Politics
Kukah’s Cross of Nationalism And The Burden of Buhari’s Presidency
Kukah’s Cross of Nationalism And The Burden of Buhari’s Presidency.
By Dr Bolaji O. Akinyemi
Who is Luis Farrakhan? That was the very first word that reverberated from an old TV set when justice was being done to a nice meal. Hardly do I get distracted when tending to a meal. But not on this occasion. Louis Farrakhan was a lousy brand, polished in eloquent language, but screwed up in bigotry. He was ekking a living and gaining global attention. 1998 was his loudest. He got paid from Nigeria’s Oil money, without any value added to our nation and even got a street named after him. Eleke Crescent for that matter! In a bid to get even with the American Government who immortalised Kudirat Abiola’s memory on American soil, the junta Government Buhari served threw our pearls to the swine. Little or nothing was known about Louis Farrakhan.
Holding to power has become a struggle for Sanni Abacha and his allies. Buhari was in charge of PTF, one of the fraudulent units with which Abacha was siphoning money. The Petroleum Trust Fund, PTF was also one of the cartels sustaining and funding the propaganda machineries of Abacha Government. The one million man march, with another mischievous Kanu as the convener was fashioned after Louis’s and ended up getting a chunk of our national cake through PTF in Niara and Kobo. And to think that the Naira wasn’t crippled as it is today under Buhari! Luis Farrakhan visited Nigeria to add his oratory emptiness to the noisome pestilence the Abacha Government has become to Nigerians and got paid by Muhammadu Buhari’s PTF. Buhari may be taciturn but he is an experienced propagandist as we can see from this administration since 2015. He has done tremendously well in the media than the reality on ground.
Faced with the eloquent rantings of Luis Farrakhan, Nigerians dearly needed to know who this American “freedom fighter” who once idolized Adolf Hitler was. His coming to promote the continuation of a Junta Government on the African soil of Nigeria raised so many questions.
Rev, Father Matthew Kukah, was a Priest of the Catholic Church, who was expected to know just enough of Cathcisim to keep his parishioners coming to his parish for mass. It was he, however, who solved the riddle that Luis Farrakhan has become to the Nigerian public. He gave definition to Louis’s personality is such dramatic way that made me full at the dinner table. His intelligence became my satisfaction and he won my admiration and national attention from that day. What were his words? “Who is Louis Farrakhan? He asked rhetorically, and answered. Louis Farrakhan is an hungry American looking for cheap publicity. With such few but potent words, the effusive balloon of propaganda that was hanging over our national space was deflated. Luis left Nigeria with a deflated ego which he has never been able to recover from.
What are the things Matthew Hassan Kukah and Mohammadu Buhari has in common? The former is naturalized Nigerian, the latter a first generation nationalised Nigeria. Kukah is a cross carpenter who has fashioned his faith as a bridge across tribes and religions. Buhari unfortunately has a blurred vision of what the Crescent stands for and represents. The Crescent for him has risen over a tribe (Fulani), who must have ownership of Nigeria. The reflection of the light of the Crescent for Buhari is limited to a region (the North). Islam is not reason for Buhari’s lack of sight, for the light of the Crescent that Buhari has sought to dim through bigotry is still clearly seen by other faithfuls of the religion of peace like the Sultan, Sheikh Gumi, Northern Muslims Professionals are walking the cross of a united Nigeria with Kukah and several other nationalist, among whom is the People’s Senator Sanni Shehu.
Event in the media, since Matthew Hassan Kukah delivered his Christmas homily from the city of the Caliphate; from where the Sultan had earlier cried the same cry should neccessarily be put in perspective
Father Matthew Kukah since his dramatic introduction to the nation has at different occasions stepped out of his parishes to adorn our national platform.
Lai Mohammed, like other Buharist, has failed to see objectivity in Father Kukah’s call to Buhari on the State of the Nation, in their usual attitude of ‘Buhari can do no wrong’. Lai Mohammed said, ‘while religious leaders have responsibility to speak truth to power, such truth must not come wrapped in anger’. I beg your pardon! Honourable Minister, you seems to have forgotten that anger is a companion of hunger, and consequently a nation subjected to untold hunger must have plenty of anger in their tone. The wraps of anger on our communication is none of our doing, but of this administration that has wrapped the nation in hunger. Our farmers upon whom we rely for food supply are wrapped in the blanket of death except they obtain military permission to go to their own farms. This administration has inadvertently invited not just the anger of the people but also the wrath of Allah of Islam the religion of peace.
Matthew Hassan Kukah has show class of a Nationalist that Buhari can only wish for in his next world. Buhari whose brotherhood of the Fulani herdsmen comes ahead of the country called Nigeria, once led his people who have not suffered half what Kukah’s tribe has under Buhari’s Presidency, in protest to the Oyo State Government House. Kukah is yet to be overtaken by such anger that inspired Buhari’s leadership of Fulani herdsmen to Oyo State Government house.
Buharist has gone to dig up all manner of information to smear the impeccable record of Matthew Hassan Kukah, one of which is his membership of the Board of Atiku’s American University in Yola. Which for any reasonable Nigerian is an honour to the administration of education and a privilege to Atiku’s contribution to education to be so dignified by the erudite scholar and global citizen.
May be we should investigate Matthew Hassan Kukah, same way he did, Louis Farrakhan, by asking, who is Matthew Hassan Kukah?
He served as the Secretary General of the Catholic Bishop Conference before his consecration to the office of the Bishop. Presently the Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Sokoto. In 1999 to 2001, he was Secretary Nigerian Investigation Commission of Human Right Violation. Secretary National Political Reform Conference of 2005.
Matthew Hassan Kukah is a Colossus on the landscape of Nigeria whose contribution to nation building can never be demeaned by rants of insensitive political dogs and baboons whose bathing in blood he sought to end with his Christmas homily. He was the presidential facilitator who negotiated an end to the hostilities between Shell Petroleum Development Company and Ogoni people from 2007 to 2009. He is the Chairman of the Interreligious Dialogue Committee for Bishop Conference of both Nigeria and West Africa. A very visible member of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Vatican City. Buharist, will not cease to amaze us by asking a person most qualified to be begged for word to keep quiet.
Kukah holds a Bachelor of Divinity from St. Augustine’s Seminary. He earned a Master Degree in Peace Studies at the University of Bradford in 1980, and a Doctorate Degree from the School of Oriental and African Studies in 1990. He was Senior Rhodes Scholar at St Anthony College (2001-2003), Oxford. A Mason Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, where he earned a Master Degree in Public Policy.
If only the Buharists knew that hidden behind the pulpit, though a man of little stature like Apostle Paul was a man of great learning and a giant from which this Government can find help if they will humble themselves.
Kukah is not just another paper crazy Nigerian in search of certificates to dignify their emptiness, libraries across the globe are enriched with the publications of the Scholar of no mean reputation. Lay your hands on, “Religion Politics and Power in Northern Nigeria” (1992), and your foolishness will be dispelled. “Towards a Just, Democratic Nigeria” (1995), has the capacity to heal not just Mohammadu Buhari but all Buharists. With
“Democracy and Civil Society in Nigeria” (1998) we stand a better management of our pubic space and communication engineering. “Witness to Justice”, published in 2011 would have prepared Buhari for the responsibility for which he is grossly failing had he owned a copy.
Kukah is an institution from which all Nigerians desirous of a better deal for our nationhood must continue to learn. The founder of Kukah Center, a public policy Think tank with focus on faith and public policy in Abuja and Kaduna.
Kukah is an institution we can not ignore if we sincerely hope to find our path to a better and greater Nigeria.
Politics
2027 BATTLE: How Much Nigeria Can Save, Invest In Infrastructure By Rotating Power Among Six Geo-political Zones For A Single Term Of Five Or Six Years
2027 BATTLE: How Much Nigeria Can Save, Invest In Infrastructure By Rotating Power Among Six Geo-political Zones For A Single Term Of Five Or Six Years
As a Southernern, particularly from the South East Geo-Political Zone, I believe the most potent argument for us in 2027 is that the North/South zoning arrangement of political power at the center is a scam. It’s a scam because it has only benefitted the South West and the North West geo-political zones since the return of ‘democracy’ (civil rule) in Nigeria on May 29, 1999. Nigeria, it must be clarified has six geo-political zones, not two.
Nigeria was divided into six geo-political zones in 1996 by the military government of General Sanni Abacha. This new zoning arrangement was a brainchild of the 1994/1995 Constitutional Conference chaired by the late Justice Adolphus Karibi-Whyte and empaneled by General Sanni Abacha.
At that Conference, no less a person than former Vice President Chief Alex Ekwueme and a group called Mkpoko Igbo proposed that since Nigeria will now be divided into six geo-political zones, to give all zones a sense of belonging within the Nigerian State, that power at the center should rotate among the six geo-political zones for a single term of five or six years. In their thinking, if power was rotated among the six geo-political zones for a single term of five or six years, within 30 years or 36 years, all six zones would have had one of their own leading Nigeria, particularly, from their first 11 (primus inter pares). The North and the South West delegations at that conference pooh-poohed Chief Alex Ekwueme and summarily shut down that all-important proposal. The rest they say is history.
More than 30 years later, there is yet no national peace, national cohesion, national political stability, national unity, and national loyalty to the Nigerian State. Had the proposal of Chief Alex Ekwueme and Mkpoko Igbo been adopted and implemented since 1999, at least, the 5th Geo-Political Zone would have had one of their own in Aso Villa today, and by 2035, the last geo-political zone would have being sending us one of their own to contest the Presidency across Nigeria’s current 18 political parties. This mathematics is if we had gone with a single term of six years (the maximum limit) as proposed by Dr. Ekwueme and the South East and South South delegates in that 1994/1995 Constitutional Conference.
Fast forward to today, in his recent Arise TV interview, and in some other public and private fora, H.E. Atiku Abubakar asked for Dr. Ekwueme’s forgiveness as he was among key Northern delegates in that Constitutional Conference from the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua group that opposed the rotational presidency among Nigeria’s geo-political zones. Waziri Adamawa had disclosed that he even apologized to Alex Ekwueme when he visited Oko, Anambra State, to pay homage to the former late vice president sometime in 2017/2018.
By and large, for 2027, I believe that the most potent argument that will sell in the South East is that the North East where Waziri Adamawa hails from, just like the South East (our region), had also been marginalized in the scheme of things in Nigeria. Aside from Alhaji Tafawa Balewa from Bauchi State (North East), nobody from the region/zone has been head of national government, head of state, or even president since 1966.
So, H.E. Atiku Abubakar is right in contesting the Presidential election billed for January 16, 2027, to right this wrong, and return Nigeria’s presidency to an equitable distribution of power at the center. When elected, and it’s entrenched in the Nigerian 1999 Constitution (as amended), that power rotates among the six geo-political zones for a single term of five or six years, this new formula will bring about national peace, national cohesion, national unity, and tremendously commandeer national loyalty among Nigerians from across the six geo-political zones for their beloved country, the Nigerian State.
As a budding political scientist of repute and ardent student of contemporary Nigerian history and politics, let me tell us what this formular would do for the Nigerian State. The battle for the soul of the Nigerian State will be ferocious at the zonal level, while the center will become unattractive. So, let’s say it is the turn of the North East Geo-Political Zone to produce the Presidency in 2027, the battle to gift Nigerians their First 11 (primus inter pares) will be ferocious across the States in the region. The people of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe will now be more interested in partisan politics, thus being proactive participants within the current 18 political parties in Nigeria.
Giving Nigeria’s configurations and peculiarities, one of the positives of this political proactiveness is that it’s a win-win situation for the entire region if a man from Adamawa becomes President of Nigeria in 2027. The people from Yobe, Borno, Taraba, Gombe, and Bauchi will be largely happy, contented, hold their peace, love Nigeria better, and be more loyal to the Nigerian State because one of their own is now the GCFR, the primus inter pares, and the No. 1 Citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The steep insecurity that has ravaged the North East Geo-Political Zone since 2009, largely owing to perceived agelong marginalisation, oppression, injustices, would largely die down.
This will be the same case for the South East Geo-Political Zone. Biafra secessionist agitations, IPOB, ESN led by Nnamdi Kanu, will die a natural death. Justice and equity for all breeds contentment among men, and contentment among men births peace, unity, commandeers loyalty, and tremendously brings about prosperity. I stand to be challenged on this self-evident truth on any national television station.
When it is the turn of another region to produce the Presidency, after the North East has had their turn, all political parties in Nigeria must constitutionally present a Presidential candidate from the region whose turn it is to produce the presidency for a single term of six years. This rotational presidency formula must be entrenched in Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution (as amended) by May 29, 2027.
I avow that rotational presidency among Nigeria’s six geo-political zones for a single term of five or six years is the best political science solution to the agelong hydra-headed problem of Nigeria, especially in the guise of disunity, unpeaceful, and disloyalty problems among Nigerian citizens. Doing this will also largely curtail the executive rascalities, legislative rascalities, and judicial rascalities currently being perpetrated by the Bola Ahmed Tinubu led Executive arm; the Godswill Akpabio led Legislative arm; and the CJN Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun led Judiciary arm.
The over desperation of getting re-elected for a second term in office, as shown today by Bola Tinubu, will be eraced for future Nigerian Presidents. The humongous money and depletion of Nigeria’s national treasury just for seeking re-election at all cost, and conducting elections will also be erased.
The Highfalutin, Draining Cost Of Conducting Elections In Nigeria?
For the 2023 general election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) proposed N305 billion in May 2022, which was a 62 percent increase over the 2019 budget. Ultimately, the National Assembly approved N355 billion for the exercise, though the commission spent N313.4 billion as of September 2023.
For the 2027 general election, INEC Chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan proposed a total budget of N873.78 billion to the National Assembly in February 2026. This proposal includes N375.75 billion for election operations, N209.21 billion for technology, and N92.31 billion for administrative costs. The Bola Ahmed Tinubu led APC regime had previously allocated N1.01 trillion to INEC in the 2026 budget presented in January 2026.
Ladies and gentlemen, INEC’s election budget ballooned from N355 billion in 2023 to a whopping N873.78 billion for a re-election season in 2027? This is approximately a percentage increase of 146.13%. This is unacceptable, opprobrious, and insalubrious.
If we entrench in the Nigerian 1999 Constitution (as amended), zoning the presidency among the six geo-political zones for a single term of five or six years, this proposed N873.78 billion to coduct the 2027 re-election season would have been eliminated.
What Can N873.78 billion Do For Nigerians In Terms Of Infrastructural Developmental Projects?
If hypothetically redirected or matched in scale for infrastructure development, N873.78 billion could significantly advance Nigeria’s infrastructure across key sectors:
1. Roads and Transportation: This amount could fund the rehabilitation of over 10,000 kilometers (6213.712 miles) of rural and urban roads, especially when combined with technical support from institutions like the World Bank’s RAAMP-SU project.
It could complete critical projects like the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway or support the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, enhancing regional connectivity and trade.
2. Railway Development: Based on past projects, N873 billion could finance a new 600–800 km (373-497 miles) standard gauge rail line, similar to the Abuja-Kaduna or Lagos-Ibadan lines, which were partially funded by Chinese loans.
Rail expansion would boost freight movement, reduce road congestion, and create thousands of jobs.
3. Power and Energy: The sum could support renewable energy projects, such as solar mini-grids for 10,000 rural communities, or fund transmission infrastructure to reduce power losses.
For context, Power Africa facilitated $63 million in renewable energy investments over 26 months—N873 billion could scale such efforts dramatically.
4. Water and Sanitation: Funds could build or upgrade water treatment plants, boreholes, and sanitation systems in underserved urban and rural areas, improving public health and reducing waterborne diseases.
5. Agricultural Infrastructure: The NSIA’s Multipurpose Industrial Platform Ltd (MIPL) in Akwa Ibom, including an ammonia and fertilizer plant, is a multi-billion-dollar project. N873 billion could fund multiple such agro-industrial hubs, boosting food security and reducing import dependence.
Analyzing The Current Infrastructure Spending In Nigeria In Relation To N873.78 Billion?
For comparison, Nigeria’s actual infrastructure allocations are much lower than the humongous money INEC is proposing to conduct the shaky 2027 general elections in Nigeria.
The 2025 Federal Budget allocated ₦4.06 trillion ($2.7 billion) for infrastructure—about 7.4% of total spending.
The National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP) aims to raise infrastructure stock to 70% of GDP by 2043, requiring $100 billion annually—far above current spending levels.
Pension funds invested ₦262.57 billion in infrastructure in the first 10 months of 2025. This is below N873.78 billion being earmarked for the 2027 elections.
Without mincing words, let me aver that the N873.78 billion could transform infrastructural developmental projects in Nigeria, But the fact that this amount is proposed for elections, not infrastructural developmental projects, highlights a mismatch between public needs and government spending priorities in Nigeria, especially under the disastrous APC regime of Bola Tinubu.
Conclusion
While N873.78 billion is earmarked for elections, its scale underscores what Nigeria could achieve in infrastructure if similar resources were consistently invested. Redirecting even a fraction of election budgets toward roads, power, rail, water, and agriculture could accelerate economic growth, create jobs, and improve quality of life in Nigeria. However, transparency, accountability, and long-term planning are essential to ensure such investments yield lasting benefits.
Finally, ladies and gentlemen, let’s consider the substantial ingredients of this political seminal and fix this mess of power rotation at the center among Nigeria’s six geo-political zones for a single term of five or six years. Let’s stop wasting scarce resources in Nigeria conducting re-elections at the center and across state levels. Let’s stop wasting everybody’s time in Nigeria.
Ikenna Asomba is a political scientist and journalist. He writes from the State of Illinois, United States.
Politics
2027 BOMBSHELL: Dismantling The Myth Around Kwankwaso’s So-Called Electoral Dominance In Kano
2027 BOMBSHELL: Dismantling The Myth Around Kwankwaso’s So-Called Electoral Dominance In Kano
Politics
I am fully ready for the 2027 general elections”- ADP, presidential aspirant, Prof. Omolaja, declares
“I am fully ready for the 2027 general elections”- ADP, presidential aspirant, Prof. Omolaja, declares.
By Comrade Samson Ajibade Alabi, NLP Media Director
A presidential aspirant under the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Prof Muhammad Omolaja, has said that he is fully ready for the 2027 general elections especially the presidential contest.
Prof. Omolaja who disclosed this in an exclusive interview with pressmen in Abuja on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, said he has done his consultations with leaders of the Party, boasting that he is the next president of Nigeria by the grace of God.
He submitted that he has won the heart of the people at the grassroots across all the States and geopolitical zones including the federal capital territory (FCT); and convinced them about his clear vision and mission for Nigeria.
According to him, Nigerians are tired of the APC government and ready to vote them out in favour of his Party; the ADP!
Prof. Omolaja added that ADP is the only Party that can liberate Nigeria and rescue the citizens from the prevailing insecurity and other challenges facing the country.
The presidential aspirant said “you are asking me if I am ready for the 2027 general elections or not, I hereby inform you categorically that I am fully ready for the election; we have done what to be done, we have systematically carried Nigerians along in our preparations especially the people at the grassroots; and we have let them know that ADP is the only credible alternative Party that can liberate them from all the challenges the country is facing under the prevailing APC government. I am confident that I will get the ticket of our great Party being the leading contestant, and win the upcoming 2027 presidential election by the special grace of the Almighty God”
He therefore urged Nigerians to rally support for him and his Party (ADP) at the polls in the spirit of peace, love, unity, and patriotism in Nigeria.
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