Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah, has advised Nigerian politicians to display sportsmanship in accepting electoral results. The 70-year-old cleric made this call in an interview with Channels Television. He also advised them to show accountability as they aspire for political offices.
Kukah said, “The truth of the matter is that the Nigerian political elites have shown no commitment to the rules of the game of politics. There are too many people who just see politics as a transaction. Just imagine an entry fee of 100 million naira to be able to buy a (presidential) form.
“Imagine the huge amount of money that people are asked to pay; it is just like going to watch a match or going to the nightclub. If you charge that much fee, what are you going to expect when you enter the hall? We are now hearing stories of the problem of vote buying and so on.”
He also complained that the quality of our democracy is less than that of other African countries. He said, “The quality of our democracy does not meet even local standards. That is the truth of the matter. We are operating in a very convoluted manner.
“Kenya, for example, has made a lot of mistakes, and guess what? Kenya already has had five or so presidents since December 13th, 1963. Jomo Kenyatta was prime minister for one year. Then, he became president but transported that to Nigeria.
“So, we don’t even have that sequence of that conversation. The point is that in every sense of the world very few African countries have such a checkered past as Nigeria has the series of military coups, the distortion of the political environment, the lack of commitment to law and due process, and the inability of this country having a very steady national assembly.“
Post a Comment