As Monsignor Matthew Hassan Kukah’s ordination and installation as Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese take place today in Sokoto, SAMUEL ARUWAN, in this special report, writes on his life, from his humble background, through his priesthood, to his elevation as a diocesan bishop. ?
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As you read this, thousands of Catholic priests and faithful from the Vatican, Nigeria and other parts of the world, relations and well wishers from the academia and civil society, and the media are seated at the Giginya Memorial Stadium, Sokoto, waiting to witness Monsignor Matthew Kukah’s elevation to Bishop of the diocese.
The last time the Sokoto Diocese played host to such a crowd was in 1985, when Bishop Kelvin Aje, who retires today, was ordained. Though the diocese was built in 1964, Kukah’s coming as bishop will open a new chapter in its history.
From a humble background, Kukah started developing interest in the priesthood in late 50s. In his book This House Has Fallen: Nigeria In Crisis, he told Karl Maier that his love for the priesthood was because of the big cars then ridden by the white Catholic priests and the celebration of the Catholic Mass.
Matthew Hassan Kukah was born to Vincent and Hauwa Kukah on August 31, 1952. He is from Anchuna, Ikulu Chiefdom of Zangon Kataf local government area of Southern Kaduna, Kaduna State.? He had his primary school education at St. Fidelis Primary School, Zagom, then St. Joseph’s Minor Seminary, Zaria, before proceeding to St. Augustine’s Major Seminary Jos, Plateau State, where he studied Philosophy and Theology.
He was ordained a Catholic priest on December 19, 1976. After his ordination, his quest for knowledge took him to the University of Ibadan, where he obtained a diploma in Religious Studies. He received a Bachelor of Divinity degree from the Urban University, Rome in 1976, then a Master’s degree in Peace Studies from the University of Bradford, United Kingdom, and a PhD from the famous London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in 1990.
His most outstanding book, which discusses the religious politics of northern Nigeria – Religion, Politics and Power in Northern Nigeria (1993) – received an honorary Noma commendation in 1994. Further to his credit are the books Democracy and Civil Society in Nigeria and Religion and The Politics of Justice in Nigeria. In 1996, he co-published with Professor Toyin Falola Religious Militancy and Self-Assertion, Religious Revivalism in Nigeria. Other books include The Shattered Microcosm, The Collapse of the Moral Order in Africa, and The Mustard Seed, then Towards a Just Democratic Nigeria, The Catholic Church and Politics in Nigeria, and Whistling in the Dark. Apart from a compendium of interviews he granted the media during the military era, others are The Church and the Politics of Social Responsibilities, and Oputa Panel, Human Rights and the Struggle for
Justice in Nigeria, which is yet to be published.
Monsignor Kukah, who has several chapters in books and journals and has presented hundreds of papers both in Nigeria and other parts of the world, was also at the famous St. Anthony’s College, University of Oxford as a senior Rhodes fellow from 2002 to 2003, then at the prestigious Kennedy School of Government (KSG), Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, as an Edward Mason fellow, where he bagged an MA in Public Policy in 2004. He recently launched a book on his experience on the Oputa Panel titled Witness To Justice: An Insider’s Account of Nigeria’s Truth Commission.
Kukah has served on the Human Rights Investigations Panel (Oputa Panel), National Political Reforms Conference and chaired the Ogoni-Shell Mediation Committee, which recently concluded its mission of finding a solution to the lingering crisis.
As a religious leader, aside working in his original Kaduna Catholic Archdiocese, he was highly instrumental to the growth of the Catholic Church in Abuja, under the leadership of His Eminence Archbishop of the Abuja Archdiocese Dominic Cardinal Ignatius Ekandem, archbishop emeritus of Abuja, who died on November 24, 1995. On his return from the United Kingdom, he moved to the Catholic Secretariat as its deputy secretary-general, rising to become its secretary-general.
Back to the Kaduna Archdiocese, Kukah was posted to St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, Kakuri as parish priest, a position he held until his elevation to bishop of Sokoto Diocese.
In 2009, Kukah spoke on why he joined the priesthood and other things. He said, “It is very difficult to point to the attraction because, as a child, things that attracted you to priesthood might not be the same with the reality of the vocation. It is like asking a lawyer or a medical doctor what attracted him to his profession.
To a particular doctor, it might be the thermometer, or for the lawyer, it might be the wig and the gown. Attraction to the priesthood might also be as a result of the tangibles, but the realities will be different as one proceeds to the minor and the major seminaries, and one would discover that things are different. My main attraction was just like that of other people because at that time, my mind had not appreciated the complexity of priesthood. Watching the priest and serving at mass were some of the little things that initially attracted me to the priesthood.”
The soft spoken clergyman also talked about materialism and its effects. “People are now looking for a God to serve them instead of serving God. Amidst the poverty we are living in prosperity teachings get a lot of customers, because people are now looking for money. We have seen people develop pile in Nigeria from drinking soft drinks, because they want to win lottery. All the telecommunication companies are gambling in order to attract people.
I can understand why people are using the word of God in order to attract people. Our people only need to be discerning about what they actually want. The principal reason Jesus came is clearly articulated; that is, so that we can have life. He (Jesus) clearly described what that life is. We have different things and so some people are going to church because they believe a particular pastor can pray for them to get their heart’s desire. All these so-called men of God are taking advantage of the poverty we have in the land. What do you expect people to do in our environment where there are no jobs, no security and no electricity? They believe running to church is enough. All these ‘I feel alright’ messages you are hearing can’t stand in some parts of the world. Since we are living in this kind of environment, those things have their attraction,” he said.
Kukah went on to say, “I am grateful to God that I had an opportunity to serve Nigeria. These things have humbled me and have helped me appreciate what Nigeria is all about. Principally, wherever I find myself, I consider it a pastoral assignment. If I had gone there looking for money, contracts or things that were beyond my brief, I would have run into trouble. God has been gracious to me. I have had a lot of opportunities, but I have never lost sight of where I am coming from. For me all these things are temporal assignments. My primary assignment as a catholic priest is purely pastoral. That is why I came back after all these national assignments as a parish priest. I have seen all these things as an opportunity to serve my country but primarily, I have a peculiar experience of being a Catholic priest.”
LEADERSHIP was privy to Kukah’s diary entry of December 19, 2006, when he marked his 30th year in the priesthood. He paid glowing tribute to his grandmother who paid three shillings for his entrance examination from the proceeds of her basket weaving business, and to his headmaster, the late Mr. Gregory Sanda. He said, “To think that it is 30 years ago today since I knelt before my archbishop, Peter Yariyock Jatau to be ordained a Catholic priest seems unbelievable. A torrent of memories cascade to the fore as I think about this day. Children who were born on that date are now married, while others have since graduated from university. They all look so unbelievably big that I cannot believe my eyes whenever I see any of them. Here and abroad, I have run into men and women who, in excitement, remind me that I baptised them or wedded their parents.
On a day like this, I believe it is I who owe these people the gratitude for letting me into their lives. Together, we all celebrate our common fatherhood. I have so enjoyed this life that I cannot find the words, nor can I even begin to think over what to make of it. Looking back now, I simply marvel at God’s inscrutable ways. Could I have ever dreamt that this life would be this way? I recall my beloved grandmother, the one woman I really truly and dearly loved. From childhood, I grew up literally under her keen eye and knew the love I have never known since she died. A lot of other people have tried, including my mother, but they are a poor second. She saw me through school when even at a rather tender age, I had to walk over four kilometres to school. I recall the day that my headmaster, Mr. Gregory Sanda – one of the most handsome human beings I have ever seen – walked into the class to tell us about the forthcoming examination to St. Joseph’s Seminary, Zaria.? I had never heard about the school and had really no idea what a seminary was. For us then, there was only one school in the whole world, St John’s College Kaduna, alma mater of the famous Major Kaduna Nzeogwu and many other distinguished Nigerians.
“But the day our headmaster spoke about the seminary, he saw the glee in my eyes. Being the smallest in the class, I always sat on the first desk. He asked if I would like to sit for the examination, and without a thought, I said yes. But, he said, there was a catch, we all needed to pay three shillings to sit for the examination. I had no idea where and how I would raise three shillings.? I lived with my grandmother who wove some really nice baskets and mats. When I got back home, I tried to explain to her that I needed to sit for another examination and so she needed to come up with some more money. She asked if I was afraid I would fail the entrance examination to St John’s and I told her no. Then, she said, ‘Why waste money for another examination?’
“I told her that this was a better school and that if I passed the examination, I would go on to the school and actually become a priest. It was Greek to her and understandably so. I served at Mass, but even then, with the Mass in Latin, I did not have the faintest idea what was going on, but my heart was in it. She had never seen a black priest and she was not a Christian. ‘I thought only white men could become priests,’ she said. ‘No,’ I told her. ‘It is possible for a black man too.’ ‘So, what will happen to this black skin of yours, will the white man change it? I know the white man can do anything. If they change your skin, will you remain in the village or will the white man take you away?’ Since I had no other way of coming up with three shillings, I tried my best to cope with this galaxy of questions.
“She then asked, ‘So, if you finally become a priest, will you also drive a truck like the white Fada?’ I answered, ‘Yes.’ That did the trick!? She set to work and in less than one week, I had the three shillings for the entrance examination to St Joseph’s Seminary. Shortly after sitting for the examinations, our headmaster came into class one afternoon to announce that the results were out. The sad news was that only one student had passed. I was the lucky student, but I turned my back on St John’s and headed for St Joseph’s Seminary.? Looking back now, I still cannot believe how and why God has so enriched my short life here on earth. I have had some of the most fantastic teachers, friends, colleagues and well wishers. A lot of friends have insisted that we have good reasons to celebrate and I think they are right. But I am a bit averse to personal celebrations, because they are very tempting. They turn too much light on you. In the course, people take stock, focusing on what the world often refers to as achievements and success. But in the Lord’s work, somehow, I wonder if we can talk of success and achievements. It is this fear that makes me wary of these celebrations. They open the window for self adulation when in reality, these should actually belong first to God and then tangentially, those friends and teachers whom the Lord has used.”
Explaining how he would want to spend the rest of his life on earth, he summed up “Looking back, how can I thank God for all the wonderful human beings He has sent my way?
How can I thank God for all those who have come my way and have so enriched my life? How can I explain why life has been relatively easy for me? How do I explain why from the backwaters of beyond, this little boy would have crossed all the shrubs of peripheral life, overcome the thorns and brambles of poverty, trod over rocks, hills and valleys of desolation to stand with the high, the low and the mighty?
“While thanking God for my life, I ask for His peace on my friends and classmates who are not here to rejoice with us today. I look to the future with joy, hoping that I can, with the time left for me, help others see the beautiful face of God through service. As for my life as a priest, what can I say except to repeat those very powerful words in the prayer of Fr. J. Henri Lacordiare, who said that the essence of the life of a priest is to live in the midst of the world without wishing its pleasures; to be a member of each family, yet belong to none; to share all sufferings; to penetrate all secrets; to heal all wounds; to go from men to God and offer Him their prayers, to return from God to men to bring pardon and hope; to have a heart of fire for charity, a heart of bronze for chastity; to teach, pardon, console, and bless – always. What a glorious life, and it is yours O priest of Jesus Christ.”