Mathew Kukah, bishop of the Sokoto catholic diocese and member of the National Peace Committee, in the interview granted to the Daily Trust, has revealed what he really told President Muhammadu Buhari during their meeting.
Election Peace Committee with President Buhari and his vice Yemi Osinbajo
Kukah responded to the reactions against his comments concerning ‘probe can’t be substituted for governance’ among others.
He said: “I am quite pleased that people are talking and I am not bothered about those who agree or disagree with me. Why should people agree with me if they do not feel persuaded by my argument?
“I consider myself an individual with the freedom to air my views. I do not see why anyone who disagrees with me should make me feel offended. We can disagree without being disagreeable. You can detect the quality of minds, people’s character and level of decency by how they approach issues when they do not agree with you. I was not teaching or marking an English paper, so whether I recommended probe or investigation, it does not matter.
“Now, no one seems to remember what I said, so what is there to elaborate on? I have said it elsewhere and I was only making a suggestion based on my experience as a Nigerian.
“How many probes have we had? Where are the convictions? I am not against probes of any sort. My advice was that with no clear strategy, government could raise undue anxiety and they may lose the element of surprise and find that the required ammunition for building their case has vanished, that’s all.”
He further spoke on the results of the probes.
“Some Nigerians feel that the probes should not focus only on the immediate past administration but should begin from 1999. What’s your take?
“Whatever, whenever, however. The National Peace Committee brokered a deal between President Muhammadu Buhari and the former president, Goodluck Jonathan,” he stated.
“Apart from what is known publicly about the meeting and the good and peaceful conduct during the election, what salient issues are in the peace deal?
“Does it for instance impose certain conditions on Mr. President? Also, does it include the general belief by many Nigerians that if President Buhari won the election, he would not probe Goodluck Jonathan as it is widely said that the latter conceded defeat on the understanding that he would not be probed?”
“Now, people are making up their stories about what both President Jonathan and General Buhari agreed upon. On that day, I read out the full text of the agreement.”
Kukah explained why it is astonishing but not surprising that some mischief makers will jump out and say that he is shielding President Jonathan from probe.
He added: “I am disappointed but not sad. We can do better than this with some level of honesty. Did Jonathan’s name feature in your discussion with the President when the Peace Committee visited him?
“How can President Jonathan’s name feature in our discussion? First, the media reported a day before our meeting that President Jonathan and President Buhari had had a meeting two days earlier. Both men are former head of state and president. I imagine that President Buhari must be laughing at all this nonsense by those who are publicly wearing and displaying their ignorance as a garment of honour. A former president is a former president and we the ordinary people must be careful in poking our noses in their affairs.”
There had been reports that Kukah holds the opinion that Buhari should ‘face his work’ and stop investigating corruption linked to the past government, as he believes it serves as a distraction from tackling the issues Nigeria currently faces.
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