Just National Interest, No Personal Grudges Against Buhari – Kukah

• Teases ex-presidential Spokesman, Adesina on relocating to Daura

BY EDMOND ODOK – The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Rev. Father Mathew Kukah, has described his sustained criticism of the immediate past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari as nothing personal but only in Nigeria’s overall interest.

According to him, the only problem with the former President was his inability to manage the country’s diversity, adding; “There was nothing I said about President Buhari that was personal, that was disrespectful. I just felt he was not doing things right, especially in the area of managing our diversity.”

The Catholic Priest, however, waved off the attacks he received from Buhari’s former aides, especially the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, who never spared a moment firing back with even an allegation that he was angry with Buhari for not patronising him.

Bishop Kukah made the comments in an interview on Arise TV programme, “The Morning Show” saying; “I had no personal grudge against the former President”, adding that Adesina who was always defending him was merely doing his job as the presidential spokesperson.

Teasing the former Media aide to probably relocate to Daura where there is a branch of Foursquare Church where he is a Pastor so that he can be closer to his “Godfather”, the respected Clergyman said; “Buhari has served his term. He also knew and I respect him for that, that there was nothing I was saying that was personal.

“I imagined poor Adesina and his team had a job to do and they needed to do that job even though there was nothing to say. I will respect that and I hope that Pastor Adesina knows that there is a Foursquare Gospel Church in Daura, I believe that the President of Foursquare Gospel Church should send him there as a Pastor so that he is quite close to his Godfather.

“But having said that, I mean President Buhari had finished his term and he is gone and there is very little else to be said for and against. But everybody knew we had a job to do”.

Further justifying his being critical of the Buhari-led government, Bishop Kukah said comments by some political aides who actively participated in that administration have vindicated him, adding; “Look, I’m talking about Ministers now who served in that government, I cannot call names. I am shocked to hear the kind of things people are saying, those who served in that government, that is for another day.”

On President Bola Tinubu’s six months in office, Bishop Kukah noted that the period is too short to rate a sitting President, but added that many people expected him to hit the ground running having prepared for the presidential race in over two decades.

The Catholic Priest also berated the leadership selection structure in the country, which he described as “so self-constraining”, saying; “I am not making excuse for anybody. I am just saying the very fact that you had to rely on governors to give you names of Ministers and you rely on external agencies to be able to do things that ordinarily you who is composing the team should be able to do is not good enough.

“I mean a court decides who is going to come in at what time depending on the excuse that the person has. So, I totally agree with you that by now, you would have thought, ‘Okay, this is what we want to do, this is who can do it and this is how it needs to be done.”

Maintaining that the best solution is to continue holding those in government responsible and they have no excuse not to perform, Bishop Kukah said; “If you stand up to be elected and you are elected, you must be prepared to face the consequences of that election, that means we must constantly hold your feet to the fire.

“So that’s why I am saying institutions and instruments of engagement must be in full glass. But also we must help to clarify public policies by articulating the things that need to be done and where the country needs to be heading.”

As one of the fiercest critics of the Buhari administration, Kukah, in his December 2022 Christmas Message, declared that the former President had made Nigeria more vulnerable and succeeded in splitting the country.

In that message, he wrote thus; “Clearly, in almost every department and with all indicators, our nation has become a tale of two cities. We have wars between the rich and the poor, men and women, across generations, along party lines, social classes, religion, ethnicity, and so on. The centre has given up in almost every department”.