BY TheCable
Matthew Hassan Kukah, the Catholic bishop of the Sokoto diocese, says he was once attacked for defending President Muhammadu Buhari against claims that he is a religious fanatic.
In an interview with Sunday Punch, Kukah — who has been widely criticised over his recent comments on the probe of former President Goodluck Jonathan — asked Nigerians to be more worried about the hypocrites and cheer leaders around Buhari.
In 2001, Buhari was quoted as saying Muslims should not vote for non-Muslims, and this was used against him politically for years despite denials.
Recalling the role he played, Kukah said: “In 2007, when I wrote an article to clarify what Gen. Buhari was alleged to have said about Muslims voting for Muslims, I had reactions. Some Muslims abused me and accused me of having deceived and misled Gen. Buhari; some Christians accused me of breaking ranks and making a case for a man who ought to have been tried and jailed.
“Those who have changed their jerseys and are not Buhari apparatchiks, were they not the same people who abused Gen. Buhari and harassed us at the Oputa Panel for not ordering [him] to be imprisoned? I laugh when I think of these things. I try to think carefully before I talk. It often takes many years but my critics often find a way of coming around to my arguments. I do not speak out of malice and, sometimes, we may not make our point clearly or even correctly.”
On how Buhari should prosecute the anti-graft war, he said: “We can put all the people we want in jails but what will that do? We can even kill them, but then, what next? Buhari can and should learn from ex-President Obasanjo who got back so much of the loot after he came in without any noise. I recall him saying that even pastors helped to bring back loot from repentant parishioners.
“I believe the President, using the intelligence resources available, should consider surprise as the most vital tool in this fight. My worry has not been about not probing as some of my critics falsely think. I have been saying ‘think, plan and execute.’ If you make so much noise, vital evidence, data and files will be destroyed by collaborators in the civil service or the relevant offices.
“The President has not named his team in this battle yet and he needs to court whistleblowers and wean them from the looters who may still have control over them. We must all know that loyalties have not changed yet.”
Kukah said Buhari has not told anyone how his anti-corruption war will be fought and wondered why people are already talking about “an anti-corruption campaign”.
He denied claims he was trying to make a case against probing Jonathan.
“People have the mistaken notion that some of us are against the probe or that we are shielding Jonathan. What have I got to gain by shielding Jonathan, now that he is not in power? President Buhari’s concern should be with the choir of hypocrites and cheer leaders who are clamouring around him now,” he said.
“If Jonathan is guilty of theft of state funds, that should be dealt with but it should not distract us from whatever else he may have done well. He was a good man and, sadly, if bad (or good) things happened under his watch, we must let everyone take his or her own share of the blame or praise.”
Kukah said recovering looted funds is not going to be easy.
He asked: “Where are the places where the monies are? Identifying the location is the first step. The problem is, these monies are stolen and they are not necessarily lost. The challenge is to find those who will help us find them. But finding them is just the beginning of the problem. The real problem is getting the loot back because it — the loot — is sustaining banks, corporations, businesses, industries and careers abroad or in the safe havens and these people (countries) will fight back with everything.
“You think these banks will just wire this loot to you just like that? They have more lawyers, better lawyers than our entire country. It is almost 20 years now and we still have not seen the Abacha loot. All we hear are stories, since (former President Olusegun) Obasanjo’s time. I am just pointing out difficulties and not discouraging anyone; but there are choices to make.
“The President has only four years; he has to decide on how he will conserve his energies and which battles to fight, when and how. Our people love drama, but theatre has only a passing use for us now. He does not have a Supreme Military Council of Generals to throw people into jail. He has a National Assembly to deal with and there are still lingering problems with that august body. The President needs help in clearing the debris and banana peels ahead.”
Read more at Sunday Punch
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