Kukah made these remarks during his keynote address at the official commissioning of Start-Rite School’s new building and the 4th Amaka Ndoma-Egba Memorial Lecture in Abuja .
Bishop Kukah emphasized that it was evident none of these leaders were fully prepared before assuming office, especially in a world where the demands of leadership are rapidly evolving.
He lamented that the fundamental element missing in Nigerian leadership is knowledge.
“If we are to start from the beginning, you will find that almost every leader who came to power in Nigeria did so as a result of one accident or another,” Kukah stated.
Kukah provided a historical context to his argument, highlighting the accidental nature of leadership transitions in Nigeria .
He noted that President Tinubu , who claimed to be prepared for the role, is struggling to get off the ground.
“Tinubu took over from Buhari, who had already given up. Buhari succeeded Jonathan, who thought he would retire after being deputy governor but was thrust into power by circumstances.
“Jonathan succeeded Yar’Adua, who had planned to return to teaching at Ahmadu Bello University after his governorship. Yar’Adua, in turn, succeeded Obasanjo, who was unexpectedly released from prison to become president.”
Kukah stressed that while the world has changed, the expectations of leadership have not.
He expressed concern that democracy appears to be malfunctioning under successive administrations, despite the nation’s embrace of the democratic principle of ‘one man, one vote.’
“The fundamental issue in governance is knowledge. Leaders need a deep understanding of their environment,” Kukah asserted.
Meanwhile, the Presidency has insisted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is prepared for the nation’s highest office and does not belong in the category of accidental leaders.
Bayo Onanuga, the president’s special adviser on information and strategy, made this assertion in a phone interview on Sunday,
Reacting to the comments of Bishop Matthew Kukah, Onanuga said: “He (Tinubu) is not an accidental leader; he is doing his best to ensure that we have a turnaround in this country.”
The presidential spokesman argued that Tinubu had shown a reformer’s attitude and, saying “reforms are not done in quick fixes; it takes time for you to turn things around, and he is doing it.”
“He is reforming a lot of things in Nigeria, you are talking about taxation, you are talking about the oil sector, so many reforms the man is carrying out,” Onanuga insisted.