Bishop Mark Nzukwein is the pioneer Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Wukari in Taraba State. In this exclusive interview with Daily Sun, he cautions that the present administration in the country is taking the patience of Nigerians dangerously for granted and could precipitate an uncontrollable revolt from the people. He also talks about the President’s Ministerial Nominees and other key issues.
What do you make of the fuel subsidy removal by President Bola Tinubu?
Actually one would keep wondering what this present government has for this country. Having come in, I would think they would tread on the path of caution, to slow down on certain policies especially policies that are anti-people. They just came in and as if they are not aware of the plight of the people who just endures the torture of the last 8 years before their arrival on stage. They didn’t evaluate the cash crunch, the COVID and all that. So they just came in with another package that will further push people down the drain. For me that policy came at a very wrong time and it is not necessary.
The fuel subsidy removal, even though some argue it’s good, the government even before that policy didn’t look at the corruption that was in that industry. I don’t even think the issue is around removal of subsidy, the issues lie around the humongous corruption in the subsidy regime. What I thought they would do was to go back to the industry, subject it to critical examination, look at their operations and from there tackle the problem from the roots because right now, they are just tackling the symptoms.
And since the removal, we have never felt the benefits of the removal. Nobody has reported to us the amount of monies they reap from this policy and I assure you it could be in trillions because of the population of Nigerians. If I’m being very objective about it, so much has come into the coffers of the government and it’s from the pocket of the people. These are people that have been suffering even before now, and now the government has to dip their hands deep into their pockets to make sure that everything they have is given back to the same government that has nothing to offer to the people so for me, this is a very unfortunate phenomenon. How I wish the government will reverse this policy because it is anti-people and it will not yield positive result even in the side of the economy because the corruption they have not been able to deal with, will still make sure that this money will end up in the pockets of a few individuals again.
Now the worst thing about this is the palliative measure. This is one of the greatest insults. These people are really taking Nigerians for granted. I never thought enlightened people with such political placement can think about their fellow humans in that way. For me, it is the greatest act of humiliation to tell Nigerians that we gave a household the sum of N8000 a month. For a normal household in Nigeria, you can be sure that they have up to 10 people and if you divide this N8000 by 10 you will have 800 and if you divide that 800 by 30 that will be less than 50 Naira. Is this not an insult? You are raising the fuel price to up to 600 and you are cushioning the hardship of the people by giving them less than 50 Naira.
I think these people are taking Nigerians for granted and I don’t think this will continue for long. There’s a level to which you can push people who are already distressed and hungry. Time shall come when Nigerians will no longer take the rubbish that the so called politicians are trying to mete out to them, and I think the earlier the better, the earlier they know about this, the better. They can’t treat any human being like that, talk more of citizens who voted them into power. You can’t begin an administration by inflicting hardship on your people; this is not acceptable. So many things are just questionable about this policy. They don’t have to wait for NLC to do something, they should think and do something by themselves expediently.
The case of Adamawa recently where people took to the streets breaking warehouses and carting away with things, reemphasize the fact people will get to a point that they will react and you will not be able to control them. These are people that are literally hungry. I have seen a lot, everybody is crying, everyone Is calling, students, the displaced, so Nigerians are terribly hungry and they don’t know the way out because the issues are burdening. As you know a hungry man is a very angry person.
As the pioneer Bishop of Wukari Diocese, what are your priorities upon assumption of office?
I inherited a diocese that was highly divided on social and political grounds due to the series of crisis that Taraba State is going through from inter ethnic, religious, and intra tribal issues. In fact, the crises have been there since the 80’s but of late it took a more serious dimension especially the 2019 crises in Wukari between the Tiv and Jukun.
Usually after the fights, the people will return to their homes but for that of the 2019, because of the level of destruction, so many interests and cross border support that was at play during the crisis, there was a lot of devastation in Ibi, Wukari, Donga, Takum and even Kurmi. The Ichen people, as you know, have never been known for crisis but this crises was taken to them to the extent that even some pastors were killed. It even reached Kungana and Baissa areas. Over 30,000 persons have been displaced and some key interests are making it impossible for them to return to their homes.
So I came to a diocese where the majority of my people are the Tiv population that have been displaced.
So basically, I met a diocese in crises because of the unfortunate clash between the Kuteb and so called Fulani in Takum; already Takum has been a place of controversy, so my diocese was on fire.
As the Bishop of Wukari diocese, I have not been able to go to my home place because it’s been on fire. Over 80 villages, over 200-300 thousand people displaced. Either you are displaced directly or someone who is staying with you. That was the situation I met. So immediately after my Episcopal Ordination, I had to address the priests to tell them that our first mission has to be a peace mission. We have to let our people know that it is possible for them to live together. That Christianity has values that promote peaceful coexistence, after all, Southern Taraba is a Christian dominated area so we have no option but to let them know that the primary mission is peace.
Since then, we have been on the move. Personally, I have been to many IDP camps within and outside the diocese to celebrate the Holy mass and since I don’t have the resources since we are just a new diocese to even provide relief materials, I have to go out and celebrate Mass and once in a while, if there’s something, we give to them but what is that to their number?
So I met a highly divided diocese but now we are working on peace. We have gone to Donga, for Takum twice even at the risk of life but it is actually paying off. Here in Wukari, we are embarking on a very elaborate peace education. The Jukun and Tiv groups in different categories. When they come, we try to educate them. In my office when I move out for mass, the homily, the admonition is all around the subject matter of peace. So this is were we are for the time being; before we think of any development, our people have to settle down first. We are interfacing with different stakeholders, the traditional council, civil authorities, some politicians to make sure that people who are displaced in their numbers eventually return to their homes because you can’t talk about development without the people. Even now that government is talking about free education, you can’t provide free education to an unfree environment, so that’s what we’re doing now.
For now, our priority is to restore peace and peaceful coexistence among the various groups in the diocese. But then of course, you know that the physical infrastructure must also be given priority. We need a pastoral centre for instance, where we can have our annual retreats, a secretariat, halls and accommodations and such infrastructure. We also need a cathedral where the people can worship. We also need to set up the right administrative structures that will facilitate the implementation of the diocesan agenda.
The national Assembly has just concluded the screening of Ministerial nominees. What do you make of the selection process?
I think it’s rather unfortunate because one would think that at this stage of our political history, we should have grown in our methodology of appointing people into certain key offices where they will provide the required services but it’s like we are going back to the vicious circle of bringing in people who are political cohorts, those who stood by the politicians during electioneering campaign. They are not looking at the quality, or competence, they are rather bringing primordial sentiments into play.
Moreover, the names shortlisted were without portfolios, how can you screen someone whose responsibility you are not sure of. I would think portfolios would be attached so that they are screened based on their competence in that area. Nigerians expected the national assembly to question it but you know Nigerians talk about Rubber stamp Assembly, maybe they are just there to rubber-stamp what comes from the executives. Unfortunately, most politicians are just looking for a ground where they can just make both ends meet. They are not thinking of the people that brought them into office, otherwise they should have thought of questioning this selection without portfolios. Nigerians are not even sure of the future of democracy in this country because things are not done the way they should be done.
The coup d’etat In Niger is creating a lot of regional tensions. What is your take on the development so far?
If we want to tell ourselves the truth, then we must agree that we have not got it right when it comes to embracing and living the democratic culture that we inherited from the West. It is not a culture we are familiar with even though it is believed to be the best form of government that will address our problems. Unfortunately, we are not getting it right. From one country to another, we are not living up to the expectations of democracy. That is why you are seeing the phenomenon of coup d’etat in Africa.
In the specific case of Niger Republic, the people celebrated the coup because the civilian administration there was not meeting their needs just as we have here in Nigeria. So, if the people are happy with the military take over, it means the Democratic system failed them. So what is the business of Nigeria in Niger when we have serious issues with our own democracy? In fact, some people are even of the opinion that the present administration in Nigeria also came in through a civilian Coup because people argue that a lot of things went wrong during the election and the processing of the results and that is why people are still in Court contesting the process.
So personally, I would not advise the Nigerian government to be in a hurry to take any serious action in Niger. We must tread with caution even though the President is the Chairman of ECOWAS. They should put their house in order before contemplating an action in another country. In any case, I will never support a military solution to this problem. It is never the best. I will rather advocate for dialogue and negotiations. If Nigerian government and the ECOWAS is insisting that something is wrong in Niger but the people are happy what is giving us cause for worry, taking any military action may be very detrimental as you will need the support of the people you want to liberate or so to say, to be able to execute the operation anyway.
Why is southern Taraba most affected by these crisis and what can be done to put an end to it?
As you are aware, Taraba State has over 80 nationalities and languages, so the inability of the successive leadership to harness the diversity and put them to the service of Taraba State has resulted to some of the issues we have today. Taraba State is highly blessed and if we are talking about blessings. Southern Taraba has a bigger chunk because of their rich land, riverine and mountainous areas with a lot of land with tons of mineral and natural resources around it. The land itself is very fertile for all sorts of crops to grow.
So if you have so many people together living in an environment with so many resources, you can be sure that there will be conflict of interest; people are competing to have possession of land, you talk about chieftaincy titles, indigene -settler dichotomy and others. You also have political differences. People who register their presence in different political parties do so to register their interest, so when these people feel they don’t get what they want, they resort to violence, unfortunately.
So it is left for the government whose responsibility it is to secure the lives and property of the people to provide security and to also promote peace and development of the environment. They should also make sure that where there are conflicts of interest, they can come in to stabilize issues and even the relationship among people. To bring them together to help them to look at those issues generating tension and together try to chart a new cause for the sake of development and peace of the environment, with absolute neutrality. (Daily Sun)
