Catholic bishop of Sokoto Matthew Kukah accuses northern governors of bias against Christians

BISHOP of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto Matthew Kukah has accused northern governors of marginalising Christians in the region adding that they will not effortlessly sign a certificate of occupancy for the building of a church.

Speaking during the launch of the books Sect and Social Disorder and Quaranic Schools in Northern Nigeria, in Abuja, he added that governors across the region are not being fair to Christians. Bishop Kukah also alleged that some tertiary institutions in the northern part of the country have over the years refused to allocate spaces within their premises for their Christian students to worship.

Bishop Kukah added: “As I’m talking here now, whether it is Bayero University, Usman Dan Fodio University, most of the universities and tertiary institutions in northern Nigeria, Christians don’t have a place to worship after over 40 years of the existence of these universities and these are the areas where the intellectuals, those who are going to govern Nigeria, this is where they are. Up till today, as I’m talking to you, you can’t find a single governor in northern Nigeria that will effortlessly sign a certificate of occupancy for the building of a church. Nowhere.”

Traditionally, Christians across northern Nigeria have always complained about being marginalised as they are in a minority. About one third of northern Nigeria is Christian, with the northwest in particular being dominated by Muslims.