The Southern Kaduna Christian Leaders Association (SKCLA) has expressed mixed feelings and grief over the death of former President Muhammadu Buhari, while lamenting that the second term in office marked the darkest days for the Southern Kaduna people.

However, the SKCLA, led by Apostle Emmanuel Nuhu Kure, extended condolences to the family of the late President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Republic of Nigeria on his demise.

Kure stated that the truth must be told: the deceased leadership, as President, was hostile to the citizens of the southern part of Kaduna State.

In a statement on Monday, he said, “However, as a body that speaks on behalf of a deeply wounded people, we must express the truth without pretence or political correctness. President Buhari’s second term in office stands out in our memory as one of the darkest and toughest eras for the Southern Kaduna people.”

“Under his watch, our communities were subjected to unchecked violence, persecution, and marginalisation, while the federal government remained either indifferent or complicit through silence,” he added.

Kure remarked: “Yet, we are not a people who forget history entirely. We remember with nostalgia his first coming as Nigeria’s military Head of State from 1984 to 1985. During that brief period, there was a determined effort to sanitise the Nigerian system, instil national discipline, confront corruption and restore national pride.”

He stressed further that “the nostalgia of 1984/85 still lives with many of us despite the flaws it came with,” pointing out that “Buhari made us feel that Nigerians can adapt to discipline with the right leadership in place.”

Kure prayed that “may God heal this nation from the traumas of the past and raise leaders who will truly serve all Nigerians with justice, equity, and truth, not favouring one part of the country over another.”