The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has congratulated the latest septuagenarian in town and Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Most Rev. Matthew Kukah.
In a terse message he personally signed, Atiku described the respected cleric as “my brother, friend and compatriot”.
He said he joined all men and women who cherish Bishop Kukah’s unwavering contributions toward Nigeria’s true greatness to pray for God’s unending grace in his life.
Kukah was born in Anchuna, Zangon Kataf Local Government Area, Kaduna State on August 31, 1952.
He received his primary education at St. Fidelis Primary School, Zagom, then St. Joseph Minor Seminary, Zaria, before proceeding to St. Augustine Major Seminary Jos, Plateau State, where he studied Philosophy and Theology.
He was ordained a Catholic priest on December 19, 1976.
After obtaining a diploma in Religious Studies at the University of Ibadan, he also received the Bachelor of Divinity at the Pontifical Urban University, Rome in 1976, followed by a master’s degree in Peace Studies, at the University of Bradford, United Kingdom in 1980.
Kukah’s academic pursuits culminated with a Ph.D. from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in 1990.
He has at various times studied at two of the world’s leading universities – University of Oxford, United Kingdom and Harvard University, United States.
A quintessential cleric, scholar and statesman, Kukah is currently Secretary, National Peace Committee, and between 1999 and 2001, served as a member of the Nigerian Investigation Commission of Human Rights Violations, famously dubbed Oputa panel.
At various times, he served as Secretary of the National Political Reform Conference (2005) and Chairman of the Ogoni-Shell Reconciliation, among others.