Bishop Kukah Warns Political Zealots to Abstain from Political Violence

Loyalists of politicians have been warned against self-immolation as a show of support for their candidates.

The Catholic Bishop of the Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, issued the warning on Tuesday while speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme.  

The elderly priest believes that opposition politicians are pals competing for a piece of the national pie and shouldn’t be taken seriously.

His comment comes after Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, and Atiku Abubakar, the PDP presidential candidate, joked around in the private terminal of Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport on Monday.

Political zealots, according to Kukah, the convener of the National Peace Committee, should take a lesson from Tinubu and Atiku’s public courtship.

He claimed that the jokes were intended to send a message to supporters of both front-runners for the presidency in 2023: be wise, abstain from violence, and don’t commit suicide over people who share the same pool.

“These politicians are struggling, and they’ve lived their lives struggling for the national cake which they will distribute amongst themselves. It is, therefore, in the interest of ordinary Nigerians to know that they have to vote to stay alive,” the cleric said.

Kukah also said that enthusiasts of politicians “must understand that these politicians know themselves” regardless of their grandstanding and posturing.

He, therefore, advised supporters of candidates all over the country to be “a bit more restrained and wise”.

“We ordinary people must figure out how to manage our passion for politics. Don’t take seriously the grandstanding of the politicians.

“All the things you see about them abusing themselves or quarrelling, you will think they will never shake hands. They are very good friends and many drinks from the same pool. So, don’t go and kill yourself for nothing. That is what that message is all about,” he said.

Asiwaju  Ahmed Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar met at the Private Wing of the Nnamdi Azikwe Airport yesterday. Asiwaju has headed to Jos ahead of his flag-off campaign, while Atiku is returning from a campaign stomp. In a viral video, the two presidential opponents were exchanging pleasantry in a jovial setting. Like Femi Fani Kayode puts it, “Politics without bitterness is a good thing. https://twitter.com/realFFK/status/1592182680204251137?s=20&t=UjkLKHjpnU7_zIRjImnWdQ