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Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Hassan Kukah, in an address delivered at a forum in Kaduna on Friday, expressed his deep concern over the increasing entanglement of the judiciary with politicians, emphasizing that such a union poses a threat to the democratic fabric of the nation.

During the keynoted address, Bishop Kukah, while cautioning clerics against becoming ensnared in politics, underscored the inevitability of being tainted when involved in political struggles. He lamented the encroachment of politics into the sacred realm of the judiciary and the subsequent impact on its independence.

"I am saddened by the fact that the judiciary has now found itself being sucked into politics. I am also sad to the extent that even we who are priests in the church are getting sucked in politics because you will never come out the same," remarked Bishop Kukah.

Drawing a vivid analogy, he warned against engaging in political struggles without consequences, stating, "You go to wrestle with a pig in the mud, you may defeat the pig but you cannot come out and show yourself and be proud of what you look like."

Despite his cautionary stance, Bishop Kukah acknowledged the societal pressure on individuals, including himself, to venture into politics. He, however, asserted that his commitment to parish work took precedence, and he dismissed the notion of aspiring to political office without first fulfilling his responsibilities within the church.

Reflecting on the prevailing political landscape, Bishop Kukah conveyed skepticism about the prevailing criteria for political leadership, asserting, "If I was under that illusion. There are many people who say they would pay for me but I know that I will not make a good president because good presidents are not what you are looking for. We have potholes, we want people who can fix them. We want people who can give us electricity."

While cautioning against scapegoating the judiciary, Bishop Kukah acknowledged the prophetic role of several minority judgments in guiding the nation's trajectory. He urged Nigerians to recognize the nuanced role of the judiciary and not hastily place blame, emphasizing the importance of minority opinions in shaping the path forward for Nigeria.

Chima Amadi

On his part, former Chairman of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission NERC, Prof. Chima Amadi, noted that flawed elections lead to instability.

Lamenting that Nigeria was going the way of some less than alluring countries, Amadi said there is a deliberate elite conspiracy against free and fair elections in Nigeria.

“Flawed elections lead to instability. A country that plays with the type of elections we have had in Nigeria is moving towards the path of Niger Republic, Chad and Burkina Faso.

 “Political scientists agree that the main value of elections might actually be conflict management and avoidance.

“The key thing about elections is that people have a right to chose their leaders and to pick them freely in a peaceful atmosphere and that the votes count.

“Nigerian political elite seem to all agree not to have free and fair election. There is deliberate elite conspiracy against free and fair election. The last elections, even with the existing law, would have been successful but INEC deliberately destroyed the election. They deliberately stopped electronic transmission and they did not give any reason.

 “We have to now be bold to do three things. One is that this current INEC should terminate before 2027. There is no point carrying this commission into the next election because the current government has clearly planted special advisers, chief of staff to go and plan the next election.

“This INEC by law should end by 2025 so that we create a new INEC according to Uwais report which is a stakeholder INEC.

“He said the process of appointing the INEC Chairman and other officers must be transparent while elections must be somewhat self-declaratory through the use of electronic transmission of results in order for Nigerians to know the winner even before the conclusion of the process,” he stated.

Itodo

Executive Director, YIAGA Africa, Samson Itodo, who was one of the panelists, said it was unfortunate that to win elections in Nigeria, one has to have a militia, huge financial resources to bribe electoral officials and the judiciary.

He said: “We could have had the best elections even recently, except that we have got a political class who believe that you cannot win an election in Nigeria today without an election rigging plan.

“So, to win an election in Nigeria today, you must have a militia or thugs who would be ready to disrupt elections or intimidate your opponents, you must have the financial resources, sadly, to bribe election officials and then you also have money to bribe judges.

“You just need to sit down with some politicians go hear their stories, how the courts have become a market place for buying all forms of judgment and we think that this is right?

“There is no country that develops with these kind of institutions. Several years ago, the only institutions we could look up to – and that is why they say the judiciary is the bastion of hope for the common man – was the judiciary.

“But today, no one trusts the judiciary and so people are asking where will help come from?

“And I am not generalizing because there are still judges with impeccable character and integrity. We are not just celebrating them enough.”

Pastor Ighodalo

On his part, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo said Nigeria’s faulty foundation is responsible for most of its woes.

He added that the country was formed for a different purpose – to provide resources for Europe.

“So, we who have found ourselves in Nigeria, we have not successfully had this conversation as to what we really want in Nigeria.

“Do we even want Nigeria? What kind of of Nigeria do we want? How do we get that Nigeria?

“We have just assumed that the democracy that was given to us is the thing that is going to solve our problems,” he stated.