By John Ikani
The Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Mathew Kukah has expressed delight over the energy of young people and their attention to the country’s general election come 2023.
Speaking during an interview on Arise TV on Friday, the respected cleric observed that youth interest in the 2023 polls is tremendous, stressing that they have become aware of the consequences of bad governance and are asking the right questions.
According to him, the passion that drove people in 2015 has dissipated. The people have understood they were lied to and we have all seen the consequences of religious manipulations.
Kukah said the era of rhetorics must be put behind Nigerians and that the electorates must sieve and interrogate the presidential candidates on their ideology, plans and governance style before making their choice.
He added that it was important for the political actors, particularly the presidential candidates, to listen to the young people, understand their frustrations, and align their agenda toward assuaging their grievances for a better Nigeria.
What Kukah is saying
“The people must interrogate their (presidential candidates) ability and capacity to govern by sheer brain and not bribe. The point is that even the whole idea of leadership is often exaggerated because we are confusing political officeholders with leaders.
“It is only in Nigeria that there is so much focus on the centre. Society can only grow when we extend the frontiers of knowledge and opportunities.
“Critical to all of these, we are looking for a president that has the understanding of the complexity of what is wrong with Nigeria. It is not just about people just aspiring without an understanding of the issues.
“My argument is that anybody who aspires to rule Nigeria and we have the opportunity to, we (Nigerians) must redesign the template of confrontation and you (presidential candidate) must be able to confront Nigerians and answer their questions.
“I am not and won’t be surprised if the candidates are moving up and down and convincing us by taking minimalist positions and telling us these and that are what they are going to do.
“I won’t also be surprised if the next president of Nigeria tells us he would tackle insecurity, increase power generation, and what have you.
“The critical question is that aspiring leaders must be subjected to a litmus test by the people. The people must ask questions like since you (presidential candidate) said you want to deal with insecurity, can we get a sense of how you want to do it and achieve success? Can you show us from your background how you will be able to do this?
“Fortunately for us, the frontline candidates have a track record and those track records must be what we must use to project the nature of the choice we have to make,” the cleric who recently celebrated his 70th birthday said.
What you should know
In nearly 46 years as a Priest, Matthew Hassan Kukah has combined pastoral, civic and intellectual roles to telling effect.
He has been very vocal on the frightening state of nation and gross inadequacies of the Buhari administration.
The respected cleric recently described the decision of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to field a Muslim-Muslim ticket for the 2023 presidential elections as “totally reprehensible.”
He insists that the 2023 election is the moment of truth for Nigerian youths who make up 60 percent of the Nigerian population, are better informed and more patriotic than those who govern them.
