Source: http://punchng.com/why-the-north-will-still-vote-for-buhari-in-2019-matthew-kukah/
The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto
Diocese, Bishop Matthew
Kukah, speaks to TOBI
AWORINDE on the socio-
economic situation in the
North, President Muhammadu
Buhari’s performance and the
forthcoming 2019 elections
You were one of those who
vehemently opposed
Muhammadu Buhari’s
presidency from the outset.
How would you describe the
quality of leadership in Nigeria
in the immediate past era?
Vehemently opposed to
Buhari? Where did you get this
from? I think you were sold
this dummy in the heydays of
ecstasy, frenzy and euphoria
of the Buhariphilia, who
jumped out of every corner of
Nigeria believing that their
redemption was at hand.
Sadly, today, a good chunk has
since apostacised. I never
doubted the sincerity of the
President’s intention to fight
corruption. However, no
matter how much you hate
leprosy, you cannot cure
leprosy by just giving Panadol
to the victim.
My fears were threefold and
based on experience. First, no
matter the goodness, holiness
or devotion of any human
being, wait until he or she has
power entrusted to them and
see what they become. So,
even in the most optimistic of
situations, set goals and
expectations and let the
person prove himself or
herself. Secondly, what Buhari
kept saying about corruption
did not seem to be the result
of some deep reflections. His
claims and strategies had
never been interrogated. And
finally, I insisted that national
cohesion was far more urgent
a task than just saying ‘we are
here to fight corruption’. That
informed what you may have
referred to as vehement
opposition. I was simply
warning against too much
blind trust and now we are
where we are today.
What worries you most about
this administration?
I am worried over the lack of
fresh ideas, focus, vision and a
seeming insensitivity to public
feelings; a kind of contempt
for how people feel and the
impact of policy choices, on
the part of this government.
This is a season of anomie and
alienation. The (Buhari)
government seems closed to
ideas that challenge their
assumptions and apparently
does not care what Nigerians
think and what they feel. Else,
there is no way that you can
have a government make the
mistakes that this government
has made; refuse to engage
citizens and simply refuse to
give a damn. It is disturbing
and, clearly, the government is
listening to other drummers.
Technically, no one suggests
that their views should be
taken, but this government
has given Nigerians a feeling
that they were sold a dummy.
This is sad; very sad indeed.
Buhari and the military under
his government have
continuously claimed that
Boko Haram has been
defeated. Do you believe
them?
Well, this is part of the
problem and I think we should
let the evidence — not the
sloganeering and propaganda
— do the talking. The
government has refused to
listen to the views of Nigerians
about the rather incestuous
and non-plural ways it has
dealt with security and the
appointments of their heads.
Perhaps the government has a
reason for allowing members
of only one faith to
monopolise the security
apparatus, perhaps because it
thinks Boko Haram is a
problem within Islam and only
Muslims can address the
issues. Either way, our country
is haemorrhaging in a way
that ending the Boko Haram
conflict will only open a new
chapter in a country of people
suffering the collective trauma,
fear, self-doubt and a feeling
of being totally disconnected
from the state that has no
empathy. With the government
seeing this purely as a military
operation, we can spend all
the money in the world, but
we will be nowhere near
having a united nation or
people. This battle has become
a military operation with all its
consequences on the
economy and the dynamics of
the engagement.
What was your reaction upon
hearing the news of the
Dapchi girls’ abduction?
My reaction was that of shock,
sorrow; a tragic sense of déjà
vu, and some level of near
despair.
Do you agree with Buhari that
his response time to the
Dapchi girls’ abduction was
better than that of the
previous administration to the
abduction of Chibok girls?
This comparison does not
arise. One tragedy is bad
enough; a repeat is a disaster.
It is like asking whether dying
by injection is better than
drowning.
Do you think Buhari owes
Nigerians an apology,
considering his commitment
to rescuing the Chibok girls
and defeating Boko Haram
within the first few months of
his presidency?
Why should he apologise? I
believe this government has
done its best and this is about
all it can offer. So, they should
be judged not on speculation
but on the reality. The issue of
an apology does not arise
because what we are seeing is
the best that is on the table
and this is the best team for
the job in their view.
Buhari’s health was a major
talking point last year with the
President spending several
weeks on two medical trips.
Do you think Buhari owes
Nigeria an explanation about
what he was treated for?
You mean he should apologise
that he was sick? I think we
should respect everyone’s
privacy. You don’t lose that by
being a public servant. I was
not happy the way we
handled the issue of the
President’s health. Others
behave differently and I think
we should learn not to play
politics with everything in
Nigeria.
Does his physical fitness worry
you, given the possibility of his
running for a second term?
There is a Hausa proverb
which says, ‘You cannot
borrow someone else’s mouth
to eat onions’. No one has the
right to decide on anyone’s
health and as to whether they
are capable of a particular
function. It is left for the
insiders of a party to decide
whom they will field as a
candidate even if the person is
on a stretcher. Today’s
weightlifter could fall sick
tomorrow. Let the party
decide who their best
candidate is.
Three of the major promises
of this administration are to
fight corruption, boost the
economy and conquer Boko
Haram. Would you say the
government has made any
significant stride in these
areas?
I have said repeatedly that
personal opinion does not
matter in the long run. Look at
the reports from the Federal
Bureau of Statistics, the United
Nations Development
Programme, Amnesty
International or Transparency
International. What does the
evidence suggest? You cannot
pick and choose what you
want to believe. Or look at the
entire Nigerian landscape
littered with corpses,
destroyed businesses and
buildings, all the ravages of
war. This is very painful.
What achievements do you
think the Buhari government
has made?
There is a Minister for
Information; he has that duty,
not me. They said they have
technically defeated Boko
Haram, reflated the economy,
and brought back some
Chibok girls and the Dapchi
girls, bar Leah. We now have
7,000 megawatts of electricity
and so on. They are also telling
us about new multi-billion-
naira projects which they are
embarking on with no idea
when they will be completed.
The faces of Nigerians tell a
different story and, sadly, we
are not communicating with
one another.
How do you feel about the
recent revelation that senators
receive N13.5 million monthly
as running costs and that
House of Representatives
members receive N12m
monthly?
Senator (Shehu) Sani has done
his job. It is left for Nigerians
to decide what to make of it. It
is a pity that we are in such a
state of stupor that nothing
can rouse us from our apathy
and this country will continue
to sink. Will the President, Vice
President, governors and
ministers ever come clean or
does it require reverting to the
Freedom of Information Act?
In the mafia, they call this
destructive secrecy ‘omerta’,
an oath of silence under pain
of death. This is why Senator
Sani deserves our respect for
taking the decision he took.
We hear that the Revenue
Mobilisation Allocation and
Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) is
claiming ignorance as to these
sums. But, as I have always
said, governance in Nigeria is
a criminal enterprise which
functions above the law.
What are your thoughts on
governors’ transition to
senators when their eight-
year tenure is completed?
Well, what else is there for
some of these people to do?
Can they go anywhere to
deliver a lecture or write
books on their experiences?
This country stands or falls
depending on what the
governors do.
What is your grouse with
Governor Nasir el-Rufai?
What do you mean by grouse?
You recently criticised el-Rufai
on his handling of the
Southern Kaduna massacre. Do
you think there is room for
reparations?
Did you read my sermon in its
entirety and why do you single
out Governor el-Rufai? It was a
funeral and there was the
need to set the records
straight. I simply articulated an
evidence-based side of a story
that I had played a role in. If
that is what you mean by
criticism, then fine. We are all
entitled to our opinions but
we are not entitled to our
facts because facts are sacred.
I presented my side of the
story based on my personal
experience with the claims he
made.
What can the governor do to
make amends?
Amends with, or to, whom?
That is within the realm of
governance which requires
consultation and consensus
building.
You have been vocal about the
role of the northern elite in the
poverty and
underdevelopment plaguing
the North. Can you elaborate
on this?
My field of doctoral research
was on Religion and Power
Politics in Northern Nigeria
and the result was my book,
‘Religion, Politics and Power in
Northern Nigeria’. It opened
up new frontiers and it was a
pioneering research on how
religion has been used to
mobilise and retain power by
the northern Muslim elite. I
had over 100 recorded
interviews with a cross
section of northern politicians
across the divide.
This has given me an
appreciation of the issues. It
does not make me an expert.
However, it is because of this
that those who do not want to
follow the arguments keep
falling back and accusing me
of being anti-northern or anti-
Muslim. This is the easy line for
those who benefit from this
manipulation but do not want
to face the consequences.
There is a noble obligation
that all elite owe to those they
represent; those on whose
shoulders they may have
stood; those who voted for
them or those who helped
them get an education. In the
rest of Nigeria, this elite have
met these obligations by
building schools, hospitals,
clinics, and so on for their
people. They have bridged the
gap between government’s
absence and the welfare of
their people. This is the story
of almost all of southern
Nigeria and parts of the Middle
Belt.
In the North, the evidence of
this dereliction of duty litters
the entire landscape, millions
of out-of-school children,
federal and state government
projects such as irrigation and
power-generating dams that
now lie abandoned in remote
communities, structures, such
as the Almajiri schools, all in
decay in many communities,
and so on.
Look at the World Bank, UNDP
and other reports on
development in Nigeria and
look at northern Nigeria. The
sad thing is that for the elite,
these lives of destitution,
illiteracy and squalor are
reservoirs of investment from
where they draw their oxygen
of political relevance. The
grinding poverty leaves the
people permanently below
zero and all they do is
continue to look at the
stupendous wealth of the elite
with awe. In exchange, they
(the elite) pretend to offer
them (the poor) dubious
religiosity through the
manipulation of pilgrimages
and construction of mosques.
Could that be the reason for
the emergence of Boko
Haram?
In my view, it is the long
historical experience of this
distortion of the religion of
Islam with its exclusionist
tendencies that Boko Haram
has exploited. Boko Haram
exploited the fact that this elite
proclaimed Sharia in 1999 and
2000, while in reality, they did
not believe in the religion
itself. So, Boko Haram simply
has asked them to step aside.
Indeed, the Buhari project
presents us with an
interesting view. The average
northerner has become far
more impoverished under
Buhari than he was under
(former President Goodluck)
Jonathan. But they will still
vote for Buhari because they
see him as the only one who
can help bring their derelict
elite to order. It is a strange
appeal but that is it. They
believe their corrupt elite are
above the law. They were
seduced with Sharia because
they believed it was going to
help them punish their own
elite, who they see as being
above the law of Nigeria.
These are the issues.
Did the northern elite act
against the interest of their
people intentionally?
If they were mistaken, 50
years would have been
enough to correct the mistake,
but as I said, this culture of
ignorance, poverty and
squalor is an investment.
Aminu Kano spent his life
trying to open the eyes of his
people, the Talakawa. The late
Bala Usman, a phenomenal
intellectual, made massive
contributions in this regard by
subjecting this charade to
critical social analysis. The
result was a ‘saner’
environment for the
generation of fresh ideas
among Christian and Muslim
scholars. Ideology replaced the
divisive tendencies of religion
among the elite. Fighting the
Kaduna mafia and other
mafias was an ideological
project. Today, Alhaji Balarabe
Musa and some of the
remnants of NEPU (Northern
Elements Progressive Union)
politics remain the last of the
best wine.
What are the interests for the
northern elite?
They want to permanently
hold on to power. Inherently
(there is) nothing wrong with
that if it can be used for the
good of the people, but after
all these years of monopoly of
power under the military and
civilians, we northerners are
still the weakest, the most
sickly, the poorest, the most
illiterate, and the most
vulnerable. We have the
highest number of childhood
stunting, which is a danger to
the future. The elite have
brought shame on us and
made us too weak to fight.
Do you believe in
restructuring?
Does it matter what I or
anyone believes? Even if it
determines the outcome of
the elections, did the All
Progressives Congress not
promise us restructuring?
Promises have never been a
problem. The saddest part of it
all is that even the politicians
do not expect to be believed,
but somehow, we stupidly do.
The Kenyan scholar, Patrick
Lumumba, once said the
tragedy with Africa is that
those with ideas are not in
power, while those in power
have no ideas. The sad thing,
he said, is that when the
people have a chance, they still
vote for those with no ideas.
What do you think the North
has to gain or lose in
restructuring?
They may perhaps gain the
chains of poverty and the fear
of those who hold the chains
over the majority of our
people.
What do you make of the APC
committee on restructuring
led by el-Rufai?
I have not seen it.
Many have described the APC
panel on restructuring as an
afterthought by Buhari to
score political points. Do you
agree?
No idea. Nothing is ever late. It
is when honesty appears that
matters.
What are your thoughts on the
Catholic Church in Nigeria
rejoining the Christian
Association of Nigeria?
How can we rejoin what we
started?
Do you still maintain a
relationship with former
President Goodluck Jonathan?
I don’t know what you mean
by ‘a relationship’. The last
time I saw him was when the
Peace Committee had a
consultative audience with
him after the swearing-in of
the new administration.
Do you have any expectations
concerning the outcome of
the 2019 elections?
Let us pray to be alive first.
2019 is a long way away. But I
tell you that I have never felt
this sense of foreboding.
Things could change, but we
have to plan how to cross this
wide river that lies ahead of
us.

can father kukah explain millions of money he squandered as chairman of Ogoni/FGN reconcilliation panel? until someone probes and expose his financial recklessness and budget embezlement especially under GEJ then Nigerians will understand. Father kukah wasted millions of naira and his tennure at his maitama office under GEJ should be investigated.

Buhari 2019, Igbo Presidency 2023!!
Buhari is the shortest route to Igbo Presidency in 2023!

igbodefender:
Buhari 2019, Igbo Presidency 2023!!
Buhari is the shortest route to Igbo Presidency in 2023!

akuko ikoja!!!!!!!!!!