Bishop Matthew Kukah, Catholic Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese, has said President Bola Tinubu and his predecessors were not ready when they found themselves in governance.
Kukah, who lamented that the key element missing in Nigerian leadership is knowledge, said the president and past heads of state and leaders found themselves in power by accident.
He said their actions and activities had shown that none of them was fully prepared before assumption of office.
The bishop spoke on Sunday in a keynote address at the official commissioning of Start-Rite School’s new building and the 4th Amaka Ndoma-Egba Memorial Lecture in Abuja.
Giving a chronicle of their leadership trajectory, the bishop said, “Almost every leader who came to power in Nigeria did so as a result of one accident or another.
“President Tinubu, who said he was prepared for the role, is struggling. We are still trying to get off the ground. He took over from Buhari, who had already given up.
“Buhari succeeded Jonathan, who thought he would retire after being deputy governor, but circumstances thrust him into power. Jonathan succeeded Yar’Adua, who had planned to return to teaching at Ahmadu Bello University after his governorship.
“Yar’Adua, in turn, succeeded Obasanjo, who was unexpectedly released from prison to become president. Obasanjo took over after Abacha, who was being positioned by five political parties to rule indefinitely until nature intervened.
“Abacha succeeded Shonekan, who was a business executive at UAC before being called to serve as Head of State. We can go on and on, but the fundamental issue in governance is knowledge. Leaders need a deep understanding of their environment.”
According to him, though the world has changed, the expectations of leadership have not.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa stressed the importance of instilling leadership qualities at an early age.
Marwa attributed the country’s struggles with various societal vices to failures in leadership and accountability.
