I have hardly felt as much sadness as I did observing the savage media attack on the person of Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah over his recent comments on the state of the nation. Bishop Kukah has a consistent history of not aligning with any political party or personality. He stands for truth, which can be bitter.
Unfortunately, whether as a result of mass Attention Deficit Disorder or some other factor (perhaps propaganda or deliberate disinformation) many people read sensational headlines and jump to conclusions without bothering to verify that the actual comments made support the screaming headlines.
I have been a victim of these misleading headlines and I know that they can completely throw you off if you do not read the story. Forming an opinion based on a headline is tantamount to being brainwashed by someone else's opinion which is dicey, especially if the someone else has an agenda. Bishop Kukah's comments (if you cared to read them and did not rely on embellished headlines) were altruistic and worthy of his bishopric. I will not even deign to try to explain them.
His comments speak for themselves and his command of the English language is better than mine. He does not need a spokesman. He needs his countrymen to reason and not to emote. May it never be said of us that if you want to hide anything from a Nigerian, you do it by hiding it in a story with a misleading headline. People like Bishop Kukah are a bridge between Christians and Muslims, between North and South. What will we cross if we burn our few bridges? The mistake his traducers are making is in thinking that a time may not come when they will need a voice like Bishop Kukah to speak unpleasant truths or to calm frayed nerves in times of crisis. We will do well to remember this man's services to God and humanity and tread carefully lest we estop the mouths of the few who speak because they have something to say and not because they want to say something. - Reno
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