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"President Jonathan Should Remain President Until…," Says Bishop Kukah

December 21, 2013

The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Hassan Kukah has said that despite the political realignments going on within the Nigerian political scene, President Jonathan should remain the president of Nigeria until his term expires in 2015.

The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Hassan Kukah has said that despite the political realignments going on within the Nigerian political scene, President Jonathan should remain the president of Nigeria until his term expires in 2015.

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He made this known today during an interview with SaharaTV.

“All this noise being made smacks of political immaturity, greed and selfishness that is driving the process,” Kukah said.

The bishop said that nobody should deny President Jonathan of his constitutional right to run for a second term if he so wishes.

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He noted that one of the greatest tragedies that have afflicted Nigeria since the return to democracy has been our inability to create a political class that understands the essence and meaning of politics.  “The entire landscape is riddled with all kind of characters some with criminal records who come into politics simply because it is the only way they can earn a living,” he said.

On the perennial problem of Nigerian political actors throwing around his name as a potential candidate for political office, he said that long ago he decided to be a priest and that he continues to struggle to be a good priest.

‘The issue of building a nation is the responsibility of politicians…,” he told SaharaTV’s Rudolf Okonkwo. “It is the feeling of Nigerians that somehow somebody is going to appear from somewhere, and he is going to change the country.”

On Obasanjo’s letter, Bishop Kukah said he could not read beyond the first page. He felt that someone like former President Obasanjo should have a better way to communicate with the president.

“What we have on the ground in Nigeria is that people refuse to respect the rule of engagement, “ Kukah said.

He frowned at the suggestion that the position of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) represented that of all Christians in Nigeria. “CAN is not a church,” Kukah said. He insisted that CAN does not necessarily speak for him.

“I wish Nigerians would do away with this common obsession with Christianity and Islam and move ahead to forge common citizenship,” Kukah said.

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