The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah on Tuesday advised Nigerians to desist from putting all of their hopes on President Muhammadu Buhari to solve all the problems of the country.
Kukah spoke at the 3rd Convocation Ceremony of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti where he delivered a lecture titled “Education and Leadership Recruitment for a Plural Society: A case for Nigeria” on Tuesday.
The Catholic Bishop stated that the desired change would not be achieved till Buhari extends his anti-corruption war to cover other acts of indiscipline affecting all facets of national life instead of focusing on financial corruption alone.
Kukah lauded the anti-corruption fight initiated by Buhari as noble and urged Nigerians to support him. He also urged Nigerians to raise the bar of leadership by setting high standards for those that would rise up to leadership positions as a weapon to effect a change in the country’s political and educational systems.
He added that “fighting corruption alone may not guarantee the stability of the country”, adding that the “culture of entrenchment and protection and protection of social justice and the rule of law must become a part of our national live.”
He therefore urged Nigerians not to put their hope for a change in Buhari and his anti-corruption fight.
On the educational sector, Mr. Kukah stated that the the distortion of the country’s nationhood partly resulted from people circumventing the process through “connections to high places, adding that the distortions and damage of Nigeria’s national identity are in many ways linked with long years of colonialism and military rule.
Kukah argued that the educational sector must serve as a basis for transformation of values and a positive generational change capable of launching Nigeria into the league of the most developed nations of the world.
His words, “A distorted society cannot expect the reward of a decent society. Happily for us in Nigeria, we are turning a new page.
“We must therefore not be seduced into thinking that we should hand over our hope, our dream and our aspiration to President Buhari and go to sleep”
“Corruption is a symptom of the disease of the distortion of our nationhood. We may have a transparent election but the most perfect electoral outcome does not translate to the right result.
“When people receive the licence to govern, what does it mean to them and what do they do with it? We must acknowledge the opportunity of the concession of defeat by (former) President Jonathan , we need institutions that can save voters from the excesses of the Nigerian politicians”
“As a country, we must have succession plan, we must have capacity for succession and the institutional capacity to recruit the future leaders and we must create opportunities for young Nigerians to rise to the highest office in the land.
Present at the lecture was the former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega who was the chairman, the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Ado Ibrahim, the founder and Chancellor of the University, Afe Babalola, and other dignitaries.
