"All Our Presidents Are Accidental Tourists," Says Matthew Kukah

Ifedayo Adebayo

Lecture: Priest highlights the problem of the nation Nigeria, urging everyone to take the responsibility for its present state.
Lamenting the fact that Nigerian Leaders would have to strengthen their level of preparation before ascending political offices, so that the country could be driven on a platform of visions and not mistakes, Matthew Kukah, a Catholic Priest has declared that it is unfortunate to have all Nigeria Presidents ascending office via one mistake or the other and not with a prepared mind to govern rightly.
"As we can see in the issue of this country, all our President have come by accidents. We have had long history of accidental access to leadership. Who is that person in this country that have been preparing somewhere with a mind that in another five years I want to be the President. All of them are purely coming in through accidental causes. "He said.
According to the motivational speaker and a member of the constitution reform committee set up by the Presidential era of Olusegun Obasanjo, Mr. Kukah x-rayed the list of all the past Presidents both military and political, stating that all of them were virtually unprepared for the task ahead of them.
Speaking at Ado-Ekiti at the Public Lecture organized by the Ekiti State Government to mark the present administration's a year in office, titled, ‘Long walk to a new dawn,' Mr. Kukah described the state governor, Kayode Fayemi as a veteran of struggles as the political thread that took him to the office was humanly unbelievable and challenging, but described his final ascension as the will of God.
Also, Mr. Kukah advised all Nigerians to see themselves as partners in the struggles to reform and rebirth Nigeria, urging them to stop seeing only the politicians as the corrupt individuals affecting the politics, but should look inward to correct wherever there might be needs for every individuals to make changes.
"Many of us belief that the only people that are corrupt in this country are the governors, Presidents and co, the rest of us are innocent, so it is only those who are in power. Those of us who are ere are not the guilty, we have to make it clear that government truly owes us a duty, but has given the opportunity to many of us to make them accountable and we have failed, because most of us are like them." he said.
He however said that through so many means, especially in the name of contracts, those in government and outside government are all guilty and are conspirators in whatever level of development a state has found itself.
The speaker also said that why Nigeria have not been able to overcome religious crisis is due to its way of applying the wrong prescription to solve its problems and cause of the crises, he however charged President Jonathan to ensure having adequate laws in place to check the criminal attitude of the militants and their cohorts in government.