The Catholic Bishop of the Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah, has revealed that many elderly Northerners still harbor deep resentment over the assassinations of Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, and former Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa.
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time on Thursday evening, Kukah stated that many Northerners in their 70s and 80s have not yet come to terms with the killings of these key figures in Nigeria’s history.
He said:“Most Northerners in their 70s and 80s still struggle to accept the brutal deaths of the Sardauna and Tafawa Balewa.”
Kukah criticized the nation’s tendency to avoid difficult truths, saying that while people often preach forgiveness, genuine reconciliation is lacking.“We say we bury the hatchet, but the handle remains visible,” he noted.
He added that Nigeria has yet to honestly confront what went wrong during that period, which has hindered national healing. According to him, the failure to address these historical wounds has turned the vision of the country’s founding fathers into present-day struggles.
Kukah further pointed out that the collapse of merit-based recruitment and public service structures is part of the fallout, contributing to the nation’s current state.
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