Matthew Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, has berated politicians who are using religion as a basis to heat up the polity. 

Mr Kukah said that the Nigerian political elites lacked the mental capacity to understand the consequences of backing religion to manipulate the people for political gains. 

“If you look at history, there is a consequence for using religion to manipulate politics,” he said on Tuesday. 

Speaking in Abuja during the presentation of his new book titled “Broken Truth”, Mr Kukah referenced his point with the reign of Germany’s Adolf Hilter, noting that the consequences of mixing religion with politics are grave. 

“We just need to look at Germany, the consequences are there to see in Hitler (Adolf).

“So, if you decide that you want to give privilege to a religion or an ethnic group, what will happen is that others automatically become outsiders,” the clergyman said.

According to him, the various agitations going on in Nigeria were because the citizens were more intelligent than those in power.

He added that the agitations were borne out of the fact that those who govern the country were unaware of how much mental progress the ordinary people have made.

“Those who are being governed are more intelligent and endowed and it will not have been a bad thing if people who don’t know seek knowledge.” Mr Kukah said. 

He, however, pleaded with the youths to join politics for the growth of the country, especially on how to change the narratives and not mainly for voting during elections. 

“It is a terrible mistake for young people to believe that participating in politics necessarily means contesting elections and winning,” Mr Kukah added.