Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, has said that quacks have taken over nearly every field in the country including politics.
Kukah said this on Thursday at the national conference and annual general meeting of Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR).
“The quest for national cohesion remains an illusion and the result therefore is that marketing Nigeria becomes an act of frustration. In part because too many issues have still not been resolved. Tragically as the population has increased we have not been able to craft a narrative,” he said.
“Is there any institution in Nigeria that has not been taken over by quacks, including our politics? There is no institution you can blame in this country, everywhere. That is why it is even so dangerous and so important to think about how to advertise Nigeria. I mean, where do you start?”
The cleric also said that Nigeria has been unable to manage her diversity, hence politics has become regionalised.
“I think that the problems in Nigeria have very little to do with the things that we ascribe, but is everything to do with our inability, sheer incapacity to manage diversity. Managing diversity is a science. If we do not have a sense of direction and purpose; a nation that does not have a clarity of vision as to where it is going, and what the tools that are required.
“When you live in a country like Nigeria, where people are safer with their nephews, cousins, brothers, sisters, as special assistants, personal assistants, then we are in trouble. How we manage diversity in Nigeria then becomes an issue.
“If this is the kind of country that we have, how do we develop the capacity to manage diversity. When a president is traveling, the governors are struggling to go with him. And yet in reality, for those journeys, like when the president is going to China, there must be an academic expert who understands China, who should be able to brief the President,” Kukah said.
