The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Reverend (Dr.) Matthew Hassan Kukah has been admitted into the Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL) as an Honorary Fellow.
The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Reverend (Dr.) Matthew Hassan Kukah has been admitted into the Honorary Fellowship of the Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL),
The academy is Nigeria’s “autonomous, scholarly and non-political” academy that advances scholarship and public interest in the humanities at the highest level in the West African nation.
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In a letter conveying the award, the academy’s president, Prof. Francis Egbokhare, said the choice was informed by the cleric’s “sterling exemplary character, stakeholding of inter-faith dialogues, the unceasing obligation to soul-healing, advancement of knowledge and education, outstanding leadership instinct, crusade for good governance, as well as your (his) laudable outstanding commitment to national development (national patriotism).”
The body also cited Kukah’s “impressive stance as a humanist devoted to the crusade for human freedom, social justice and equity, attributes that run in tandem with the commitment of our Academy to deploy the humanities for social and national reconstruction, have informed your well-deserved appointment as an Honorary Fellow of NAL.”
The bishop’s investiture would take place alongside those on regular admission at the academy’s convocation holding next month at the J.F. Ade-Ajayi Auditorium of the University of Lagos.
Established in 1974 after a recommendation for the creation of national academies by the late Chief Jerome Udoji committee report, NAL comprises four categories of fellows: foundation fellows, regular fellows, usually resident in the country, overseas fellows who stay abroad, and honorary fellows.
Prospective fellows are nominated by living members of the academy and confirmed by the institution’s executive committee before their induction.
The Nigerian Bishop who will turn 69 at the end of August was ordained a Priest of Kaduna Diocese in December 1976.
He has been at the helm of Nigeria’s Sokoto Diocese since his episcopal ordination on 8 September 2011
Bishop Kukah who was appointed as a member of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in January is also the founder of The Kukah Centre (TKC).
The Bishop currently chairs the Dialogue Committees of both the Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa (RECOWA) and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN).