RECAP: Et tu, Monsignor Kukah?
By Abubakar Gimba
“Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah is among those at the top of my list of the clergy I trust do possess the qualities of the needed savvy for promoting inter-religious harmony for a more united North and a peaceful Nigeria. He is a great asset in our drive for a durable inter-religious harmony the North needs. That was why his elevation to the episcopal position as the Bishop of Sokoto elated me to no end, even though by his recent utterances, he has not shown sufficient sensitivity or courtesy to the historical significance of the place and the gracious reception which the predominant Muslim population there has accorded him.”
I was in the Business Centre situated in the outpatient ground floor of the Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi, India, browsing the Internet to update myself with the elections results of our 2011 April General Elections, when the voice of a man that sounded typically Nigerian came reeling and condemning the reported weeping of General Buhari for the plight he foresaw our nation seemed to have been programmed to fall into. “What was he crying for?” the man asked, a question for which he needed no one else’s answer: he had the answers. “He cried because he knew he has lost the election… Selfish people! They think it is their birthright to rule Nigeria all the time.”
I turned to have a glimpse of the speaker, surely a Nigerian. He was in the company of a lady. I had seen the fellow a day earlier. He was a young medical doctor, a dentist, from Benue State. He spoke with the strong accent of the Tiv. The lady with him said little, though seemed a delighted listener: and if she had said something, I cannot now recall, perhaps stung by what the young medic added. “They treat us, the Northern Christians, like third class citizens… We always beat them in academic performance, but they give themselves all the jobs. They give us the crumbs!” Slowly I turned in my chair so that he could see me. He did. He said no more, and rather hurriedly, he went out. He knew that I was one of the “they”, a Northern Muslim.
My consultant dentist had introduced the young dentist to me when I went to see him for a minor check up. I spoke to my young fellow countryman like a brother from Northern Nigeria, our different religions never crossing my mind, and expressed my delight to see a fellow like him in far away India, for practical knowledge enhancement in a medical field in which our country is facing a dire dearth of manpower. I never thought he could harbour such a venom against Muslims, Northern Muslims, of which I am one. After his Business Centre remarks, I was quite anxious to have a chance to talk with him. Two days after, we were to have entered one elevator, but he tactfully stayed back ostensibly because he was on phone. Later, I decided not to talk with him on the matter, praying that as he grew up, he would see the world and interpret events differently, after due tutelage under experience and wisdom. Case closed.
Unfortunately, I have now been forced into a recollection of the Apollo Hospital incidence by a recent occurrence on our home soil: the eulogy delivered by Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah, the Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese on December 20, 2012, at the Burial Mass for the late Governor of Kaduna State, Patrick Yakowa. Bishop Kukah’s speech was a sad reminder of my encounter with the young dentist: his “they” and “us” divisive classification of Northerners, and from quarters that surprised me to no end. The young dentist, I could excuse on the grounds of delinquency in perception of the indoctrinated, or infantile anger of the greenhorn to life’s fact sheets. For the Bishop’s remarks, however, there is a lot to cause us a great deal of concern. He is 60, with a name of repute among the Nigerian elites (in the sense of both “they” and “us” classifications of the dentist). I have great respect for both his ecclesiastical position on the ladder of the church hierarchy, and his forays into secular discourse on our nation’s cascading social condition which we have found ourselves in. I share quite a lot of his views on the latter which are not, I believe, incompatible with his pastoral calling. Indeed, they are complementary.
Sometimes, I tend to think that this versatile clergy had set his mind on becoming Nigeria’s version of Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, even if the Nobel Peace Prize does not come his way. How do I know? The Bishop himself gave me a glimpse into his thinking and his focus on South Africa, with his curious accusation of (apparently Muslim leaders of Kaduna State in particular and the North in general) being the architects of “the divisive, ugly and pernicious past constructed by men who had the hearts for apartheid”. He had earlier alluded glowingly to late Yakowa’s ascendancy to the pinnacle of power as, in some ways, similar to Nelson Mandela’s historic political episode, in an overstretched hyperbole. In the same breadth, he granted a very generous veneration to President de Klerk as “the great”. I do not begrudge the Bishop his dreams to stardom, but I cannot understand the grounds of his grouse that so much propelled him to pour such vituperations on Muslims. Yes, someone who wants to defend him (and I would wish to do so myself in some different situations, such as in his stance on the plane-possessing pastors) would argue that he never meant to target the majority of Muslims: only a minority is culpable.
However, atmospherics of his speech at Yakowa’s burial sounded differently. The many references to “religious bigots”, “dubious religious manipulations”, “members of the nefarious Mafia whose selfishness hindered the development of Kaduna State in particular and the North in general”, “one of the worst shows of selfishness by an unproductive and selfish cabal who have deployed religion to hide their goal”, and “those who have projected Islam as a basis for power..(and) created the condition that now threatens the foundation of our society, are all tailored for, and directly targeted at Muslims, to make them (us) fit for the gallows of culpability, and painting them as unquestionable candidates for the hangman’s noose. In my great respect for the Bishop, I still do not believe he would come down from his episcopal ladder to the level of the young dentist of India. Yet, I see this erudite clergyman, whose wisdom I admire, in a double attire: beneath the adornment of his clericals, he also sadly wore the young dentist’s dress, on the occasion of Yakowa’s funeral. And perhaps, he has always done so, or in possession of such.
Painfully, Bishop Kukah’s stature seemed to have allowed itself some indulgence in some inexplicable, perhaps, unconscious dance to the drumbeats of dual heroism, a seductive heroism that is of spiritual and temporal nature in his speech at the burial mass of Yakowa. I respect his guts, no doubt. But his staunch followers would term his performance at Yakowa’s funeral as an act of bravado. In the rugged world we live in now, indeed, every successful action, which an average decency would frown at, inspired by our unschooled whims, is lauded as an act of bravado. But true courage or bravery is measured, refined, and guided by a code of conduct of ethics and morality and circumstance. In the realms of faith, the standard as well as expectations are much loftier or higher. The Bishop was no doubt very blunt and courageous: he called a spade a spade his supporters would say. Or did he? Methinks, he called a spade a rake, or acted more like one who on sighting a troop of a few rampaging monkeys in a maize farm, rushed home to tell the people that their farms were being destroyed by a large troop of gorillas!
The Bishop’s obvious alarm may have stemmed from anger over past injustices and unfair deals. But a man of his ecclesiastic standing and honor must never succumb to temptations of prejudice that could breed communal hatred even in the face of injustice; never yield to anger that could spell a widespread loss of blood and deaths even in the face of provocation. Yes, the good Bishop is human; but those who voluntarily, out of conviction took the super highway to the celestial dominion as a clerical vanguard, must have the temperament and tolerance to understand the multitude of the laity, which cannot completely wrestle itself from the temptations and passions of the winding rough road to the same dominion. He must have the persuasive tongue to talk them into changing to his super highway, or have the patience to wait for them. Abrasive language and intimidation (even if subtly done) do not win truthful disciples or converts. Every preacher or proselytizer knows this. The Bishop certainly does.
But the sad and sudden death of Governor Yakowa seemed to have jilted our brother, the Bishop, out of his customary sobriety into a state of exasperation. In his eulogy he asserts, “From the creation of Kaduna State in 1987, the Northern ruling class, by policy seemed to have erected an invisible sign that read: No Christians Need Apply to enter… the Kashim Ibrahim House, or represent the State at the highest levels”. According to his hypothesis, there is “a policy of exclusion against non-Muslims” which has “turned Kaduna State into a political Mecca and laid the foundations for the sad religious tensions that have continued to dog the State”. The curious aspect of his stance is that, he scaled the boundaries of Kaduna State and brought in other States as culpable in the bloody sagas of Kaduna. This sounds like a conspiracy theory against Muslim elites across the North. Collaborators and conspirators, all!
But, in his exasperation, the Bishop’s most poignant statements are his talking down to the new Governor Yero: “The world looks up to you never to be seduced by the whispers of the wicked whose devilish and selfish hold on power has held our society down… Do not be tempted to think that the Muslims have taken what the wicked have presented as a prize for only Muslims…”. Heavy words, both invective and patronizing! The great scorn, however, went to those ALLEGED to be jubilant over the unfortunate death of Yakowa. With a mixture of moral and filial loyalty inspired indignation, he called them “riffraffs and scoundrels”. And indeed, if the report were true, they had committed a very reprehensible and sinful act. The moral reproach for such an opprobrious act is not any more applicable in any religion than in Islam. But the energy and venom poured into it by the Bishop is puzzling, coming from a man who should appreciate (though certainly not condone) such gross moral deficiency in man. The energy he poured in this scorn is apparently due, by and large, to his conviction that he felt Muslims were the ones who were that jubilant.
If his belief were not so, why did he not show such moral indignation when in one of the Jos carnages, an amateur video showed men waiving human body parts of Muslims for munching in their raw state. One jubilant member of the killing crowd even announced with fanfare, “Ni anta na ke so!” in Hausa (It is the liver I want). Never in my life have I seen or heard of such a bestiality, a very chilling oddity. That should have made any God-fearing priest to go on his knees in tears, for the Lord to forgive the flock which had gone thus wild. Perhaps, the Bishop railed and wept over that gory descent into such an enormity, especially coming from the flock to which he was directly or indirectly a shepherd. Besides, the “riffraffs” had nothing to do with the sad accident that consumed Yakowa. They live in a different world from the rest of us (men of faith of whatever religious label), a world not circumscribed by strict adherence to any religious codes of conduct. Their world is a goldmine for preachers, a battlefield for evangelism. The Bishop knows better than I.
Lest we forget, Yakowa was a political leader, not a religious or ethnic representative. To package him as a sectional/tribal and a religious symbol or representative is to be unfair to the spirit of the man which he showcased while alive, and earned him the soubriquet, “Yakowa Na Kowa” by, even according to the Bishop’s honest admission, his Hausa Muslim admirers. In pouring out our emotions over his death therefore, let’s eulogize Yakowa, but we must guard against undeserved demonizing of others. Let’s condemn socially and morally repulsive acts, but we must be wary of selective condemnation for an equally reprehensible act. Yakowa was a bridge builder: let’s not therefore allow those who want to appropriate him as their son and hero to be bridge breakers.
The late Governor sadly lost his life in an unfortunate air mishap far away from any of the Northern States. I shudder to think what the Bishop of Sokoto would have said if he had been killed by Boko Haram! I still have not been able to unravel the puzzle that pushed this man of God to give such an umbrage in his speech against Muslims: he made at least 25 direct and oblique unsavory references against Muslim leaders and Muslims generally. Yet in another breadth, here is a man who, by his own admission, enjoys the goodwill and camaraderie of Mai Martaba, The Sultan of Sokoto and every Muslim elite deserving to be in any Who’s Who Book of Northern Muslims. What has happened to common courtesy? Killed on the alter of cherishing the publicity of being seen as tough-talking? Even the brothers of his “riffraffs”, such as the “young Muslims genuinely wailing and waiving in sorrow”, and “many ordinary Muslims genuinely full of emotions “ who hugged him on account of Yakowa’s fatal accident, all provide a congenial atmosphere for the Bishop to help solidify Yakowa’s bridges and not break the dykes. Yet the Bishop pulled as many of his arrows of contempt for Muslims as he possibly could to shoot at them! My brother may be wayward, and despite our friendship, you could still visit oblique bitter scorn on me!
Yet, Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah is among those at the top of my list of the clergy I trust do possess the qualities of the needed savvy for promoting inter-religious harmony for a more united North and a peaceful Nigeria. He is a great asset in our drive for a durable inter-religious harmony the North needs. That was why his elevation to the episcopal position as the Bishop of Sokoto elated me to no end, even though by his recent utterances, he has not shown sufficient sensitivity or courtesy to the historical significance of the place and the gracious reception which the predominant Muslim population there has accorded him. The appointment, I believed then, was a clear signal that at least the top hierarchy of Church is very much interested in, and actively serious about, a cordial Muslim-Christian relationship. I still believe that that intent remains, and Bishop Kukah remains tailor-cut for the crucial assignment, despite his Burial Mass speech fumbles. He, at least, would appreciate Islam and Muslims. As a “son of the soil” of the North, he would understand Muslims to a great extent. He would not, however, appreciably understand Islam. A non-Muslim may know a great deal about Islam, but would not understand it. This is because Islam is not only in a set of books: it is found in its complete form only in the heart. Many a non-Muslim confuses a Muslim (especially his outwardness) with Islam, and hence a deficiency in a Muslim is projected as a part of Islam, and proceed to pour all manner of venom and oddious aspersions on both. This, in the main, is the problem with the Bishop of Sokoto.
Another problem: the Yakowa’s burial speech was misappropriated by the Bishop who, as a clergyman should have concerned himself with, yes…eulogizing the dead, but drawing the attention of the living to reflect on the candlelight-like brevity of life and the need to follow the Light of Eesah, Jesus Christ (may Allah’s peace be upon him) to attain righteousness, and not get carried away to launch himself into political issues with the passion of a politician. Rather than focusing on theology, he went into the minefield of politics of agitations. I would not advise that he either becomes a fiery politician or face his Episcopal calling: life is not thus compartmentalized. This is Islam’s position. And the church pulpit affords him the best opportunity to do both, thereby increasing his flock for God: not the politicians’ podium from where he could only earn some votes for temporal purposes, and even harvest sins for calculated untruthfulness as well as false promises
The politician has the privilege to court controversy and play with the truth, shape it to his taste, remould it and package it to appeal to the taste of his audience, or even play a hide and seek game with it. The priest does not enjoy that manner of privilege: whether from the pulpit or away from it, to him that would be some satanic indulgence. He can only do one thing: deliver the message of God to man, and faithfully too. Tell the flock the truth, no more no less, without colourings or exaggerations. Conscious deviations from the message for any reason apart from the Lord’s Pleasure would amount to a gross misconduct. Bishop Kukah’s faux pas is to mount the rostrum with one leg on the priest’s pulpit and the other on the politician’s podium, and proceeded with unhidden bias to, rather ungraciously, give the total monopoly of imperfections or wrong-doings to Muslims, and lay all the problems of social dislocations in the North at their doorsteps, against the canons of truth. His few references to “good Muslims” did not fail to unveil the Bishop’s deep-seated angst, if not a (surprisingly) long held prejudice. No, Monsignor Kukah! You have a responsibility to God, your faith and the community you find yourself in. Be concerned and play a Moses to your people, but be just. In your speech, you exhorted your people of Southern Kaduna and challenged the youth to “Rise up!… Fear is dead!….” Given the trajectory of your mood, the exhortation would have worried me. But I believe you may be only trying to tread the path of the theological philosophy of the venerable Pope of our time, Pope John Paul Ii, who in re-echoing Christ to the Apostles and the women wrote, “Be not Afraid”, in one of the chapters of his book, “Crossing The Threshold of Hope”. Never give up on your faith even in difficulties in meeting the demands of the Gospel, was the Pope’s message, and an encouragement to Christians to hold on to Love firmly with enduring perseverance. Pope John Paul II was an exceptional bundle of humility, compassion, piety and grace. That is the type of man in the Episcopal order, whose footprints I hope, our dear Bishop would follow. Never to be associated with the robes of prejudice worn by the young dentist I met in India. May God guide his footsteps in the interest of more robust Muslim- Christian coexistence and harmony.
*Abubakar Gimba(now late) is a former President of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA). Sunday, 20 January 2013.
