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By Kennedy Nnamani
BISHOP Godfrey Igwebuike Onah, the Catholic Bishop of Nsukka Dioceses has said that the hoodlums, who gruesomely murdered Deborah Samuel, of the Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto were left uneducated and unemployed deliberately for the use of religious bigots for political purposes.
In his homily about love on Sunday, the Bishop lamented that the hoodlums intentionally planned and murdered young Deborah, who was accused of making a blasphemous statement against Islamic religion.
He also noted that those who targeted Deborah and Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah have chosen to see them “as part of their problem rather than as part of the solution”.
“My dear friends, I must be honest with you today, I would have preferred not to be here to preach to you today, I would have preferred to lock myself up in my chapel before God alone to weep and to pray.
“To weep and pray for Deborah Emmanuel, who was killed because she found herself in a bout of Nigeria she thought was home, but it wasn’t.
“To weep and to pray for my brother and friend, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, the world acclaimed voice of the voiceless, who has now become soft target for those same voiceless people, who see him as part of their problem rather than as part of the solution.
“To weep and to pray for the poor miserable murderers of Deborah, who have been left uneducated and unemployed deliberately so that they can be manipulated, brain washed and instrumentalized for political ends by religious bigots and political egoists,” he lamented.
Bishop Onah added that the Buhari-led administration has made it difficult to preach love in the country, while asserting that he (Buhari) has gradually and intentionally given some religions undue advantage over others.
“The liturgy of today instructs every Christian and every Christian preacher to reflect on the essence and the meaning of Christianity, the love we should have for one another, but how can you preach love in Nigeria, where hatred and intolerance have become norms rather than exceptions where corruption has become a culture and a tradition, where impunity has become law.
“How can you preach love in Nigeria, a country that claims not to have any state religion, but constantly places a religion in an unhealthy advantage over others,” he said.
KN
Tags: BISHOP Godfrey Igwebuike Onah Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah Deborah Samuel Kennedy Nnamani
