Posted by Matthew Hassan-Kukah, the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, stated that in Nigeria’s 62 years of democratic and military rule, no Nigerian president or head of state was adequately prepared to lead the country.
During a weekend interview on Channels Television’s Roadmap 2023, Kukah disclosed this information.
He stated, “You can go all the way down in Nigeria, you won’t find a single person who has been president or head of state in Nigeria who came prepared for the job.”
As per Kukah, since achieving autonomy on October 1, 1960, Nigeria has had 16 pioneers – eight regular citizen presidents/state leaders and eight military heads of state.
Kukah compared Nigeria’s political leaders’ relationship to a bad marriage.
He stated, “I always say to people as a priest that a new marriage is not the solution to a bad marriage.” It often tries to figure out what went wrong. In addition, if you enter a new marriage quickly, you will eventually feel nostalgic for the first one.
The same can be said metaphorically about Nigeria. The majority of these alterations that we have observed in Nigeria are unprogrammed.”
According to Kukah, there has been no “linearity” in leadership history from the 1960s all the way through the beneficiaries of military coups, whether they were prime ministers or presidents.
He stated, “There has been nothing linear.” In the sense that military coups on their own, which lasted for 20 years, were merely glorified banditry and armed robbery because you pulled the trigger and became the head of state,” he stated.
Kukah expressed concern when he talked about Nigeria’s recent political history and said that the country hasn’t yet produced an executive head who is ready for office.
He said,
“In the event that I take you back, we have President Buhari now. Already in 2011, President Buhari stated, “I don’t want to be president again, I’m tired.” In 2015, he was literally pulled out yelling to be president.
“He succeeded Jonathan. You are aware of the circumstances surrounding Jonathan’s rise to power. Yar’Adua preceding him; Yar’Adua had already stated, “I’m done; I want to return to the university to teach.”
The cleric claimed that Yar’Adua’s predecessor, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, shared a similar lack of preparedness.
“Obasanjo was in prison in the hope that one day he would walk out of prison and return to his farm if he was strong enough. You could go on forever.
When Abacha died and became president, Abdulsalami was about to retire from the military. You must return to that location if we are to return to the crime scene.
According to Kukah, lack of ability of Nigeria to meet its basic needs necessitates leadership from individuals who take the time to comprehend the country’s issues and plan accordingly.
“Away from the shadows of governance and politics, Nigeria’s future depends on its leaders figuring out why we don’t have electricity, roads, or order, and why we’re so chaotic. Just contemplating the possibility of a retreat.
According to Kukah, a government will be successful if it holds seminars and conferences that result in a database of potential appointees with the necessary capacity and a collection of responses and possible suggestions.
Keep in mind that the late Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, who served from 1960 to 1966, as well as Presidents Nnamdi Azikiwe, Shehu Shagari, who served from 1979 to 1983, and Ernest Shonekan, who served from August to November, are civilian leaders. 1993), Olusegun Obasanjo (from 1999 to 2007), Umaru Yar’Adua (from 2007 to 2010), Goodluck Jonathan (from 2010 to 2015), and Muhammadu Buhari (from 2015 to the present).