Bishop Matthew Kukah
By Akeem Atoyebi
The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, has described President Bola Tinubu and his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, as accidental leaders.
Kukah, who stated this at the commissioning of Start-Rite schools and the fourth Amaka Ndoma-Egba Memorial Lecture in Abuja on Sunday, noted that almost all Nigerian presidents, including Goodluck Jonathan, Umar Yar’adua and Olusegun Obasanjo, were unprepared to become leaders.
“If we are to start from the beginning, you will find that almost every leader who came to power in Nigeria did so as a result of one accident or another,” the outspoken cleric said.
“President Tinubu, who said he was prepared for the role, is struggling,” Kukah furtherstated. “We are still trying to get off the ground. He took over from Buhari, who had already given up.”
According to Kukah, the emergence of the past presidents was unexpected, stating that knowledge is one key quality missing in their leadership.
“Buhari succeeded Jonathan, who thought he would retire after being deputy governor, but circumstances thrust him into power. Jonathan succeeded Yar’adua, who had planned to return to teaching at Ahmadu Bello University after his governorship.
“Yar’adua, in turn, succeeded Obasanjo, who was unexpectedly released from prison to become president. Obasanjo took over after Abacha, who was being positioned by five political parties to rule indefinitely until nature intervened.
“Abacha succeeded Shonekan, who was a business executive at UAC before being called to serve as Head of State. We can go on and on, but the fundamental issue in governance is knowledge. Leaders need a deep understanding of their environment.
“We can go on and on, but the fundamental issue in governance is knowledge. Leaders need a deep understanding of their environment,” Kukah explained.
Bishop Kukah stressed that while the world has changed, leadership expectations have not.
