Matthew Kukah, the Catholic bishop of the Sokoto Diocese, claims that the recent stampedes in Oyo, Anambra, and Abuja were caused by government inefficiencies.
In his Christmas speech on Wednesday, the Bishop made this statement, emphasizing that the stampedes served as a metaphor for the state of despair into which the populace had been thrust.
“The tragedies that occurred in Okija, Ibadan, and Abuja where innocent people lost their lives in stampedes at food distribution points are a metaphor for the situation of desperation that citizens have been thrown into.
“The failures of government to respond concretely toward ending the horrible crisis of hunger and desperation has created the conditions for these avoidable tragedies.
“Citizens are lapsing into despair,” he said.
Although the cleric acknowledged that the tragedies may have been prevented, he stated that the government must cooperate more with organizations that support the common good and that it is its responsibility to provide the bare minimum of human dignity.
The cleric prayed for God to comfort the deceased’s families and grant them eternal rest.
According to reports, many stampedes during Saturday’s food distribution in Anambra and the FCT claimed many lives and injured a number of others.
The Inspector General of Police was motivated by the development to request that organizers of similar charitable events bring security agencies along and make sure that crowd and safety management procedures are strictly followed.
