Bishop Kukah Reveals Why APC Is ‘Falling Apart’

Bishop Mathew Kukah of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, on Thursday, explained why the All Progressives Congress (APC) is “falling apart” and why removing President Muhammadu Buhari won’t solve Nigeria’s problem.

Speaking on “How to make Democracy Work for Africa’’ at a public lecture in Abuja, Kukah said the APC is allegedly facing crisis because it came into power as coalition.

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The bishop, at the public lecture organised by the The Kukah Centre, said this in the light of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s proposed ‘Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM) which seeks the removal of Buhari from power in 2019.

Kukah held that removing a leader from power because he/she is bad is like marrying a new wife every time there is crisis in a marriage.

He said until members of the pollical class in Nigeria see power as a trust rather than opportunity to serve selfish interests, the country may continue to face challenges.

Kukah’s speech read, “Since 1999, when we returned to democracy, we had prayerfully hoped that by now we would have covered a lot of mileage but almost 20 years later it seems to be quite a bit of tragedy.”

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“Building a nation is like staying in marriage or pursuing any vocation in life that requires lots and lots of patience and hard work.

“On the issue of 2019 and the third force coalition, I reiterate that if every time you have problem in your marriage you go ahead to marry a new wife, how many wives will you end up marrying?

“The solution to bad marriage is not a new marriage. I am talking as a Catholic priest. The problem with the APC is that it is a coalition and that is why it is falling apart.

“The major limitation in Nigeria is that the people in power feel it is them against the rest of Nigerians. Democracy has opened up a space, and as such anybody who holds power holds that power in custody and in thrust for the people.

“People’s right across our country are frustrated with democracy; they are frustrated because it has not been able to offer them the hope they had dreamt about. But we still have to convince our people that it is still probable for democracy to work. Nations of the world have tried theocracy, which is the government by Priests or Imams and have found those systems wanting. They have tried tyranny, apartheid and so on. At the end, everybody has agreed that democracy is the best system that approximates the tool we require to manage diversity, especially for a country like Nigeria.

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“Democracy is not what politicians can offer to us, it is not what the President can give to us, and it is not what governors or senators can do on part time basis. Democracy is a process which each and every one of us imbibe, adopt certain ingredients that regulate our lives.”

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