Corruption’s ugliest phase was under Buhari – Kukah

The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Hassan Kukah, has said Nigerians witnessed the worst phase of corruption under the last administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

He also lamented the fact that the country currently shared its sovereignty with bandits and terrorists, in view of the pervasive insecurity in Nigeria.

Kukah, in his keynote speech at the 60th Call-to-Bar anniversary celebration of legal icon, Aare Afe Babalola, in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, noted that though corruption did not start under the last administration, it amplified it in moral, financial and other terms.

But aides to the former President, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Buhari will not join issues with “a drowning man.”

One of the aides said, “We will not join issues with him. What are the facts and figures he provided?”
But in his remarks, Kukah said, “We have seen the worst phase of corruption in Nigeria, Femi Falana, my friend here will speak about that because he has published a series of articles talking about what happened under the Buhari administration.

“They were not the ones who caused corruption but I think in the last administration, we saw the ugliest phase of corruption, whether in moral terms, financial terms and other terms.’’

The clergyman lamented that Nigeria is sharing its sovereignty which is guaranteed in the constitution with bandits and other terrorists.

He said nobody is excited now about being a Nigerian, even if they were a president or senators, adding that the country is literally being held hostage by people who threatened the very existence of the nation and its democracy.

Kukah said a lot of Nigerians had lost faith in the judiciary but noted that he considered the judiciary a victim the same way every other institution in Nigeria was suffering a crisis.
According to him, Nigeria should not yet assume that it is a democracy but, instead assume that it is matching towards democracy, which means rebuilding “after the kind of mess the last administration has left the country.”

Bishop Kukah said it is time to rebuild the country, adding that no matter what happened at the Supreme Court concerning the election, he is convinced that Nigerians had put the “ugly past” behind them.