The Catholic Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, has said that President Bola Tinubu, his predecessor Muhammadu Buhari, and other previous heads of state were not fully prepared before taking over power.
He insisted that Tinubu and
other past leaders found themselves in power by accident.
Kukah stated this on Sunday
while delivering a keynote address at the official commissioning of Start-Rite
School’s new building and the 4th Amaka Ndoma-Egba Memorial Lecture in Abuja.
He lamented that the
fundamental element missing in Nigerian leadership is knowledge.
The clergyman expressed concern
that democracy appears to be malfunctioning under successive administrations.
He stated, “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. President Tinubu, who
said he was prepared for the role, is struggling. We are still trying to get
off the ground. He took over from Buhari, who had already given up.
“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.”
Kukah stressed that while the
world has changed, the expectations of leadership have not.
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