The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah has called out the nation’s leadership, urging a focus on development and criticizing a culture of self-service.
Bishop Kukah stated this on Wednesday as Nigeria celebrated Democracy Day.
In his address, “Democracy and the Free Market Economy,” Bishop Kukah argued that Nigeria’s democracy is faltering because it hasn’t been adapted to the country’s context.
“Our democracy is in recession, in decline, precisely because it is evident to us that what we are working with is not something that has come from our own historical, cultural or even anthropological experiences.
“The only way democracy can work is that democracy has to be an instrument of development,’ Bishop Kukah said.
The Bishop emphasized the need for clear national goals, a strong moral foundation, and financial discipline.
“The legislators are preoccupied with determining their salaries, fringe benefits, and unnecessary foreign travels.
“As a result of our inability to cultivate the financial discipline and prudent management of our economy, we have come to depend largely on internal and external borrowing to execute government projects.
“The corrupt, inept, and insensitive leadership in the last years have been a source of immorality and impropriety in our society,” he added.
He argued that greed is a major obstacle, not just among the political elite, but among ordinary Nigerians as well.
He said: “The challenge for many countries in Africa, beginning with Nigeria, is how to restrain the greed of the political elite.
“Not only the political elite, but the greed and the appetite of ordinary Nigerians, because it is feeding this beast that has made it impossible for this country to grow.
“We cannot talk about people being corrupt when it is clear to us that the incentives for doing the right thing doesn’t exist.”
Bishop Kukah urged a return to core constitutional principles, including religious freedom and national unity.
He said Nigerians need to “redefine what it is to be a Nigerian. But we must also make sure that the elite claim this argument and claim this space.”