Nigeria @60: There’s storm coming, we must prepare – Bishop Kukah

By SUNDAY ODIBASHI

A renowned cleric, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Rt Reverend Matthew Hassan Kukah, had in a public lecture pointed out the failure of nation building in Nigeria, 60 years after independence. He cautioned that as the country celebrates 60^th Independence anniversary on Thursday, Nigerian leaders, including President Muhammadu Buhari, must appreciate that what was expected at independence is not what prevails in the country today. He lamented that there is so much bitterness and aggression in Nigeria due to perennial injustice and inequity. Rev. Kukah, therefore admonished: “the storm is coming, we must be prepared.”

Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah at the Association of Retired Ambassadors of Nigeria public lecture series on – Nationhood, Development and Democracy in Nigeria – in commemoration of the 2020 independence anniversary noted the Nigerians were of different ethnic leanings before the coercive amalgamation of 1914.
Rev. Kukah, delivering paper on – 60 years of Nigeria’s Journey to Democracy: Hopes and Impediments – said he believes in hope in spite of the turbulent times. According to Rev. Kukah: “We are children of different parents coming together. We were brought together under the gun and given a constitution.” He, however, decried that the consciousness that trailed the nationalism movement and demand for independence was betrayed by the elite afterwards.

“After independence, the elite took over the exploitation culture, creating G.R.As. Nothing has changed,” Rev. Kukah stated.

The Bishop of Sokoto spotted the inherent controversies in the aggregation and articulation of Nigeria’s national interest in the task of the country’s nation building. He bemoaned the system’s failure in the promotion of justice, equity and liberty of citizens, lamenting chains of constraints in governance and development of democracy.

“Our constitution is controversial. “There are crises of justice and democracy. People must have a say in the governance and democratic processes. Can a set of people get quality education, or a set of people get a quality of healthcare and others cannot,” Dr. Kukah said.

He advocated popular participation in the democratic process, including governance, noting that there should be no constraints. He maintained that people have freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of association, as well as freedom to protest injustice.

Rev. Kukah lamented that constraints the elite impose on majority Nigerians, restraining them access to leadership or government across the country by enforcing compulsory outrageous fees for the collection of forms for elections.  According to him, “They are imposing fees for elections, only the rich contest elections.”

Rev. Kukah emphasized that human rights protection and freedom are basic substances of democracy, adding that democracy thrives on mass participation. He chided governors who say they are building bridges, contracting roads, so they are achieving, and democracy is working in Nigeria. He argued that “you don’t need democracy to build bridges;” noting: “dictatorships gave us the best roads in this country.” He was of the view that democracy goes beyond governance to reflect the freedom of the people to participate in the processes.

Rev. Kukah lamented that the military came in and destroyed democracy. He argued: “had the military not interrupted democracy, we will not be where we are today. People think that when you criticize military government, you hate the Army, no.”

The renowned Reverend observed that the military came into government unprepared, and their tenures, there was civil war. “It took us 20 years of psychological torture for the military to give us another democracy,” he declared.

He further observed that the military used the opportunity to reward those who were cooperating with them during their tenures and went ahead to entrust the leadership of the country in their hands. According to Rev. Kukah, “the military decided we must bring our partners who were collaborating with us and make them president.”

Rev. Kukah expressed concerns over the level of democracy decay and its multiplier effects in the governance of Nigeria. He warned of the potential dangers over national integration in the country and the emerging world order in the post-COVID-19 era.  He warned that small countries are already ahead of Nigerian preparing for the emerging world order and the consequences on national economies and governments.

“There is a storm that is coming, we must prepare. Small countries around the world have made progress; Ghana, South Africa, are prepared ahead of Nigeria, making necessary adjustments,” Rev. Kukah declared.

The renowned Archbishop lamented: “when we waved the flag of independence, we expected a better life. Today, we have bloodbath and bitterness; 20 years after, we didn’t expect these things, we didn’t prepare for them. We seek to be a better nation.

“Just a few years ago, we wanted somebody like Jimmy Carter to come and help us end hookworms in Nigeria. We have relied on donors in Europe, they have driven us from Europe, we are now running to Dubai, shamelessly,” Rev. Kukah declared.

The guest lecturer pointed out that the issues around democracy in a country like Nigeria may be increasing, adding that “people are becoming more educated, so, we must prepare.”

Rev. Kukah further expressed perturbation about Nigeria: “Does this country have a geopolitical map, where do we want to go, what are we doing. Things were never always like this. “Tafawa Belewa at the United Nations, Africans golden voice.

“Were our foreign policy reflection of every department of our national life. Where did we go wrong?

“Nigeria has come to a time that it has lost international respect. We may be big, but when we contest for positions, we are not sure we will get the support of those we are funding, like Ghana, South Africa.

“We caused all these things for ourselves; a country that allowed itself to be ostracized for a period, a period that is celebrating the spilling of blood. Sane countries cannot take us seriously.

“When we waved the flag of independence, we did not expect these, we expected a better life. Our country is embedded in bloodshed and bitterness.

“That is what Tafawa Balewa said at independence in 1960; blood is now flowing freely in our country, 60 years later. We didn’t prepare for this. This is not where we want to be, this is not where we should be.”

Rev. Kukah also noted that the late Prime Minister of Nigeria, Sir Tafawa Abubakar Balewa, acknowledged the collaboration with the Missionaries in education, adding that the missionaries were encouraged to intervene and help provide quality education to Nigerian citizens.  “Now, how does the present government see the issue of collaboration,” he asked.

Rev. Kukah, however maintained: “Going forward, we are a nation of hope. We are in a digital knowledge economy; we are in a world now that is changed so dramatically.

“As at December last year, none of us anticipated that there will be a technology of this nature, that we will be sitting down and talking to ourselves from a distance.”

He declared: “Where the world is going now has no place for arrogance, it has no role for cultural arrogance, it has no role for nepotism. It has only a role for a world where knowledge defines everything.”

The Reverend advocated: “Going forward, Nigeria must begin to prepare for a system that can accommodate a massive intellectual and mental capacity and energy by young people.

“We must begin to insist that everybody or anybody seeking appointment in governments in Nigeria has the requisite qualification.”

He noted that elsewhere in South Africa, there are positions that people just don’t get like that. He added that in some places, a lot of things have been democratized.

“So, you just don’t wake up and occupy a position based on ethnicity or religion. If you are going to be chairman of EFCC, for example, if you are going to be Inspector General of Police, people should be able to have a say.

“But our method of recruitment to secretly reward people under the table on the basis of clannishness or nepotism, basis of other influences will lead us nowhere.

“Economies that reward people in this manner cannot have a place in the new world order,” Rev. Kukah declared.

The Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, thereafter, called on President Muhammadu Buhari that, “as we celebrate 60 years of independence, to appreciate the fact that Nigerians expect more than what we have now.” Rev. Kukah maintained: “to help him to understand that we need to build on the opportunities that are available now; anybody that wants to rule must have requisite qualification for the office aspired or for appointment. “Appointments should not be on cultural, religion or ethnicity considerations.”

He maintained that President Buhari must appreciate that Nigerians expect more than we have now, adding: “we need to build the nation.”

Rev. Kukah regretted that “never have we been cynical, divided as we are today;” insisting: “We need to build a system.”