, given the claims that the APC made, the level of their preparedness, the level of their decision to change, well, we need that change clearly spelt out.

That change cannot definitely just be a change of actors. It ought to be a change that we can visible see, a government that is fully prepared. The elections were concluded and there was a period of time in-between. Finally, all I am saying is that we need a bit of action, otherwise, Nigerians will expend their energies on the wrong things. We still have a lot of battles to fight and I think we will really need to focus on a lot of the problems that this country faces and to figure out by way of conversation and policy direction, where are we heading? Boko Haram may stop tomorrow but I can tell you that will just be the beginning of the most complex and complicated problem of trying to fix this country. How all these problems are going to be solved require a lot of thinking.

Cf. http://www.punchng.com/politics/no-case-of-corruption-against-jonathan-kukah/ (17/08/15).

No case of corruption against Jonathan – Kukah In an interview with Channels Television monitored by ENIOLA AKINKUOTU, National Peace Committee member and Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Bishop Mat

JONATHAN DID NOT SEND THE PEACE COMMITTEE
TO PLEAD TO BUHARI ON HIS BEHALF – BISHOP KUKAH

In an interview with SaharaTV, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto and member of the National Peace Committee, denied recent allegations in the media that the committee’s recent meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari was made at the behest of Goodluck Jonathan.
- by SAHARA REPORTERS, NEW YORK Aug 16, 2015

Editorial note: A previous version of this story incorrectly quoted Bishop Kukah as saying that former President Goodluck Jonathan had sent the National Peace Committee to President Buhari to plead on his behalf. This version has been updated with Bishop Kukah's correct comments.

In an interview with SaharaTV, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto and member of the National Peace Committee, denied recent allegations in the media that the committee’s recent meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari was made at the behest of Goodluck Jonathan.

Bishop Kukah made a recent statement on the goals of the National Peace Committee, saying "Our own commitment is not to intimidate or fight anybody."

In the exclusive interview with SaharaTV correspondent Rudolf Okonkwo, Bishop Kukah explained, "What we were saying was a response to the allegations that were widely made in some sections of the media that somehow the idea behind our visiting the president was because somebody—I mean President Jonathan specifically—had sent us to go and plead with President Buhari over what the president had been saying about the need for a probe. And so on and so forth.

"We were interested in saying that our role is not to run anybody's errands. Our role is basically to give encouragement to our politicians on behalf of Nigerians. That we had free and fair elections and Nigerians want to see a new dawn in place."

Bishop Kukah also mentioned that prior to the meeting, the Committee spoke with leadership of both the All People's Congress (APC) and the People's Democratic Party (PDP), as well as Senate President Bukola Saraki.

Bishop Kukah commended President Buhari for the work he has so far done but stated that his Party, the All Peoples Congress (APC), was voted to govern, and that their focus should be on governing, which is what Nigerians are eager for. Bishop Kukah stated that he could tell President Buhari has been taking his job seriously since his inauguration.

When asked whether Bishop Kukah believes the Peace Committee was afraid that President Buhari may have been fair in the past when he probed previous governments for corruption, he made sure to convey how much the Committee wants Mr. Buhari to use due process during investigations.

“A point we want to make very clear is that we are in a democracy, and [this] is an investigation, not a probe. We were simply saying that we don’t think anyone should be criminalized when nobody has been brought before a court. We are speaking on behalf of ordinary Nigerians,” Bishop Kukah said.

Bishop Kukah made it a point to display the Committee’s stance of indifference towards politics when dealing with issues that concern the well-being of Nigerians.

“We want to see a qualitative and quantitative change in the lives of Nigerians. Nobody knows how Buhari’s presidency will end, nobody knows what will happen to him when he [finishes] his tenure. The stick that they are using to whip Jonathan may be the stick that they will use to whip Buhari tomorrow,” Bishop Kukah said.

Cf. http://saharareporters.com/2015/08/16/bishop-kukah-denies-jonathan-sent-peace-committee-plead-buhari-his-behalf (17/08/15).

Bishop Kukah Denies That Jonathan Sent Peace Committee To Plead To Buhari On His Behalf In an interview with SaharaTV, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto and member of the National Peace Committee, denied recent allegations in the media that the committee’s recent meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari was made at the behest of Goodluck Jonathan.

Nigerians Should Appreciate Jonathan’s Deeds – Bishop Kukah
Channels Television.
August 13, 2015

Bishop KukahThe Bishop of Sokoto Diocese and member of the National Peace Committee, Bishop Mathew Kukah, has asked Nigerians to be appreciative of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

He said that Dr. Jonathan’s act of conceding defeat in the 2015 presidential election is one that has kept the country together and so “Nigerians should be appreciative of what he did”.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, Bishop Kukah further stated that the committee has not been sent to beg on anyone’s behalf to avoid probe. He noted that the former “President Jonathan eloquently said he was not afraid of probe.”
He commended President Buhari for the work he has so far done but stated that his party (APC) was voted to govern and they should go ahead to govern because Nigerians are eager for a new nation.

He stated that the government needs to develop a communication strategy that would enable citizens understand the government’s direction as he believes there has been an air of uncertainty among Nigerians who want to know where the country is heading.
Speaking on the activities of the National Peace Committee, Bishop Kukah noted that the purpose of the committee was for “moral authority” and not to replace the National Assembly, Court or Police. He referred to them as “non-state actors who are very busy”.

“The business of our committee is not to solve the problems of Nigeria but the business of the government in power, led by the APC, to resolve the problems of Nigeria.”

He then urged the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to start addressing the country’s challenges because the world is focusing on Nigeria, especially the international community because of the issue of Boko Haram.

Resolving National crisis & paving the way forward. The NPC meets with delegates of APC, PDP, AU, UN & UNDP, Thursday, July 30, 2015.

AN APPEAL FOR ORDER IN THE SENATE

The Chairman of the National Peace Committee, Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar (rtd) GCFR, and other distinguised members of the committee meet with the INEC Chairman, Prof. Ittahiru Jega & the National Security Chiefs on the success of the forth-coming elections. On the part of INEC & the Security Chiefs, it was assured that Nigerians will experience a free, fair, credible & non-violent elections, come Match 28 & April 11.

At the secretariat of the National Peace Committee, the Chairman, Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar, (rtd) GCFR, meets with international diplomats on dialogue for a peaceful, non-violent & successful 2015 General Elections

My beloved, good morning and happy Sunday. As the proposed presidential election draws near ie 28th March this coming weekend, let us take note of the following.
1. To pray for a non-violent, free and fair election. Don't allow yourself to be an instrument of violence or partiality by your action or by the words of your mouth.
2. To pray that God will give us a leader after His own heart. Yes, we have our voting rights to decide who will rule us. Let us use it wisely. After the voting ie doing our civic responsibility, let us handover the rest to God to decide.
3. When the result of the election comes, whoever wins should have our maximum support both spiritually and physically. Don't cause post election violence because the candidate you supported didn't win. God bless us. - Fr. Ikenna Obiamalu

A Press Conference, addressed by former Head of State and Chairman of the National Peace Committee for 2015 General Elections, General Abdulsalam Abubakar (rtd), GCFR, along with other distinguished members of the panel, on Thursday, February 19, 2015, at Ladi Kwali Hall, Sheraton Hotels, Abuja.