The Kukah Centre, founded by Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, has decried widespread poverty in Nigeria, saying it is a threat to peaceful coexistence.
The Executive Director of the Centre, Rev. Fr. Attah Barkindo, stated this in Yola during the presentation of empowerment kits to 100 beneficiaries trained in various skills.
Barkindo said, the prevalent and widespread endemic poverty in the country is a threat to peaceful co-existence, religious tolerance and social cohesion.
He said Wuro-jabbe community was selected by the centre to render assistance and promote peaceful co-existence and religious tolerance, “because government alone cannot just do everything.”
“If you go across this country, from Enugu, Bayelsa, Kano, Jigawa, Kebbi, Borno and Yobe states, literally, every part of this country, people have issues of poverty and neglect, dispossession, and complete lack”, he said.
According to him, there is very high level of unemployment, particularly among young people; stressing that emerging global trend has shown that no community can sit and wait for the government to do everything.
“Through this project, we want to achieve two things: that in Wuro-Jabbe, there’s peaceful coexistence; there’s religious tolerance.
“For a community like Wuro-Jabbe, you don’t come and teach and just go away and leave people in the same endemic poverty. It is always important to tackle the issues of poverty”, he said.
Hajara Waziri, Project manager, of the Kukah Centre, said it got funding support from Caritas Germany for the project, adding that beneficiaries would be expected to also contribute from proceeds of their trade towards the construction of a hospital facility by the centre.
