Bishop Kukah calls out judiciary, church involvement in politics

Speaking at the 8th summit of the House of Justice in Kaduna State, with the theme 'Electoral Accountability and Democratic Stability,' the prominent cleric voiced his sadness at the perceived intrusion of these institutions into the political arena.

"I am saddened by the fact that the judiciary has now found itself being sucked into politics," Bishop Kukah declared during his address at the summit, without delving into specific instances or details of the perceived political involvement.

"I would have also been sad — and I’m also sad — to the extent that even us who are priests in the church, we are getting sucked into politics because you will never come out the same," he added, using a vivid analogy to illustrate the challenges of engaging in politics.

"You go to wrestle with a pig inside poto poto (mud). You may defeat the pig, but you cannot go around showing yourself to see what you look like."

Clarifying that he did not liken politicians to pigs, the Bishop elaborated that politics possesses its own unique dynamics, especially when viewed through the lens of someone with moral responsibilities.

"Elections will always give us what I call unintended consequences. But also, it is important to understand that a contest is always a contest. And you use the experience of this to prepare for the next contest," Bishop Kukah remarked.

Encouraging Nigerians not to succumb to despondency, he asserted that the best is yet to come. Instead of dwelling on future concerns, the Bishop urged citizens to focus on the present, drawing attention to the transformative power of each generation.

"You are using mobile phones today. It wasn’t the generation that went before us that gave us mobile phones. Every generation will contest its own problems. Let’s be concerned with the problems of the moment," Kukah urged.

Acknowledging the inevitability of challenges, he stressed the need for a proactive approach to address current issues.

"Yes, we dream about the future. But like somebody said, today is the tomorrow you dreamt about yesterday. But let’s not be nervous. We should be nervous that we are underperforming because there are things we could have done differently and we can do differently.

"So, justices will do what justices will do," he concluded.