Bishop Matthew Kukah, the Catholic Archbishop of the Diocese of Sokoto, has stated that Olusegun Obasanjo, Muhammadu Buhari, Goodluck Jonathan, and President Bola Tinubu were among the many former Nigerian presidents who came to power by accident.
These leaders were not sufficiently equipped to handle the ever-changing needs of administration, Kukah claims.
These statements were expressed by him on Sunday during his keynote speech at the 4th Amaka Ndoma-Egba Memorial Lecture in Abuja and the launching of the new Start-Rite School building.
“If you examine Nigeria’s leadership history, you will discover that nearly all of the leaders who rose to power did so by chance,” he stated.
According to Kukah, the change in leadership is a clear example of this phenomenon.
For example, he said, President Tinubu, who said he was ready for the position, is still getting used to his new duty.
“Despite his claims of being prepared for the role, President Tinubu is obviously struggling,” he said. We’re still attempting to get our bearings. He succeeded Buhari, who had already stepped away from leadership.
“Buhari took over as president from Jonathan, who never saw himself in that role but was forced to do so by events. Jonathan succeeded Yar’Adua, who intended to go back to teaching after serving as governor.
After Obasanjo was suddenly freed from prison to take office as president, Yar’Adua took over. Prior to that, Abacha was set to rule perpetually until nature stepped in, but Obasanjo took his place. Following Shonekan, a businessman who was suddenly called up to head the nation, was Abacha. In all of this, knowledge and preparation are the missing link, and the cycle is obvious.
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Kukah maintained that despite adopting democratic ideals such as “one man, one vote,” Nigeria’s democratic process has consistently fallen short of producing capable leadership. He underlined that having a thorough awareness of the complex issues and changing environment is essential for modern leadership.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Chairman, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, who also spoke at the occasion, emphasized the need of developing leadership skills at a young age. He ascribed a large number of Nigeria’s problems on shortcomings in accountability and leadership.
