Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah, has advised former President Goodluck Jonathan to tread carefully as calls mount for him to contest the 2027 presidential election.
Speaking at the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation’s Democracy Dialogue in Accra, Ghana, Kukah hailed Jonathan’s 2015 concession of defeat as a historic act of sacrifice that strengthened Nigeria’s democracy. He noted that Jonathan had the means to resist but chose peace, restoring faith in governance.
The bishop, however, cautioned him against being swayed by those pursuing personal agendas. Quoting General Theophilus Danjuma, he warned: “The voice of the devil is not so far from the voice of God.”
Kukah urged Jonathan to reflect deeply, seek divine guidance, and place Nigeria’s interests above all in weighing his next steps.
He said: “I therefore want to end by saying, first of all, it’s a great honor, President Jonathan, for me to be here. When you took that decision on March, 31, 2015, he’s written a little book, which you should read ‘My Transition Hours’, when you took that decision, was one of those moments that it was between yourself, your conscience, your God against the run of play. O the 31st of March, 2015, even before the elections had concluded, when you made that call, you were answering what to me was more or less a divine call.
“And by taking that decision, not only did you reverse, and I think your successor made the point himself over and over that you had all the military, you had all the paraphernalia of power around you.
“It would have been possible to instigate a war, but by taking that decision, in my view, the people of Athens entrusted into your hands, a touch of hope, a touch of what democracy should look like, the honor, the dignity, the sense of sacrifice, that is what democracy is all about.
“You illustrated that, and it’s the reason why when you call, I will come, when you knock, I will open the door. Because right now I had to excuse myself from a meeting of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, which is still on. Our meeting is finishing, actually, on Sunday, but I had to excuse myself to be here because I thought it was a great honor for me, you know, to be with you.
“But please, General Theophilus Danjuma, one of our greatest statesmen, President Obasanjo’s colleague, once said very often, the voice of the devil is not so far from the voice of God.
“Listen very carefully to those who want to use you as an instrument for the elongation of their interests, and not your interests or the interests of Nigeria. Think very clearly. Pray very clearly. Final decision, it’s your call.”
Chinenye Ogbonna
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