In the e
yes of public opinion and in the judgment of history, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, is not an ordinary priest who is a defender of the Catholic faith and cares about the concerns of his congregation. As many will attest, both in Nigeria and beyond, Bishop Kukah represents the conscience of the people. He’s not afraid to speak up in any national issue, no matter how controversial the matter is. If need be, he is not afraid to walk alone. On issues where many politicians are afraid to speak up, Kukah often takes the gauntlet.
In that case, many people have queried his non-partisanship. Some people have even questioned that he should have been a better politician than a priest. Last week, he ruffled the presidency. It was a verbal swipe at President Muhammadu Buhari. Bishop Kukah is not happy the way the President has been running affair of state, in particular, the war against corruption. Kukah who is also the spokesman of the National Peace Council is sad that the President is focusing too much attention on probing the administration of Goodluck Jonathan at the detriment of other pressing national issues. He minced no words in telling President Buhari, ‘face your work’ and stop investigating alleged corruption of the past government. This, Kukah insists, is a “distraction” from the real problems facing the country. As far as Kukah is concerned, Buhari should stick to the high road of good governance and hope for the best.
Here are some Bishop Kukah’s strong arguments: “There is no such thing as probe in a democratic setting like ours. What obtains is investigation, and once people lead and things are right, investigation becomes necessary.” He adds, “however, in doing that, we must never be distracted from spectacular actions undertaken by former President Jonathan. He (Jonathan) is an individual. I think this whole thing about probe can be ascertained once investigations are concluded. But we are saying that a lot of talk and speculation about this probe are distractions nobody needs.”
According to Kukah, what is of great importance is a stable country rather than chasing the ‘thieves’. In other words, the Catholic Bishop is advising the President that the success of his presidency lies primarily in his ability to define his goals, his vision and the purposes of his presidency in a way that gives coherence to his administration.
Weighing carefully Kukah’s arguments, he made some salient points, but he couldn’t sustain them by unassailable strong reasons. First, many believe that Buhari is determined to humiliate and disgrace the former President and some of his key ministers. The entire exercise of the current probes, Kukah believes, could be a near-fatal mistake by Buhari administration, indeed, a distraction as it could crowd out other pressing issues from the national picture. To some extent, the Bishop is right, even though sometimes, he defends the former President as if he (Kukah) was Jonathan’s spokesman or as some critics have alleged, that Jonathan had solicited his help to avoid probe.
Advertisement
Nonetheless, it must be underscored that the presidency is not a prize to be won. It is a duty to be done. Buhari made no mistake in his campaign that he would do everything to tame corruption. He also listed insecurity and the economy as two other areas he will focus his attention. That, exactly, is what he has been doing these 81 days in the saddle. I may not agree with Buhari’s style of tackling these problems, but every president has his own style. It is a record that every president is proud to run on.
President Buhari told Nigerians and, indeed the world that even though he commended Jonathan on the actions he took that led to successful transition, he (Buhari) on assumption of office was confronted with challenges of a more immediate sort. Corruption was perhaps the most immediate threat to our democracy. Let’s see how Buhari tackles this monster of corruption without any witch-hunt or targeting perceived enemies. This is where this administration needs our cooperation. But the president should be ready to accept constructive criticisms that can help him succeed.
While I share in some of Kukah’s thoughts, to the effect that the President may risk being hemmed in if he focuses all his energies on corruption, the truth is that the President should not play fast and loose with the facts on corruption as if the target was Jonathan or that the ex-president did what nobody in the world had done by conceding defeat. Nigeria has gone pass that ugly past now.
What Nigerians are demanding from the Buhari presidency is performance, not promises, specifics, not smiles. Change can only mean better government if Buhari can find solutions to the problems that confront us. These include corruption, electricity, insecurity, unemployment, among others. These problems have become endemic that they need urgent solution.
To do that successfully,leadership is key. It is the character of the leader that drives the vision of the future. We need many Bishop Kukahs to keep President Buhari on his toes. But the president must keep his eyes on the ball, focus on his goals. He should not lose his cool. He must stay presidential. Probes are necessary as in the case of Nigerian National Petroleum (NNPC), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Customs, and other treasury looters. But a thorough probe is what we expect. Anything less than that, the president will have proved the likes of Kukah right.
In all, Buhari must prove that he has learned from his own shortcomings and is now genuinely committed to restoring Nigeria’s belief in its own future in these uncertain times.
Written by 
.
