The bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto is Matthew Hassan Kukah. In this Arise TV-broadcast interview, he discusses Nigeria’s 65th anniversary of independence and how the military invasion has been the country’s biggest setback. Among other topics, the clergy discusses Northern Nigeria’s poverty and illiteracy. Joy Anigogu provides the following excerpts:
What do you recall about the new era that began 65 years ago for Nigerians following the British concession of independence? Was it a period of optimism, self-assurance, and faith in this nation?
Now that I think about it, I had years of innocence. I don’t remember, but I believe I was around five or six. However, allow me to share what I recall. A priest was the first white person I had ever seen. A priest was the second white person I had ever seen. We therefore had no idea what our headmaster was talking about when he told us about these awful white people who had colonized and invaded our land. And since I hadn’t seen any other evil white people, I couldn’t imagine. However, because we were given tiny cups as part of the celebration, what I remember most is that on October 1st, I received the first cup I could call my own. So, as a child, I couldn’t square the cycle. Returning to our current situation, however, I find that every time I play the recording of Tafawa-Balewa’s life and listen to his lectures, I nearly always cry. He was an amazing human being. This individual was praised by Washington. This guy, the first African head of state, was named Time Magazine’s man of the year in order to highlight the direction that the rest of the world saw Nigeria taking. Sadly, the first military takeover resulted in a suicidal mission. And that is the crime scene, in my opinion, both then and now. Therefore, if you’re wondering what’s wrong with Nigeria and why we’ve ended up where we are, it’s because we lost our innocence.
Did anyone who cared to look see that, in the midst of all that optimism in 1960, before the coup and all the rest of it, Nigeria was a country with a rich tapestry of ethnicities, religions, and geographical divisions, and that anyone attempting to govern it would only succeed if they could manage that diversity?
That’s a really good point, in my opinion. To be fair, though, the equipment was already in place. I recall that as little children, our only goal was to observe the Sardauna’s appearance. Additionally, they were displaying a variety of content on these screens as they moved throughout my small community. All the good things were ours. Then we had a bureaucracy that truly didn’t know about the hegemons, religion, ethnicity, and other issues that are now coming back to haunt us. We therefore have all we required. Furthermore, we are asked why Nigeria is not like Singapore. Why do we differ from Japan? In actuality, we may have performed better than Singapore. We had the potential to surpass Malaysia. We already had a bureaucracy, so if the military hadn’t struck, we might have literally been better and nobody would have seen our back. Although Lee Kuan Yew accomplished an exceptionally good job, he is not the reason Singapore is the way it is. But it’s that inherited bureaucracy. Additionally, the devastation of society and the bureaucracy were intensified. Then came the emergence of consciences and ethnic identities. The majority of northerners, who are in their 70s and 80s, still find it difficult to accept the ruthless murder of the Sardauna and Tafawa-Balewa, I can assure you. Unfortunately, the truth is not something that our nation enjoys facing. Forgive and forget is a common saying among Africans. The handle is outside, but we bury the hatchet. Therefore, in my opinion, we haven’t had the time, integrity, or sincerity to sit down at the table and ask, “Look, what went wrong?” up until this point. Because of this, the aspirations of our founding fathers have turned into nightmares for us. And we now found ourselves in a predicament where the hiring process, whether it was for the government or the bureaucracy, collapsed. Thus, I believe we can explain why we are in our current situation.
You discuss how the North suffered greatly as a result of the killings of the Sardauna and Tafawa-Balewa. However, haven’t all parties paid a heavy price in blood?
Indeed, but as you can see, there is elite conspiracy and hypocrisy, which holds that Nigeria has just devolved into a carcass and that everyone just shows up at the table brandishing long knives. Additionally, the portions they are returning to their villages pique people’s interest. Thus, our feeling of national identity has essentially vanished. And when I say this, I mean it with all the respect I have for the armed forces and the people who have led our nation. However, it has nothing to do with excellent or terrible warriors. First of all, the military should never have gotten involved in politics. They thrashed the soldiers themselves, according to book after book. You can see this clearly now, as people ask why we aren’t like Malaysia. Why do we differ from India? I inform them that none of the Asian nations they listed have experienced a military takeover. None of them, and keep in mind that as time went on, the military itself turned into a broken organization rife with ethnic maggots. Now, people started planning coups based on interests that were not always national in nature, as well as on collective interests. And two things occur each time we take a step in that direction. The first is that there can never be a good or bad rape, as far as morality is concerned. I say this because I am a priest. A good rape is impossible. You are no different from an armed robber if you pulled a gun, shot someone, and then took over.
It is now sixty-five years later. The events that have occurred have occurred. Considering all you’ve said, what influences your perception of this nation as it is today?
Mythology, not reality, is the focus of nation-building. And the modern America is a myth. However, as you can see, Nigeria lacks the skill and capability to dream. I’ve often said, for instance, to close your eyes and ask yourself if, following the 1960 speech, you’ve ever heard a Nigerian president’s speech that truly left you feeling amazed. Alternatively, there may be a speech, such as JFK’s 1963 speech, that is so memorable that you have to ask yourself, “What was I doing?” What is the intellectual content of governance is another facet that is addressed by that. Because of the actions of the soldiers and individuals like Wole Soyinka, all of our scholars are able to articulately discuss how the soldiers scaffolded and prevented intellect from being a dominant force once they realized they couldn’t win the intellectual fight. As a result, individuals were teaching things for which they were not compensated. Okay, so once you ruled out intelligence, it meant that the whole question of imagination was irrelevant. People like Plato and Aristotle were thoughtful, and every company, whether it was Nikon or something else, was considering what it would do. It’s possible that those who have ideals of what a great hotel ought to look like are not present. R&D is therefore always a crucial element, but those individuals are constantly hidden. And after you made the decision to assume power in that manner, a lot of people now ask you, “Where do we begin?” Although the middle class in Nigeria is not often measured in Naira, it has crumbled, according to some. What’s up here is also what’s middle class. Therefore, in my opinion, the main cause is the rejection of the intellectuals and their policymaking contributions. You discover that while government officials are making an effort, it is limited to their maximum capacity. Occasionally, you may come across a professor who is composing a speech for the state’s first lady. Some professors find themselves in situations where they are so limited that they are unable to employ their creativity because they fear losing their careers. Therefore, a nation cannot develop if it lacks the type of society Plato described, in which thinkers, legislators, and policy implementers are all present.
Given all of the criticisms you have listed, what is the enduring inspiration of your life in Nigeria as you evaluate this nation and look to the future, fully conscious that we have missed the boat that sailed in 1960, as you accurately analyzed?
I’m grateful to God for giving me hope. I often tell myself that I am a priest because of God’s boundless mercy. Since I would have been living on the streets, I most likely would have passed away by now. You can only tolerate so much unfairness at a time. And I’m quite fortunate. Believe me, I’m a mediocre student, but I put in a lot of effort. The second—and possibly most significant—factor is that I received my schooling on the streets. I’ve been extremely fortunate. I shall be allowed to enter the palace of the Obi of Onitsha. I shall have access to the Sultan of Sokoto’s palace. Only the day before yesterday were we together. I shall be allowed to enter the palace of the Emir of Kano. I’ll be invited to the former president’s home. I therefore don’t take that amazing quality for granted. However, my experience as a priest has also given me a good understanding of the impoverished, so I feel well grounded. However, I can also see that this is not a nation of evil people. Due in large part to the hiring process, many decent people, including those in positions of authority, permit bad things to occur. These days, far too many people end up in positions of authority without any preparation.
You made a point regarding the impoverished there. Is it your anger at the egregiously limited opportunities for success that people born here today face, or is it the recollection of the poverty you witness on a daily basis in Nigeria that drives you?
This is a remarkable nation. I travel the world, people ask. Where do you find the strength to speak about this nation that has been overrun by dogs, people ask me? “Dude, you haven’t seen anything yet,” I said. I’m incredibly proud of this nation. Additionally, I am aware of the accomplishments that people have made with only their hands. All right, I head east. I go west. I’ve seen this country from coast to coast. What’s lacking? is comparable to a man with an amazing eleven-player ensemble. All right, but the coach isn’t sure who should play or who should be benched at what time. In Nigeria, intelligence has turned into a source of envy. It is therefore improper for you to discuss your first class, for instance.
In light of what you observe, what do you consider your purpose in this nation to be—trying to persuade the government to be more considerate of such deprivation and to provide better provisions, addressing the obstacles to a respectable quality of living, or something else entirely?
I’ll only use the current events in Sokoto as an example to address your query. I escorted the Sultan of Sokoto and President Olusegun Obasanjo to the Catholic facilities in Sokoto. We also put a hall full of 250 laptops into service. According to what I’ve been told, there are 10 million, 20 million, and 25 million Almajiris. If they are ten, fifteen, or twenty years old, they will be thirty or forty in ten years. One is the beginning of every count. That’s plenty for me if all I can do is remove one person from the line. Believe me, when I go, I encounter young people. I’ve met them multiple times. In Sokoto, I recall being late for a flight. And for some reason, I was only a few seconds. Then I realized I had left my phone behind. The pilot was out and about when I arrived at the plane, and he actually bent down to welcome me. I said, “No, I forgot my phone,” to which he replied, “I see you are looking very worried.” “Where?” he asked. Allow him to bring your phone. My driver is on his way, but it will take some time, I said. “No, no, we’ll wait for you,” he said. And I felt really ashamed. You know what the pilot said to me when I got inside the plane? The pilot gave me a glance. He claimed that you were the author of the recommendation letter that helped me land a pilot’s job more than a decade ago. I won’t be remembered by you. I’m walking to catch a plane at the same aircraft. I was your altar server while you were in Lagos, the pilot remarked as he emerged and knelt down in front of me. Coming by a long way, I’m saying that I’ve never attempted to enhance my perception of myself. My biggest surprise, out of all the stuff I’ve been writing, was realizing that people were actually reading what I had to say. Additionally, I’ve made an effort to understand that although it’s crucial to be out there, pounding the streets, we also need to create an opportunity for dialogue.
In your opinion as a Catholic bishop, how have ties between Islam and Christianity changed since the 1960s?
I could tell you a lot of anecdotes, but one of my favorites is the one about how I was in the lounge at the Abuja airport and had never met John Pepper Clark. I had never seen him before. I got up to go greet John Pepper Clark after hearing him say that. At that point, someone identifies himself as Bishop Kukah, the Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Sokoto. And this dude appeared out of nowhere just as I was ready to shake John Pepper Clark. I didn’t anticipate him. He would literally separate our hands after I told him he was Agbada. “Stop calling him the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto,” he urged. In Sokoto, he serves as our bishop. The Catholic Bishop is not him. He’s not just for Catholics. Those kinds of encounters might also make you wistful for the way things have gotten worse.
As a result, I openly declared in Sokoto that many of the ministers and the people we are calling Almajiri now are Almajiri at some point. only that you had an opportunity. “I am certain that there is an Einstein among these Almajiris,” I added. I’ve got to give the kid an opportunity. Naturally, though, I am aware of what is likely to occur. Some people who are merchants and whose children live abroad would tell you that this is just for Christians because Bishop Kukah constructed it. You get converted to Christianity if you go there. You see, this tribe is expanding, and we still haven’t. As of right now, there are 25 million of these uneducated children, and they will have children, who will have children. As you are aware, you can be anywhere between 10 and 40 children in Northern Nigeria. This nation isn’t growing right now. Examine the Bureau of Statistics’ multifaceted analysis of poverty. only for the previous month. 90% are in Sokoto, while 85% are in Zamfara. There is no other explanation for why it has turned into a crime scene today: all of the districts that are next to this country’s far north, where Muslims predominate, are contaminated with areas of misery, poverty, and neglect. I’m not a state, but I also don’t want the state to do everything, so I’m simply saying that if we can all contribute in some small way, that’s good. Can you just open the doors and then see how we can work together? That is the biggest difficulty facing Northern Nigeria and all the governors.
