• Says current state of democracy not working
From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, has identified nepotism as part of Nigeria’s problem, saying that ministerial appointments among others were often based on personal relationships rather than merit.
He also attributed the country’s problem to lack of knowledge, capacity and preparedness of its leaders.
The fiery cleric specifically reiterated that the likes of former presidents, Olusegun Obasanjo, Umar Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan, Muhammadu Buhari came to power unprepared.
He, however, said it was unfortunate that millions of Nigerians still battle poverty despite President Bola Tinubu’s “preparedness” to govern the country.
Kukah stated this at the fourth Amaka Ndoma-Egba Memorial Lecture, with the theme, “Leaders of tomorrow: Creating lasting change in a complex world,” in Abuja. The wife of former Senate leader, Ndoma Egba, died in an autocrash in Ondo State in 2020.
He said: “I do not want to bore you, but run through, from the beginning, you will find out that almost everybody who came to power in Nigeria was as the result of one accident or the other.
“President Tinubu, well, he prepared for it. However, we are still trying to get off the ground. But he took over from Buhari, who had already given up.
“Buhari took over from Jonathan, who was thinking that after being deputy governor, he would go somewhere else and then something happened.
“Jonathan took over from Yar’Adua, who had actually said he was going to teach at Ahmadu Bello University as he was finishing his term as governor.
“Yar’Adua took over from Obasanjo, who was in prison, and was not expecting to come out but he somehow found himself out of prison.
“Obasanjo took over from Abacha, who, sadly, even though the five political parties had said he would rule forever, was taken by nature.
“Abacha took over from Ernest Shonekan, who was busy at the United African Company of Nigeria, and then they told him to come and be head of state. We can go all the way down but fundamental to governance is knowledge.”
He reminded political office holders that the benefit of democracy is beyond physical infrastructure like roads, railways, and other projects, but the wellbeing of citizens.
According to him, if democracy is solely about infrastructure, people would still be praising authoritarian regimes like Adolf Hitler and apartheid South Africa, which he said built impressive infrastructure during their reigns.
“Democracy’s benefits are often not necessarily measurable. They are largely intangible. It is understanding how to expand the frontiers of human imagination,” he stated.
He observed that Nigerians are impatient with the current state of democracy in the country, which he noted is hardly working.
Kukah stated that despite the country’s little progress, Nigerians are never satisfied. He added that the nation would never be in a perfect place because such places do not exist.
He said: “We have made a choice to live with democracy as it is. We know that our democracy is hardly working, although I would make quick to say that we are very impatient with ourselves; very, very impatient.
“Nigerians are surprised when I say we have done pretty well. We are absolutely not happy and we will probably never be happy, because that’s not how the world is. You’ve got this, you want this, you want that. We are insatiable.
“Now, we are not in a perfect place, because perfect places don’t exist, and we shouldn’t be looking for leaders who will take us to a place of perfection, because nobody has found that kind of place. However, there are minimum conditions that we require in a leader, and I think we need to use them to measure the whole concept of leadership.
The bishop stressed the need for leaders to have set goals, boldness, courage, and patriotism, adding that true leadership was about influencing citizens, not just holding office.
Meanwhile, Cross River State Governor, Bassey Otu, commissioned a legacy building in honour of the deceased.
NDLEA Chairman, Marwa, who was chairman of the occasion, used the opportunity to expose the students, teachers and even parents to dangers of drug and substance abuse to their lives.
He asked the students to eschew actions that could lead them to drug and substance abuse, so they can fully actualise their potential in life.