Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah has declared that Nigerians are responsible for the behaviour of the political class, as they do not hold them accountable.
Kukah who spoke during an appearance on Channels TV yesterday, pointed out that Nigerians are only concerned with elections and do not engage the political class.
His words: ‘The political class will continue to behave the way they do, largely because we let them do so. We’ve said it before: merely conducting elections, even the freest and fairest elections, will never mean that we cannot continue to engage the political class.
‘Why we continue to suffocate in Nigeria is because we assume that after we’ve elected people, we will trust them to do good things for us. We don’t elect people to enjoy and be comfortable on our behalf.
‘Our duty and responsibility is to constantly make those who govern us feel uncomfortable if they are not performing well.’
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‘The critical thing is what happens after elections; that is where engagement needs to take place.
‘However, Nigerians tend to outsource their responsibilities, and we continue to pray that men and women of good will will take over our country, govern us, and we will live happily ever after. It doesn’t work like that; we must constantly be knocking on their door and remind them that the fact that they have been elected puts an obligation on them.’
Kukah also stated that Nigerians sometimes behave like ‘buch of spoilt people.’
He said, ‘Sometimes, we in Nigeria behave like a bunch of spoilt people. If we look outside the window and see what’s happening elsewhere—the earthquakes, tragedies, and natural disasters that have afflicted the world.
‘We have to ask ourselves: What have we done to God that he has been so magnanimous and gracious to us? why then do we turn the swords on our selves?’