Nigeria does not need God-fearing leaders – Bishop Kukah

The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, on Tuesday said
tackling corruption and fixing Nigeria required more than a
God-fearing leader.

Kukah said this at the launch of a book titled "The Shadow List''
written by Todd Moss.

He said to fight corruption and build the nation was not just about
goodwill but about getting to the root of the matter and tackling it
head-on.

"I have said it severally; let Nigerians keep saying they want a
God-fearing leader.

"Nigeria does not need a God-fearing leader, because God-fearing has
become an excuse to appeal to Nigerians and win elections.

"Governance in Nigeria is a criminalized enterprise and a criminalized
state cannot progress; so we must come to terms as to why it is that
this country is in such low portion.

"Fixing this country requires much more than that; national cohesion,
holding our country together is the most fundamental project if we are
to fix this nation.

"This is what we need because I am aware of how angry and frustrated
Nigerians have become, especially in an environment where people are
intrinsically not concerned about corruption but about their inability
to access," he said.

The cleric said that nobody would have imagined that three to four
years down the line, Nigerians would be feeling the way they were
feeling now.

"If you know Nigerians well, rather than thinking about the solution
to the problem, we are waiting for a few men who govern Nigeria to
tell us they have found a silver bullet and then we all gather around.

"We will now pass through the motion pretending to be conducting
election when as it is from 1999, we always have an idea of who the
president will be even before the election is conducted," he said.