Kukah Reveals What He Told Buhari

Mathew Kukah, bishop of the Sokoto catholic
diocese and member of the National Peace
Committee, in an interview granted to the Daily
Trust, has revealed what he told President
Muhammadu Buhari during their meeting.
Election Peace Committee with President Buhari and
his vice Yemi Osinbajo
Kukah, in the interview, responded to the reactions
against his comments that 'probe can't be
substituted for governance' among others.
He said: "I am quite pleased that people are talking
and I am not bothered about those who agree or
disagree with me. Why should people agree with me
if they do not feel persuaded by my argument?
"I consider myself an individual with the freedom to
air my views. I do not see why anyone who
disagrees with me should make me feel offended.
We can disagree without being disagreeable. You
can detect the quality of minds, people's character
and level of decency by how they approach issues
when they do not agree with you. I was not teaching
or marking an English paper, so whether I
recommended probe or investigation, it does not
matter.
READ ALSO: Kukah Advises Buhari To Focus On
Good Governance
"Now, no one seems to remember what I said, so
what is there to elaborate on? I have said it
elsewhere and I was only making a suggestion
based on my experience as a Nigerian.
"How many probes have we had? Where are the
convictions? I am not against probes of any sort. My
advice was that with no clear strategy, government
could raise undue anxiety and they may lose the
element of surprise and find that the required
ammunition for building their case has vanished,
that's all."
He further spoke on the results of the probes.
"Some Nigerians feel that the probes should not
focus only on the immediate past administration but
should begin from 1999. What's your take?
"Whatever, whenever, however. The National Peace
Committee brokered a deal between President
Muhammadu Buhari and the former president,
Goodluck Jonathan," he stated.
"Apart from what is known publicly about the
meeting and the good and peaceful conduct during
the election, what salient issues are in the peace
deal?
READ ALSO: Jonathan Must Not Be Probed- Bishop
Kukah
"Does it for instance impose certain conditions on
Mr. President? Also, does it include the general
belief by many Nigerians that if President Buhari
won the election, he would not probe Goodluck
Jonathan as it is widely said that the latter conceded
defeat on the understanding that he would not be
probed?"
"Now, people are making up their stories about
what both President Jonathan and General Buhari
agreed upon. On that day, I read out the full text of
the agreement."
Kukah explained why it is astonishing but not
surprising that some mischief makers will jump out
and say that he is shielding President Jonathan from
probe.
He added: "I am disappointed but not sad. We can
do better than this with some level of honesty. Did
Jonathan's name feature in your discussion with the
President when the Peace Committee visited him?
"How can President Jonathan's name feature in our
discussion? First, the media reported a day before
our meeting that President Jonathan and President
Buhari had had a meeting two days earlier. Both
men are former head of state and president. I
imagine that President Buhari must be laughing at
all this nonsense by those who are publicly wearing
and displaying their ignorance as a garment of
honour. A former president is a former president
and we the ordinary people must be careful in
poking our noses in their affairs."
There had been reports that Kukah was suggesting
that Buhari should 'face his work' and stop
investigating corruption linked to the past
government, on the ground that it serves as a
distraction from tackling the issues Nigeria currently
faces