Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Hassan Mathew Kukah, yesterday, met with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, saying afterwards that nearly one year into his administration, Nigerians are writhing in different levels of pain.
Emerging from the meeting with the President, correspondents had asked him to assess the first year of the Tinubu government to which he said that even though it was too soon to judge the administration, citizens have found themselves in difficult situations.
Describing the pains as unintended, he blamed it on government policies, which he hoped would be amended for the sake of the welfare of the people.
According to him, reviewing such policies is necessary because the essence of government is to guarantee the welfare and security of the people.
He highlighted the need for national renewal as he stressed that government should continue to build on the things that it believed it was doing well, urging citizens to commit themselves to nation-building.
The clergyman said: “I’m sure many people will tell you that one year is not enough to make a judgment. However, from where we all stand, we know that we are all in a very difficult situation.
“Nigerians are in various levels of pain and they are pains that are unintended. But they are the results of certain policy decisions that hopefully, with time, can be amended in order to serve the welfare of the people.
“Because I believe that the essence of government is to guarantee the welfare and security of ordinary citizens. I believe that the times that we are in now are very difficult times and nobody should be under any illusion. But there are also times for renewal.”
On the political crisis in Rivers, Kukah admonished Nigerians not to worry themselves over the rivalry among politicians, saying they knew how to resolve their problems.
He hoped that the issues would be resolved sooner rather than later as he noted that the state was very dear to his heart.
On his mission in the president’s office, he said it was in connection with the planned conference on national cohesion being organised by the Kukah Centre.
