The Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah has clarified the letter currently circulating online as an old one. The letter which has been going viral on social media and other Nigerian media organisation was described as not a new letter but one he wrote about six years ago.
He disclosed that the letter was written precisely in January 2016 to commemorate 50 years of first Nigeria’s coup which led to the death of both Sir Ahmadu Bello and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. According to the Director Social Communications, Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Rev Fr Christopher A. Omotosho, some people just brought out the letter based on what is currently trending.
“That letter they are talking about is about six years now and has nothing to do with what is currently trending.
“Bishop actually wrote the letter in commemoration of the 50 years anniversary of the death of the two leaders, Sir Ahmadu Bello and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.
“You will recall that the two of them were killed in the first-ever coup plot in the country in January 1956,” he said.
It will be recalled that a letter is currently trending in the media saying Bishop Kukah wrote a letter to the two late leaders.
Kukah in the letter highlighted the current state of the Northern region saying the late Northern leader will be shocked to see the North he left behind.
Kukah wrote, “I am not sure I know how to address you, especially now that the formal Ranka ya dade is of no use to you since you are now in eternity. However, because this is a very special year, I had decided to write two letters, one to you and the other to Sir Tafawa Balewa. I thought I should start with you for obvious reasons.
“These letters are my formal way of having an imaginary conversation with both of you. In a way, I want to give you a report of what you left behind, what your immediate successors have done with your investment and how they shared our inheritance to the descendants.
“In a way, I feel like a grandchild reporting his uncle to his grandfather, so please be patient with me. I think this is necessary because if we continue this way, I am sure your memories will be a distant whisper in the ears of your great-grandchildren.
“Today, however, many of your children have become orphans because the region has become a huge orphanage”.