The Catholic Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Matthew Kukah, has described all Nigeria’s president, both past and present, as products of an “accidental leadership cycle”.
He said this in his keynote address at the commissioning of a Start-Rite School building and 4th Amaka Ndoma-Egba Memorial Lecture.
Bishop Kuka, at the event in Abuja on Sunday, said from the Head of the Interim National Government, late Ernest Shonekan, to late General Sani Abacha and the incumbent, President Bola Tinubu, the pattern had remained the same.
He listed the others as former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, late Umaru Yar’Adua, and Goodluck Jonathan.
He said: “If we look at Nigeria’s leadership journey, you will find that almost every leader who came to power did so by accident.
“President Bola Tinubu, despite claiming to be prepared for the role, is clearly struggling.
“We are still trying to find our footing.
“He took over from Buhari, who had already disengaged from governance.
“Buhari succeeded Jonathan, a man who never envisioned himself as president but was thrust into leadership due to circumstances.
“Jonathan took over from Yar’Adua, who planned to return to teaching after his governorship.
“Yar’Adua succeeded Obasanjo, who was unexpectedly released from prison to become president.
“Before that, Obasanjo replaced Abacha, who was poised to rule indefinitely until nature intervened.
“Abacha followed Shonekan, a business executive abruptly drafted to lead the country.
“The cycle is evident, and the missing link in all of this is knowledge and preparation.”
Kukah said modern leadership requires a deep understanding of the evolving environment and challenges.
The Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, who was also at the event, retired Brigadier General Buba Marwa, stressed the need to cultivate leadership qualities early in life.
Marwa attributed many of Nigeria’s challenges to failures in leadership and accountability.
He also spoke on a disturbing trend within the drug trade, revealing the involvement of visually impaired individuals in trafficking illicit substances.
He said: “Recently, the NDLEA uncovered a cartel involving visually impaired individuals.
“We arrested a blind man transporting a large consignment of cannabis from Lagos to Kano.
“During interrogation, he claimed he didn’t know the package’s contents and provided the name of another blind individual in Lagos.
“This led us to another blind man, and eventually, we traced the ultimate handler, who was also blind.”
