Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah has stated that Nigeria must must reposition itself to do great things.
“Nigeria isn’t where it should be. What we have seen in the last two years, what we are seeing now, is not where we ought to be.
“As tired old men and women, as it stands, we’ll either get out of the way or be cleared out of the way, which may not necessarily be physical.”
Speaking on TVC Breakfast on Monday with Sam Omatseye, Veronica Dan-0Ikpoyi and Mike Okwoche, the Sokoto Catholic Bishop noted we are witnessing the energy of young people who want to reclaim their country; ‘they are angry, frustrated, and aware of what young people around the world are doing’.
He stated further that the notion that we are not taking things seriously and that we need to accelerate our development is unacceptable because it is the source of our stagnation.
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Power according to Kukah is the ability to bring together people who have fantastic ideas.
“The more illiterate and incompetent a leader is, the more insecure he feels, so he surrounds himself with people who look, talk, and act like him. This is Nigeria’s tragedy, because every country’s greatness is measured by its ability, capacity to identify talents”.
Kukah further said youths with talents need to be incorporated into governance.
“We need think thanks in our fold, because it is not political parties that run government”.
The Catholic Bishop went on to say that political parties have been reduced to a small tribe where party leaders preside like traditional rulers of the community and party members say that “if our party wins this election, they will become the tribe of privilege regardless of what happens to the rest of the country”.
“Power is the ability to bring together people who have fantastic ideas. The more illiterate and incompetent a leader is, the more insecure he feels, so he surrounds himself with people who look, talk, and act like him. This is Nigeria’s tragedy, because every country’s greatness is measured by its ability, capacity to identify talents.
“When we confront the nature of the decisions we make, as well as our willingness and ability to diversify and function primarily on brain power, our daily thinking changes.”
Kukah noted that Nigeria needs a platform where peoples knowledge can be aggregated so that those who come after can learn.
” There is no substitute for running a political party in a country like Nigeria where there are no ideologies; think tanks can be ideological” he said.
The fact that you hold office does not imply that you are the most knowledgeable; if you hold this position, seek out those who can assist you in locating the answers.
“As a country, can create a space where legislators understand what legislation is all about. There are people in the national assembly who cannot read or write, and we all know that one of the most serious problems in the nass is the lack of certificates”.
“If we can have free, fair, and credible elections, whoever is elected president, I believe people will start thinking about education, knowledge, and how to manage diversity.” Kukah noted.