The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Rev. Matthew Hassan Kukah, has urged Nigerians to confront the deeper moral, political, and institutional issues plaguing the country, saying that “Trump is not the problem — Nigeria is sick.”
Bishop Kukah made this statement on Saturday, November 8, 2025, while delivering a keynote address at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) in Lagos during the 60th birthday celebration and book launch of renowned journalist and Arise News anchor, Dr. Reuben Abati.
Speaking on the theme “Nigeria, Time to Reload,” Bishop Kukah described former U.S. President Donald Trump as “a symptom, not the sickness,” urging Nigeria to “wake up” and confront the root causes of its dysfunction.
“Trump is a symptom of the disease in our country. It is time for Nigeria to wake up. We are living in a time between BT and AT — Before Trump and After Trump. What we are dealing with goes beyond personalities; it is about a system that has failed to define our national purpose,” he said.
“A Nation of Disrupted Dreams”
Reflecting on Nigeria’s long-standing challenges, Bishop Kukah lamented that the nation has become “a country of disrupted dreams,” with over 60,000 abandoned projects and citizens held “hostage in the womb of ethnicity and religion.”
He drew parallels with China, highlighting how the Asian giant built its moral and political systems on the philosophy of moderation and equilibrium drawn from Confucian teachings.
“If you see us being chaotic, quarrelsome, and angry, it is because we lack the moral and institutional framework to establish equilibrium,” he explained.
Who Are Nigeria’s Founding Fathers?
Bishop Kukah revisited Nigeria’s political history, questioning the identity of the nation’s true founding fathers.
“Most countries have their founding fathers. Who are ours?” he asked, recalling how leaders like Awolowo and Azikiwe were influenced by radical democratic ideas from America but were prevented from fully applying them at home.
He cited historical divisions between Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Sir Ahmadu Bello, saying their contrasting philosophies — “forget our differences” versus “remember our differences” — still shape Nigeria’s disunity today.
“It is the implications and distinctions between forgetting and remembering that have brought us to where we are today,” he said.
On Democracy and Governance
Bishop Kukah emphasized that credible elections, while essential, are not enough to sustain democracy.
“A wedding is not a marriage — it’s just a ceremony. Likewise, an election is not democracy. The real work begins after,” he said, referencing the failed marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana as an analogy for superficial democratic celebrations without substance.
He called for stronger institutions and laws rather than simply searching for “good men.”
“In democracy, we are not looking for good men to govern us; we are looking for good laws to restrain even the best from breaking them,” he declared.
Learning from Ghana
The bishop praised Ghana’s political system for upholding accountability, noting that in Ghana, defecting politicians automatically trigger a by-election within 42 days and cannot contest it.
“These defections we see daily in Nigeria cannot happen in Ghana — not because Ghanaians are not angry, but because the law prevents such recklessness,” he stated.
A Call to Moral Clarity
Concluding his address, Bishop Kukah urged Nigerians to rethink their values and work towards national renewal:
“Men and women have made sacrifices to get us here. It’s time for us to think more clearly about the kind of values we must uphold to hold our society together. Trump is not our problem — he is only a symptom. Nigeria must wake up.”
Credit: Soar TV
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