The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Revd Dr Matthew Hassan Kukah, has lambasted Nigerian governors for embarking on a retreat to Rwanda.
The Founder, The Kukah Centre, expressed his displeasure in Abuja over the retreat held at the instance of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) during an event tagged ‘Validation Session: Needs Assessment of Political Parties in Nigeria’ organised by the Kukah Centre and funded by the European Union (EU).
The three-day executive leadership retreat of Nigerian governors in Kigali, Rwanda, was organised in partnership with the Nigerian Governors’ Forum. Nineteen participants drawn from 19 states of the federation reportedly attended the programme, held between August 24 and 26, 2023.
But Kukah said it was a bit agonising that newly elected governors would make a trip to Rwanda just to go and think about what they are going to do.
According to Kukah, “If you are familiar with all these political movements, is that people travel from here to America and to everywhere.
“Sometimes, if 50 people travel abroad, 30 or 40 people never attend even the processes. They get the estacode, but they don’t participate in the processes.”
Kukah further said Nigerians should not be talking about going to learn democracy from Rwanda.
“And of course, if you are obsessed with Rwanda, it is wonderful. But please, let’s not forget, Rwanda’s politics is not the same as Nigerian politics.
“I hear Nigerian women, they keep saying we want to be like Rwanda. Well, you want to be like Rwanda with the huge women population in government, you’ve got to kill your husbands because had the men not been killed during the genocide, women would not have had the opportunity they now have in Rwandan politics.
“So, it is not an act of some benevolent democrats who have realised that women have a place. So, it is an act of desperation.” Kukah however said he was in support of the initiative of the Nigerian women, saying “there should be more than 30 percent.
“We just want to enter this process, we want to get 30 or 40 percent of the corruption. There is no need wanting a seat at the table if you are not going to be able to effect change,” Kukah said.
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