Nigeria treading a dangerous path —Kukah

THE Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, has said that the nation is treading a dangerous path going by what he described as young people feeling disempowered. According to Kukah, the dangerous path and prospects of an uncertain future is being cemented with the nation consuming its own children. 

Kukah made these observations on Wednesday in Abuja at an event organised by The Kukah Centre and Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA). 

He said the country faced a tragic situation of both democracy and dictatorship which cannot co-exist and was bound to cancel each other. 

Kukah said: “Using the agents of state, those in power have also sought to close the (civic) space. Democracy is a work in progress; all of us engaged in democracy and opening up the civic space must realise that it is a long journey. 

“This is a dangerous path we are treading. Our young people are feeling disempowered. We are faced with a nation that is consuming its own children; we are faced with the prospects of an uncertain future. It is impossible, even the worst enemy of Nigeria, would never have contemplated that this is where we will be.”  

Kukah said the 2023 elections would afford Nigerians another opportunity “to think of the mistake made.” 

He added: “Democracy is not an exercise undertaken by good men and women, which is what Nigerians have always fallen victim to – that we are looking for holy men, men of integrity, men of dignity to govern us and we assume that managing a diverse Nigeria does not require some level of deep intellectual reflection and understanding on the complexity in managing a society so energetic. 

“In 1998, I tried to write an article on civil society out of curiosity, that article turned into a book ‘Democracy and Civil Society in Nigeria,’ and a lot of people commended the book – it is no longer in circulation. One of the things I concluded was that democracy and dictatorship cannot co-exist; one has to cancel out the other.

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