Matthew Kukah, bishop of Sokoto diocese of the Catholic Church,
says President Muhammadu Buhari and some of his ministers are not
happy.
Kukah said this in an interview with Abang Mercy, a social media
expert.
The cleric said those currently in charge of this nation did not
envisage that things would take this turn.
There has been an outcry of hardship among some Nigerians.
“We must get our people to a point in which they appreciate when
the value of their life is depreciating. And that is what is
happening to us now,” he said.
“In most part of northern Nigeria for example where children are
stunting, when those children turn 30, 40 and they become part of
your workforce, their capacity to interpret data, grasp the urgency
of development is severely constrained.
“For me, these are some of the issues and that is why I say
Buhari himself is not happy… except a few ministers, but even the
ministers themselves are unhappy because they didn’t imagine that
they would be going through the difficulty that they are going
through.
“If I ask you to point at one department of government that is
so upbeat about what people have achieved, I think it will be hard
to find out any.”
Kukah said some of the president’s “new friends” in the All
Progressives Congress (APC) were those he sent to jail while
serving as the military head of state in 1984.
He said it was worrisome that the president has not changed the
approach he used to fight corruption during his military
regime.
Kukah added that the Nigerian leader was not brought into power
by angels.
“I have known Buhari for a while but I don’t want to claim I am
close to him but he is a man I have tremendous respect for,” Kukah
said.
“My worry is that President Buhari thought and probably still
thinks corruption is stealing money, and the people stealing money
are largely bureaucrats or government officials, which was what
happened in 1984.
“Buhari simply went around and arrested all the people who were
holding government offices. The only thing we feel very sad about
Nigeria is our collective amnesia. There are people who are key
kingpins in APC today who were sentenced to various years of
imprisonment by Buhari in 1984, some up to 100 years.
“But since this is Nigeria, many of them have finished serving
their 100-year jail term. They have come back, joined APC and are
active members of the party.
“Buhari was not brought into power by angels. We know the nature
of the vehicle that would bring anybody to the presidency of
Nigeria.”
Although the cleric said he was not in the position to access
the Buhari administration, he maintained that the president still
had the time to make right his wrongs.
“I am not the one to measure Buhari’s competence. It will take
us four years to decide if Buhari is the man for the job or not. Or
we have the national assembly; if they are serious and up to their
job, they can stop an incompetent president mid-way,” he said.
“Buhari is going to be president for four years. We are just
gone past the first half. And like the game of soccer, until the
final whistle is blown, you can’t say who has won.
“It is quite conceivable that he might probably do something
quite spectacular. For example, he is going to the south-east,
which I think is quite unfortunate because it came so many years
too late.
“But notwithstanding that, I think with a certain kind of
smartness, and if the president has the ability to look back and
say what could we have done differently, and if he can take his
attention away from some of the hypocrites around him, I think
Buhari is free to step forward and say he wants to run for the 2019
election.”
Matthew Kukah, bishop of Sokoto diocese of the Catholic Church,
says President Muhammadu Buhari and some of his ministers are not
happy.
Kukah said this in an interview with Abang Mercy, a social media
expert.
The cleric said those currently in charge of this nation did not
envisage that things would take this turn.
There has been an outcry of hardship among some Nigerians.
“We must get our people to a point in which they appreciate when
the value of their life is depreciating. And that is what is
happening to us now,” he said.
“In most part of northern Nigeria for example where children are
stunting, when those children turn 30, 40 and they become part of
your workforce, their capacity to interpret data, grasp the urgency
of development is severely constrained.
“For me, these are some of the issues and that is why I say
Buhari himself is not happy… except a few ministers, but even the
ministers themselves are unhappy because they didn’t imagine that
they would be going through the difficulty that they are going
through.
“If I ask you to point at one department of government that is
so upbeat about what people have achieved, I think it will be hard
to find out any.”
Kukah said some of the president’s “new friends” in the All
Progressives Congress (APC) were those he sent to jail while
serving as the military head of state in 1984.
He said it was worrisome that the president has not changed the
approach he used to fight corruption during his military
regime.
Kukah added that the Nigerian leader was not brought into power
by angels.
“I have known Buhari for a while but I don’t want to claim I am
close to him but he is a man I have tremendous respect for,” Kukah
said.
“My worry is that President Buhari thought and probably still
thinks corruption is stealing money, and the people stealing money
are largely bureaucrats or government officials, which was what
happened in 1984.
“Buhari simply went around and arrested all the people who were
holding government offices. The only thing we feel very sad about
Nigeria is our collective amnesia. There are people who are key
kingpins in APC today who were sentenced to various years of
imprisonment by Buhari in 1984, some up to 100 years.
“But since this is Nigeria, many of them have finished serving
their 100-year jail term. They have come back, joined APC and are
active members of the party.
“Buhari was not brought into power by angels. We know the nature
of the vehicle that would bring anybody to the presidency of
Nigeria.”
Although the cleric said he was not in the position to access
the Buhari administration, he maintained that the president still
had the time to make right his wrongs.
“I am not the one to measure Buhari’s competence. It will take
us four years to decide if Buhari is the man for the job or not. Or
we have the national assembly; if they are serious and up to their
job, they can stop an incompetent president mid-way,” he said.
“Buhari is going to be president for four years. We are just
gone past the first half. And like the game of soccer, until the
final whistle is blown, you can’t say who has won.
“It is quite conceivable that he might probably do something
quite spectacular. For example, he is going to the south-east,
which I think is quite unfortunate because it came so many years
too late.
“But notwithstanding that, I think with a certain kind of
smartness, and if the president has the ability to look back and
say what could we have done differently, and if he can take his
attention away from some of the hypocrites around him, I think
Buhari is free to step forward and say he wants to run for the 2019
election.”
Read more https://www.nairalaw.com/buharis-ministers-are-unhappy-says-kukah/